Our vacation is over

We have had a blast but it must come to and end. Time to go back to work, kids go back to school, get back to church and all our normal weekly things. We have had a great time but I am looking forward to getting back to reality and sleeping in my own bed. The kids of course are not so excited. They are showing they will miss there grandma and grampa, aunt Angelique and Uncle Bubba and most of all Bryson. Kyle has gotten to were he is just about swimming and Nicole picked up right were she left off last time. We look forward to coming home now and seeing all our friends and family.

The END


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/19/2008 at 7:01 AM
Categories: Family
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Day 12 - Lake Conroe, TX

We headed to Lake Conroe, TX today to stay at my Mom's timeshare. We played in the pool, kids played on the play set, played put put golf, barbequed steaks and just relaxed the remaining of the evening. The day was very nice as it was about 75 degrees with a slight wind. Tomorrow we will head back to Houston.

 

Piney Shores Resort

 


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/15/2008 at 8:21 AM
Categories: Family
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Day 10 - Going to the beach

Today we decided to go to Galveston, TX and play on the beach. We arrived at about 4pm and it was about 75 degrees and a bit windy. The kids played in the ocean and sand for a bit and then we went for some dinner at a local cafe. We will spend the night on the beach in the motorhome and play on the beach again tomorrow.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/13/2008 at 7:51 AM
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Day 9 - Houston we have landed!

Well it has been 9 days and we are finally here. We are in Houston, TX and as many know that famous saying "Houston we have landed" we are finally here. We got to my Mom's house at about 11am and unpacked. We went to Bryson's soccer game at 1pm and watched him play and make a goal!!! Kyle and Nicole are very excited to see there cousin. After getting back from the game they of course decided they wanted to go swimming. My Mom has a really cool swimming pool and I am guessing it is about 70 degrees or so. The weather right now is incredible. Mom, Angelique and Lauri went to the store to get stuff for Dinner and we will soon settle down to the end of day 9.  I think we are planning on heading to Galveston tomorrow.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/12/2008 at 3:17 PM
Categories: Family
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Day 8 - Adding more miles

Ok, so has anyone ever looked at how BIG Texas is!! Last night was a bit long so today we are going to only drive about 10 hours today. We will make it to Luling, TX and stay at an RV park. We got to our site about 7pm and the kids went swimming and then we did a little fishing. The fish were not biting on our bait today. It is probably about 70 or so out today and a very nice day. We will get up early tomorrow and reach our destination. My Sister Angelique has a son Bryson that has a soccer game tomorrow so we will try and make it to see him play.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/11/2008 at 8:42 PM
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Day 7 - We must get to Texas Today!!

Our goal today is to make it to Texas. We wont make it to Houston but we want to be in Texas this evening. We drove about 13 hours today and made it to Van Horn, TX. Stopped at a rest area about midnight and went to sleep. Not a lot happening when you are on the road all day. Did some reading, sleeping and eating. What more to life is there?


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/10/2008 at 8:38 PM
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Day 5 - Our last day at Disneyland

Well we went to sleep last night wondering how we would feel come 7am in the morning but everyone seemed to be up and ready to leave the RV at 8am. When we got to Disneyland we were not as fortunate in getting in so quickly but we made it in by 9am which is when the park officially opens. Since we had been on a lot of rides the previous day our goal today was to see a few shows and make it over to California Adventure park.

Ride 1: Dumbo / Matahorn - The kids went to Dumbo and Gary and I went to Matahorn. I was not that impressed with our ride but I am sure the kids enjoyed theirs. We joined back up and it seemed that Julie Andrews was having a horse dedicated to her on the carousel ride so Mom wanted to wait and see her.

Ride 2: Peter Pan - While Mom waited for Julie Andrews we went and took this ride. Nicole and I went in the first car and as we rounded our first corner the ride suddenly stopped. All the lights came on and it seems that something stopped the  ride. We had to wait about 15 minutes and then they brought us back in. So we had to wait for them to recycle the machine and then we went back on. It was the worth it as both Kyle and Nicole commented that they thought it was very cool.

By now rides today are getting very long. So we decided to walk around a bit and went into Princess Fantasy Faire so that Nicole and Kyle could get some autographs and pictures with Snow White, Pocahontas and Aurora. I waited in line for them about 45 minutes while they went and watched a show. It was funny when Kyle would go to each character he stood really far from them and each time they would pull him close and he would put on a really big grin. Then afterwards he would be all excited about the questions they asked him. Nicole was more of a pro and just pushed on. We have some really neat pictures of them we will post.

Toon Town - Got Mickeys autograph and picture. Can't go to Disneyland without accomplishing this. Played around on some the attractions and then took a train back to Main Street to meet up with Mom and Gary. We decided we would now head over to California Adventure which is right next to Disneyland.

California Adenture - We walked to this food stand that served these HUGE corn dogs.  Took the kids on a small kid ride.

Monsters Inc - The kids had been asking to do this ride since we came to Disneyland as they had heard about it from other kids. Wait was about 30 minutes but the kids really liked it so I guess it was worth it ;-)

High School Musical 2 - This was a parade and the reason we came over to California Adventure as Nicole is a big fan. I have to say it was very well done and Nicole and Kyle both got picked to go up and dance with the crew.

Character Pictures - A big part of being here is getting pictures of the kids with various characters. So we went and got a few of these out of the way.

We are getting tired after 2 days of this stuff. Our locker is back in Disneyland so we decided to head back and finish up  the day. However the kids had not had enough so we went on a few last rides (Pinocchio Village, Alice in Wonderland, Snow Whites Scary Adventure). We are officially finished. We ended our day by going to Cheesecake Factory for Dinner. A good way to end the day.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/8/2008 at 8:35 PM
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Day 4 - 1st day at Disneyland

First and foremost we have to give thanks to Heather McBreen who spent a lot of time putting together for us an itinerary.  She was spot on with every suggestion and it sure made Disneyland very productive and fun.

WOW, this has been a huge day. We were up at 7am and on a shuttle headed for Disneyland at 8am. I think we were probably in the first 500 people let into Disneyland so we really got a jump start. We were let into the main gate at about 8:30am and into Main street to look at the shops before the park opened at 9am. They are smart letting you into the shopping area ;-0. 9am the park opened and we were off an running.

Ride 1: Jungle Cruise - As we got on this one I reminded Mom that I had been on this ride when I first went to Disneyland. No surprise I don't think that she could not remember (She is getting old ;-0). It is a ride in which you go around a river in a tour boat and see all kinds of animals in the Jungle. The kids really enjoyed it.

 

Ride 2: Indiana Jones - This one is new since the last time I went to Disneyland was in 1975 and the movie was not even out yet. The first ride was very tame but this one was a bit of a shock for the kids. Kyle was freaked out and Nicole hid her face for most of the ride. We were a bit worried they would not want to ride anything after that one.

Ride 3: Pirates of the Caribbean - Again I went on this ride when I was a kid. Looks like they updated it a little. Pretty tame ride so no issues with the kids not liking it although they were very reserved when they first got on.

Ride 4: Haunted Mansion - Pretty basic ride that has all kinds of the normal expected items. Kids thought it was fun. Now that we had been on 2 tame rids they were not expecting the next one.

Ride 5: Splash Mountain - This one made Kyle cry a little and Nicole again was a bit freaked out. We all got a little wet but no so much that you felt uncomfortable.

Here is the amazing part. At the finish of this ride it was only about 11am. We had went on 5 major rides in only 2 hours. We thought for sure that we had picked the perfect day and if things kept going like this we would have the entire park done in no time.

Ride 6: Big Thunder Mountain - I know by now if you are still reading you are wondering how I can recall every ride we went on. Well we took pictures of every ride and the sign and I have them all sorted by date/time ;-0 so I can recall. This was our first long line. Wait time expected was 20 minutes. This is also our first roller coaster type ride and when we were done both kids said they would not do that one again. But you know every ride we went up to they would go without hesitation.

Ride 7: Steamboat ride - It was time for a few tame rides again. This was a nice pleasant easy ride. Nothing really to talk about on this one as it was a good ride to take in which you felt like taking a break.

Ride 8: Pirates Lair - Again nothing to exciting. Take a wooden raft over to a pirate island and venture around looking for treasure.  The kids had purchased autograph books and Kyle went up to a pirate to have him autograph it and the pirate said thanks and put it in his jacket. Kyle was a bit surprised and not sure how to respond. Of course the pirate signed it and gave it back.

Time: 12:30pm - Man are we making good time. Seems like we should eat some lunch. We were told about a good place to eat called Golden Horseshoe and that they had a show at 1pm. So we took a break, had lunch and watched a really funny fiddle band play music.

2pm and we are done with lunch and our show. Time to hit some more rides. Except we are starting to notice that the park has filled up quit a bit. In fact all the rides we go up to have really long lines and wait times. So we search around a bit thinking it cannot be right based on our past experience. So we find a few small kid rides and tackle those. Then we decide to try out the Mattahorn. We follow the line around and around and around and it is huge. As we go to the end we were at another ride Nemo that the kids wanted to go on. I told them to get in line and I would go ask how long it would take. I was told 70 minutes. So I walked back and the kids said they wanted to wait.

Ride 11: Nemo - I know you are thinking I skipped rides 9 and 10 and I did, they just were not much to talk about. This ride however if you have seen the movie Nemo was worth the wait. I rode this exact same ride in 1975 but it had a different theme. I think it was yellow submarine or something like that.

Oh ya, while we were waiting in line I had Nicole and Kyle go watch a Jedi show that had started. Well Kyle got picked to be a Jedi in training and he fought in the end Darth Vader and defeated the dark side. He got a certificate and was all smiles. I have video footage of it that I will put up later.

Ride 12: Buzz Lightyear - While everyone was waiting for Nemo I went and used our fast pass and so we got right on this ride. Kyle definitely enjoyed this ride. So much so that it ended up costing me a souvenir gun in the gift shop. I guess you cannot get out of Disneyland without at least one gift purchase.

Ok been a while since anyone was scared and we are really close to Space Mountain. So we lure the kids into going on this ride.

Ride 13: Space Mountain - This was a 40 minute wait and the fast pass next available time slot was not till 10:00pm. So everyone agreed we would just wait in line. The entire time it is becoming obvious that everyone is getting tired. It is now about 5pm. Our feet are sore, our legs are sore, the kids are sure that this is going to be a scary ride but we told them it was probably not a big deal. Now this was the best adult based ride that we had been on. Very very fast and fun. Can you guess the kids were not very excited after this one? But we worked past it and in the end they were super brave for going on it. They smiled and said they would never go on it again. Maybe next time?

Parade - 6:30pm the parade starts so we go early to get a spot. This was the coolest part of the entire day I think. They thought it was really awesome to see all the different characters and all the various theme songs. It also gave us a needed timeout to rest our feet. After the parade we rushed over to a small ride and went on it. Then it was time for Dinner. Everything that had nice food was booked so we headed out of the park in search for some nice Dinner. I convinced everyone to go to the Outback as that is one of my favorites. We go to the Outback and by the time our dinner came Kyle was asleep. Dinner was great except that Mom and Gary's burger was not done so they had to wait. Then we when we got done we had to wait for a shuttle to take us back to Disneyland so we could take another shuttle back to our park. After waiting about 20 minutes and a shuttle passing us up we waived down a taxi and as we got home it was worth just paying him to drive us. We are all exhausted and wondering how and if we are going to get up early tomorrow for the same thing.

The END - Day 1 of Disneyland


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/7/2008 at 4:41 PM
Categories: Family
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Day 3 - Continued - We are HERE!!

Well we finally made it. We got checked into Anaheim RV park and the kids immediately wanted to go swimming. Up to this point we still had not told them we were going to Disneyland (Are we cruel or what?). It was funny as when we drove up to the RV park which is 1 block away from Disneyland we had to take  Disneyland Drive exit on I5 and the kids were saying things like "Man I wish  we could go to Disneyland", "Everyone we know has already been to Disneyland". We responded with things like "Maybe we can go some other time.", "It's to bad we are this close and we don't have enough time, we are on a tight time limit.". So they went swimming and Lauri brought out the video recorder and they started to say they wanted to swim tomorrow really early. I said we have other plans so I don't think you can go swimming. Lauri said what plans? Then I said well kids you see we have had something planned that we have kept a secret from you. We are going to Disneyland. REALLY?? They both replied. In fact at this point I don't think they believed us. When they finally realized we were telling them the truth they started to scream with Joy!! They are SO SO excited. Tomorrow is going to be very exciting as this is also the first time for Lauri to go to Disneyland as well.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/6/2008 at 3:13 PM
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Day 3 - Disneyland here we come!!!

We are in Dunnigan, CA and the Sun is shinning. It is sure nice to get up at 7:30am and have it be sunny and warm. I think it is probably about 60 degrees or so. Our plan for today is to make it to LA (Anaheim since that is where Disneyland is) to Anaheim Harbor RV which is really close to the park. We headed out this morning by 8:30am and we are now off and looking for McDonald's to eat some fine dinning breakfast.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/6/2008 at 1:51 AM
Categories: Family
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Day 2 - Are we there yet?

Well after a good night's sleep we were all up and ready to go for our next day of travel by 7:30am. We had breakfast (Bacon, Eggs, Cereal and of course Eggos). Our plan for today was to make it to Dunnigan, CA so we left the Rest Area at about 9am. Since it was Saturday there was really no traffic to speak of and it was smooth sailing. We stopped once on the way to eat some lunch then it was back on the road again. We arrived at the Campers Inn RV area at about 8pm and got all setup. Lauri and Mom made an incredible dinner of Chicken wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cream cheese with chives, an incredible salad and some corn. Umm Umm good! Now that everyone was full the next logical thing was to go to bed. Everyone went to bed and I stayed up till about midnight on my computer. Any surprise?  Tomorrow we head for LA.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/5/2008 at 11:00 PM
Categories: Family
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Day 1 - We leave for Texas

Has anyone ever left exactly when they planned to? Would not be a vacation without a few delays but we finally got on our way. Because we got a later start than expected we stopped in a Rest Area a bit short of our planned stop of Salem. We stopped about 10pm and  I think by the time the kids fell asleep it was close to midnight!

A good day all in all. We look forward to tomorrow.


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/4/2008 at 11:00 PM
Categories: Family
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Time for a vacation

Well the time has finally come. I have been wanting to take my family on a raod trip and now is the chance. My Mom and her husband Gary drove up from Texas for Easter and we have decided we would drive back in there new motorhome with them.

 We are planning on taking about 7 days and our kids Nicole and Kyle dont know yet one of our planned stops is Disneyland. Think they will be suprised?

 So here I am putting up my first blog so that I can hopefully write updates and post pictures as our trip takes place. Stay tuned!!


Posted by: jscott
Posted on: 4/3/2008 at 6:14 PM
Categories: Family
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