Kidani, HRH & BLT in 6 nights- Yes! We are THAT crazy!Nov 04-10,2009 OBX 4/16/10

[podsnel]

Soooo....we were back at BLT for the last time...

...got all the stuff out of the comp'd studio and headed over to the CR to wait with the other depressed travelers for the DME. Pods sat on a bench and ate our leftovers from Tutto's while I ran in and grabbed an iced tea from Contemporary Grounds, I was PARCHED!!

Note to self...next time, get a bottle of water. That was some nasty tea (had a slight coffee edge to it and barely was steeped with tea, I think) I drank on the DME to the airport-

Sadly, this is our Grand Finale of the trip-

As usual, we got to the airport with hours to spare (that to me is the BIG advantage of renting a car at WDW- the last day lasts a little longer...) After passing through security, we headed to the last ride of the trip, where my new little thrill seeker, Tim, got his thrill on one last time-

Sean was doing great, he had some more fries, and was just wonderful on the flight home. God bless the Contemporary Mgr AGAIN!! But, of course, i did keep him home the next day from school- although his fever was gone and he was able to go back the following day.

Anyway, it was a wonderful, wonderful, magical trip, our first DVC trip as a family with memories to treasure forever. Can't wait to go back again with all of us in November 2011...where we're going to try to book BLT for the entire stay (I think!). Now where did I put Sean's book??????

Thanks for reading, and thanks so much for all of your comments and PMs- I am so honored to have shared our experiences with you, and so happy we have touched your lives, because you and your heartfelt and funny comments have touched ours.

For those who are interested, I'll be posting tons of OBX pics soon with a mini TR- but not too much...because I'm headed for WDW in just 22 days with my DISmom girls, and that is a TR that can't WAIT to be written!!

Ellen

 

[dallastxcpa]

Wonderful, beautiful, fabulous trip report. Thank you for sharing.


I am so looking forward to your DISmoms trip report because I am going to live vicariously through you.

 

[podsnel]

Wonderful, beautiful, fabulous trip report. Thank you for sharing.


I am so looking forward to your DISmoms trip report because I am going to live vicariously through you.

Thanks so much, and you are so welcome!!

By the way...only 6 more days to go!! Then all you CPAs come home!! So, so glad the 15th is NOT on a Sunday this year....that is the WORST! More tax season isn't good for anybody!!

ANd I hope you will read the DISmom TR....I'm looking forward to all the things i'm going to write about...the spa, the food, the drinks...but mostly the laughing. I'm a HUGE fan of the laughing part!!

 

[toniosmom]

Ellen,
As the mother of a special needs son, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report. Isn't Disney a wonderful place for our children? I'm glad that Sean recovered well and that you get to go back so quickly!

Have a wonderful, safe trip and I look forward to your next TR!

 

[Tinks "SS"]

Loved it of course. I am really looking forward to the DISmom's TR. the last one was a hoot! So glad that the CR/BLT team came to the rescue! So good to know that the magic is still there! Yep, now that i'm pretty muched all healed from surgery......bring on more TR!!!!

 

[podsnel]

Ellen,
As the mother of a special needs son, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report. Isn't Disney a wonderful place for our children? I'm glad that Sean recovered well and that you get to go back so quickly!

Have a wonderful, safe trip and I look forward to your next TR!

Disney is an AMAZING place for our children, ITA!! It truly is one of the few vacations where we can all go and ALL have fun. That is not always easy to do- Disney consistently makes it happen for us.

And thank-you, please say hi on the next TR, too, I love knowing who is "there".

Loved it of course. I am really looking forward to the DISmom's TR. the last one was a hoot! So glad that the CR/BLT team came to the rescue! So good to know that the magic is still there! Yep, now that i'm pretty muched all healed from surgery......bring on more TR!!!!

Surgery?? Am i forgetting you had surgery? I'm so sorry- I am a terrible DISfriend! I am thrilled you are recovering so well, though! I'll put up some OBX today after I ride my bike (I have a stationary recumbent bike at home, which I am thankful for on icky days like today...). And the DISmom trippie....well, I'm so happy you had fun reading the last one, DISmoms are a funny bunch of women!

 

[kid-at-heart]

All done. Oh but wait, soon there will be another trip with the DISmoms. Yea!!! It was your first DISmoms' TR which hooked me into your TRs. Many thanks for sharing.

 

[BigEeyore]

What the mgr at BLT did for your family is amazing! You should write Disney a letter to compliment what he did for you. I think too often Disney just gets complaint letters - a little praise for a CM who went the extra mile would probably be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for a wonderful TR! I am sure you will have a blast on your upcoming trip - hope to see another TR in a month or so!

 

[dvc4life]

Ellen - thank you for another great TR! Can't wait for the DISmom's trip this year. You guys have such fun together.

Again, many thanks for sharing your time with us.

 

[DB&KS]

Great trip report! Can't wait for the next, it really helps pass the time when we are not at our favorite place in the world. We are going to be there the same time as the Dismoms next trip and I hope we have a brush with fame and actually see you girls! If we don't I hope you all have a wonderful time and have better weather than last trip.

 

[5forDiz]

Hi Ellen sorry to hear Sean wasn't feeling well but so glad that your family was able to get studio so he could continue to rest. That is wonderful how Disney came through. Enjoyed reading your review of Tutto Italiano; it's on our list for this summer. Hope to hear more about your OBX trip too.


~laura

 

[podsnel]

All done. Oh but wait, soon there will be another trip with the DISmoms. Yea!!! It was your first DISmoms' TR which hooked me into your TRs. Many thanks for sharing.

The DISmoms trip is 2 weeks from today!! We had so much fun last year, and this year I bet will be even better!! Can't wait to visit that Ditch!!

What the mgr at BLT did for your family is amazing! You should write Disney a letter to compliment what he did for you. I think too often Disney just gets complaint letters - a little praise for a CM who went the extra mile would probably be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for a wonderful TR! I am sure you will have a blast on your upcoming trip - hope to see another TR in a month or so!

You are 150% right, I should write a letter and I will do that this weekend. I meant to write something when we first came back, and forgot all about it, because Tyler's homework was STAGGERING when he went back to school...7th grade is a tough year. Soooo glad it's nearly over!! Thanks for reminding me, for reading this TR, and I hope to see you at the new TR!!

Ellen - thank you for another great TR! Can't wait for the DISmom's trip this year. You guys have such fun together.

Again, many thanks for sharing your time with us.

You are so welcome! I can't wait for the DISmoms trip either!! Maybe even more than YOU! Loni called me yesterday and told me she finally got a teaching job...right in time for our trip....so her stay will be cut a little short. Oh well....

Great trip report! Can't wait for the next, it really helps pass the time when we are not at our favorite place in the world. We are going to be there the same time as the Dismoms next trip and I hope we have a brush with fame and actually see you girls! If we don't I hope you all have a wonderful time and have better weather than last trip.

Thanks, I am right there with ya- I love reading all the TRs, definitely helps to pass the time between trips! I can tell you the DISmoms schedule, have I done that already on here? I forget- anyway, here are our plans for April 30th to May 4th-



Friday- We arrive at various times throughout the day, Joan & I being first at getting to BCV around 12:30. Joan, Kara & I will be heading to the Mandara Spa at the Swalphin around 3 for massages to ease us into our vacation. That night we'll all be in EPCOT for EMH, we have an ADR at Tokyo dining at 7:50, but we are planning on eating light and saving room for the Ditch.

Saturday- not sure what park we're going to, but I think part of the day will be spent going down the slide at Stormalong Bay since the next day they are closing it for refurb. At night we'll be in DTD, planning on drinks & appys at Fulton's followed by an 8:15 ADR at RR for more shared food, followed by more fun around DTD.

Sunday- BOMA for breakfast with Kara, Loni, Joan & me, probably AK after that. At night we have 7:50 ADR at Narcoosees, and we plan to have a monorail pub crawl that night along with MK EMH. Hopefully we'll see MEK & Manntra, too.

Monday-Our only plans are at night, 7:15 ADR at Sanaa, and then back to BCV for drinks around the lake.

Tuesday- people leave at different times, Joan & I will probably be on a 3:00 DME.

I also know we're going to go to Kona for breakfast one of the mornings, and I HAVE to eat at EOS at least once.




Do you know what your plans are?

Hi Ellen sorry to hear Sean wasn't feeling well but so glad that your family was able to get studio so he could continue to rest. That is wonderful how Disney came through. Enjoyed reading your review of Tutto Italiano; it's on our list for this summer. Hope to hear more about your OBX trip too.


~laura

I agree, Disney was REALLY wonderful that day where Sean was concerned. I will always be grateful. Also glad we tried Tutto's, looking forward to going back someday with Pods.

OBX posts coming up-

 

[podsnel]

I'm going to post some of my vacation in OBX this spring, since it seems like some of you want to see what it was like. This was our second year going to NC and Corolla Light with a large group of friends from town to ring in the spring! Rentals are cheap, the weeks surrounding Easter see most businesses open, and it is just a little bit warmer there than in NJ...not really expecting beach days like it's August, but hoping for sunny skies and a total lack of snow with weather nice enough to be outside to play in all kinds of ways. I LOVE this tradition of welcoming spring in this way, it feels so good after the winter! Anyway, it is about 8 hours from here to there, but it takes a little longer on the way down because we take the ferry from Cape May to Deleware- although, since I am driving alone with Tyler & Timmy, i actually prefer this route because it breaks it up, only 5 hours to go once we're off the boat and it avoids this HORRIBLE ride through rural Virginia etc where the road has traffic lights and 45 mph speeds- YUCK! We rented the house, Sutton Place, from VRBO and we all LOVED the location- on the sound, perfect for sunsets and cocktails, two headlining activities on this vacation!

Joan & Peter-

Joan & me-

I took plenty of sunset photos this year, so here's our first-

Sunday was our first full day, the kids ran around riding bikes, playing tennis and fishing in the pond (which is stocked) behind the house. Joan & I got ready to host dinner that night for everyone- 33 of us in 3 houses, and each house hosted a dinner for all- it was AWESOME!!! This was my favorite part of the trip, because it was so great to be able to hang with everyone while having a huge feast. At our house we were serving tuna tartare two ways (because someone had bought some tuna and asked me to prepare it- I did a spicy tuna and another one with avocado, jalepeno, soy and wasabi), Buffalo grilled shrimp, a pepperoni pizza dip. a cheese plate, then for entrees grilled marinated chicken breasts, Dominican marinated skirt steak, pasta with Bolognese sauce and two salads, a plain green salad for the kids and THE salad (well, that's what i call it- it's my favorite salad EVAAAARRRRR!!) which is bitter greens with avocado & grapefruit sections in a champagne citrus vinagrette. We had homemade brownies & choc chip cookies (Joan baked the cookies that morning) for dessert. Can you say MOO???? Anyway, here are some pics from our dinner-

Before dinner we held hands in a HUGE circle and said grace- it was so nice, and we did it at all of our group dinners-

It really helped that alot of the food had been prepared at home and either frozen or refrigerated before being packed in coolers to come down. Also nice to go on the second night and be DONE! After everyone left, we (Joan, Peter and I -who Peter started calling wife #2) listened to Peter's ipod music which is ALL 80's and got pretty ridiculous dancing and singing to all the tunes. Peter & I had a BLAST doing (as in dancing & singing to) White Lines. I think there was a little alcohol involved in our evening.....

So, so, so, SO funny!!

 

[podsnel]

Monday was our one and only rainy day- the huge storm that was affecting the entire East Coast had hit us on Sunday night and stayed until Tuesday morning. So we spent a relaxing day watching Forrest Gump (one of my all-time FAVES! I could watch that movie 100 times and still love it!) and watching the Ospreys out our window. Also fit in a little shopping, got the tshirt purchases out of the way- great sales this time of year at Gray's! We would have gone TO the movies, but the local theatre was still closed for the season, and the nearest one that was open was about 45 minutes away.

The whole week we were on the lookout for bald eagles- we had heard they could be seen around here- but never saw them. It turned out that they are there seasonally, usually Feb/March. That night we were headed over to Krista/Bethie/Giselle/ Ange's house- it was Libby's birthday and we were all going over to wish her a happy one! Ange is a caterer, and made the most delicious meal- beginning with these incredible greek phyllo appetizers and serving Coq au Vin for dinner with mashed potatoes and noodles and salad. Followed by 2 kinds of ice cream cake! AWESOME!

Their house was the largest of all of our houses, and they had the most people- it was in Whalehead, another development in Corolla. When we went home that night, we watched Avatar and joan & I did a puzzle, while my boys played foosball & video games downstairs-

Tuesday morning a bunch of the women went for a looooong walk on the beach- it was still gray and cloudy, but the rain had stopped!

We went to the horse fence and back. If you are not aware, i can tell you that there are wild horses in the Outer Banks- and up until sometime in recent history, (like mid to late '90s) they ran free on the island, mainly in the northen part where we were. But the horse fence was erected and all the horses were rounded up and put behind it because as the northern part of the island became more developed, the horses were getting injured (think about what happens to deer on the road ). Last year we saw the horses...this year we saw their fence. The walk from our house was about 5 to 6 miles, roundtrip. In the first pic you can see how high the tide still was from the storm. We had to walk single file at that point to avoid getting wet!

Touching the fence for goodluck!

Beyond the fence- Carova, where the horses and trucks run free-

I have to throw in a couple of pics from last year, just to show the horses, because they were SO STINKIN' CUTE!! These animals are descendents of Spanish horses which were released as a Spanish Galleon sank in the Atlantic offshore- they swam in, horses can swim for miles! The wild horses of OBX are the only true wild horses in the USA- they are completely on their own...if they become ill, they are removed from the population and never returned to it, living instead in a horse preserve also on the island. They are smaller than domestic horses, and they had their furry winter coats on-

Too bad I didn't have my DSLR last year, just a little point&shoot.

Time to go back-

The prettiest sight of all on the walk back- BLUE SKIES!!

I know I've posted these before, but this is where they fit, so here they are again-

As soon as we got home, Joan & I DOVE into our leftovers from Sunday night- we were STARVING!!! Nice to discover that THE salad, the leftover skirt steak, and chicken all tasted positively SCRUMPTIOUS together! Our view while we ate on the deck wasn't half bad either!

To be continued.....

 

[podsnel]

I talked Joan & morgan into a game of tennis. Keep in mind- I haven't played since I was a kid (unless you count the 80's with Pods one time that ended in near fisticuffs! ), Morgan took some lessons who remembers when, and Joan has never played in her life! We had soooo much fun!! And doesn't Joan look professional?

Morgan is goofing around with her Mom-

While we were playing, Timmy & tyler rode by on their bikes, coming back from shooting hoops up at all the basketball courts near the ocean. They were having a ball, loving all the freedom they have when we are down there. By the time we rode our bikes home, they were playing xbox with some of the other boys at our house-

We three girls continued our marathon day of exercise at the small gym- which didn't keep us busy for too long. Really need more weights in there- anyway, after that, it was time for showers, a glorious sunset, and then dinner at North Banks. Back with that later!

 

[podsnel]

Every night we enjoyed the sunsets from the deck- really, REALLY enjoyed them.

A couple of the boys looking for the right place to fish-

Aaaahhhh...

Even pretty from inside the house-

Our two families headed out for dinner at North Banks, a very popular restaurant just 5 minutes away in Timbuck II. Our waiter was hilarious- it was like having dinner at Turtle Talk with Crush, dudes! Righteous!! Timmy & Tyler got FULL racks of ribs- EACH- and even with sharing with Joan's son, Tighe, we had leftovers to put out for lunch on Thursday! (Originally Timmy had started to order a half rack for an appetizer and a full rack for an entree, but we put the big CRUSH on that order, little dude!) All of our meals were yummy, I would go back to North Banks again.

Crush, our waiter, told us he was "totally stoked" by our menu choices.

Tyler shows off his love of ribs-

Back to our house, we made it an early night, and I took some pics with my boys before heading to bed-

Back with more later...

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Lovin your OBX report! Can't wait to see your Dis Moms TR!

 

[podsnel]

Lovin your OBX report! Can't wait to see your Dis Moms TR!

Thanks- I never finished OBX, I have just a couple of sunset pix to post- and as for the DISmoms trip- I've been uploading all morning, hope to get started soon! The house is a mess tho, so first things first-

 

[podsnel]

DISMOM TR has begun!! Here's a link-

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36619012#post36619012

Hope you'll join us!! It was a hilarious vacation, we can't wait to tell all about it...well...kind of....