THE TRIP

I really have many more important things to do (unpacking, laundry, cleaning, working, etc.), but I thought that if I didn't blog right away, I might forget something "important" about the trip.

We left Thursday, I think around 10:30 or so. We arrived at the Enterprise Car Rental in Portland at 12:07 PM. (I remember this because I was born at 12:07 AM--what is it about me and the number 7? I was born on the 7th, at 12:07.) Anyway, we rented a Chevy Malibu. It was much smaller than my van, obviously, but a pretty nice little car. We had lunch at Wendy's at South Portland, and then went to Target to pick up some batteries and last-minute snacks before getting on the road again. We stopped for gas in Massachusetts on the Mass Pike, and the kids and I ate a slice of pizza from Sbarro. Dwane got a pretzel with icing from Auntie Anne's, which turned out to be a big no-no an hour or so later. (We had to make a 1/2 hour rest stop.) Let's see. What happened next? There was a car accident in CT--a SUV was on its roof, and rescue crews were just getting there when we went by. That meant a big traffic jam. On the south-side of DC, on I-95, there was tons of road construction. I thing there was three separate occasions when three lanes of traffic had to merge to one, and we were in bumber-to-bumper stop-and-go traffic for 1/2 hour each time. We finally made it to Williamsburg at 3:00 AM, and it was 3:30 before we got into bed. The key to our room did not work on the door. Dwane went downstairs, they re-keyed it, but it still didn't work. Dwane trudged back downstairs while the three of us sat down in the hallway. The front desk guy came back up this time, and he put us in the room across the hall.

The next morning was our tour of the timeshare place--Kings Creek Plantation. We were taken to breakfast (at the Days Inn where we stayed), and I had biscuits and sausage gravy, which was very good. The timeshare was very nice, but we weren't even tempted. Too much money. The presentation took longer than expected (we were told 90 minutes to 2 hours, but we were tied up for 2 1/2 hours). The boys did pretty well, but were really going nuts at the end of it.

After the timeshare thingie, we went to Hardee's for lunch. (No Hardee's up here!) I had a fried chicken breast, mashed potato and gravy, and a biscuit. It was pretty good.

That brings us to Friday afternoon. We finally hit Busch Gardens. The crowds were light, so we really enjoyed it. We went on the Turkish Delight (like a tilt-a-whirl) and the Flying Machine (like the Octopous). Dwane took Eben on the Tradewinds (I think---the big rocking ship), and then he took the boys on DaVinci's Cradle. I went on both of those rides the first time I went to Busch Gardens, and I haven't been on them since. They rearranged my stomach. Dwane's sister, Dawn, and her husband, Dennis, (along with Dennis's daughter Erica & her friend Chelsey) met up with us around supper time. They brought Pizza Hut, so we ate supper in the parking lot instead of having to drop tons of cash in the park for food. I hadn't seen Dawn since Thanksgiving, and a lot of things have happened since then. I was somewhat nervous about seeing her again, but we gave each other a hug and both started to cry. I just can't even tell you how good that hug felt. I love Dawn to pieces, and it was just so good to see her again. We all then went back into the park. Dwane went with them on the Griffon, which is a new huge coaster. (See www.griffoncoaster.com for more details--watch the little movie called "press conference" or something like that.) Halloscream started at 6:00. They turn the park into a kind of "haunted area". Freaks me out a little bit, but Billy Rhythm would have loved it. Creepy music. Creepy lighting. People jumping out at you. Fun, huh? Caleb and I stayed in the "safe areas" while Dwane and Eben joined the others in the haunted area. We left the park around 8:00, I think. We decided we were still somewhat hungry, so we took the kids to McDonald's, and Dwane and I went to Long John Silver's. We ordered an order of Lobster-Stuffed Crabcakes, and an order of Chicken Planks, and then split them. We actually liked both, which is odd for Long John Silver's. I always like to go there, because it's different, but I've never been impressed with the food. When we got back to the hotel, we discovered that housekeeping had not even been to our room. No clean sheets. (The beds weren't even made.) No clean towels. No empty wastebaskets. Nothing. I'm guessing that the front desk clerk forgot to tell housekeeping that we had changed rooms.

On Saturday, we had breakfast back at Hardee's. I had a chicken biscuit. It was pretty good. We were then back at Busch Gardens until 5:00 PM. Dwane went on some more coasters, and Eben actually went on the Griffon with him. It was Eben's very first coaster. (Now you really need to watch that web movie!) We actually paid $16 for the coaster picture of Eben on the ride. It's priceless! Eben also went on the Apollo's Chariot Coaster (which was Dwane's favorite), and I joined them on the Big Bad Wolf. It figures that the one coaster I went on had an elecrical failure while I was on it. Fortunately, we were stopped just before the "drop off" point, so it wasn't too bad. The worst of it was sitting 15 minutes in the 90 degree sun. (Not good when your blonde & fair skilled.) We ate lunch at the Festhaus, where I actually convinced Dwane to do the polka with me around the stage. I can't believe he actually agreed to do that. He earned "brownie points" for that. I had wanted to go on the Loch Ness Monster coaster before we left, but the lines were too long. Before leaving, I bought myself a Busch Gardens coffee mug.

We then had to drive 3 hours back to Lynchburg. And wouldn't you know it? There was another car accident, and we were tied up in traffic again. We stopped at a rest stop that had a pretty nice picnic area. Dennis had brought on the fixings for subs for our supper. On the way to Lynchburg, we ran over a racoon. Other than a squirrel, that was the other time I had been in a vehicle that actually ran over an animal. I hit a deer once, but I didn't run over it. When we got into Lynchburg, we stopped at Sonic so that I could get my cherry limeade. I also ordered some onion rings, but it was a huge order. They were really good, but I ended up throwing half of them away. Sonic is my all-time favorite fast-food place.

On Sunday, we went to church with Dennis & Dawn at their church, Blue Ridge Community Church. It is a HUGE church. They have two services each Sunday morning, and Sunday School is held at the same time as the Worship Service. Both boys went to their respective Sunday School classes, and both did very well. The service was VERY contemporary. Just a tad too contemporary for me. I felt like the oldest person in the congregation. Lots of young families. No piano and organ. Instead--a band of young people dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, etc. I didn't know one song. The words are projected on big screens so you can follow along, but since I didn't have the actually music in front of me, and didn't already know the melody, it was hard to sing. The preach was also in jeans and a sweatshirt-type of thing, and he sat on a stool to preach. The church is thriving. It is obvious that they are doing something right---they are reaching many, many young families. It's just not I would enjoy week-in and week-out. I think I really prefer a smaller church. They have been going to this church for 18 months now, and when we "signed up" the kids for Sunday School, they lady didn't even know Dawn's name. (By the way, when you "drop off" your child, they put a sticker on your child, and give you a matching sticker. You cannot pick up the child until you "hand in" your own sticker. You are also given a beeper, and if you are needed, they'll just "beep" you during the service.

We had a cookout after church. Dwane's Mom, Grandmother, and Aunt joined us for striper and hamburgers. Dwane did most of the cooking. Yummy. After that, we pretty much rested and watched the Talladega race, which was heart breaking. Our driver, Bobby Labonte, caused the "big one" hear the end of the race. He was running in the top-five at the time of the accident.

For supper, we went to Cracker Barrel so that I could get the mac & cheese. It was wonderful, as always. We went to bed around 10:00 PM.

Monday morning, we were on the road at 3:50 AM. We went home the I-81, I-84 route, with little to no traffic problems. (Just getting on the Mass Pike was a little slow.) Plus, that route only costs about $5 in tolls. We stopped at the Danbury Fair Mall in CT for lunch. This is the same mall that Mom and I stopped at when we went on the bus trip to TN last year. It was so expensive!!! The kids each had a slice of pizza and a soda. Dwane and I each had a soda and a plate from the Panda Express. Caleb and I had cookies from Mrs. Field's for dessert, and Dwane and Eben had ice cream. $38 for lunch! We could've eaten at Applebee's instead! Ugh! Oh, well. At least we had a chance to stretch our legs. I bought the boys each a Webkins, which is a stuffed animal that comes with special website privileges. They are all the rage in Lynchburg according to my nephew Colby. We stopped on the Mass Pike for a bathroom break, and Dwane and I had another pretzel. This time, it wasn't costly for Dwane. :) We got into Portland at 6:00 PM, stopped at McDonald's in Topsham for supper, and got home at 8:15 PM.

Quick vacation. Very busy. Very fun. Now I am faced with "vacation aftermath". Yuck.