Cancelled Flight

So, we wake up this morning to finding out our flight to LA has been canceled. Scott is in a panic. I’m surprisingly calm. I mean, what else can I do?

Biggest problem is that we can’t get through to our airline to find out about rescheduling. We have been calling, non-stop for 3 hours now. Busy, busy, busy.

This is all new to us. We rarely used to fly before, let alone on the holidays or during bad weather. So we don’t really know what to expect.

Scott looked at available flights (like if we were not already going to be flying or having canceled tickets to exchange) and there is nothing available to leave until Christmas night- and those flights cost over $900 each ticket!!

I’m OK with missing Christmas Eve and Christmas day (secretly, I’m more than OK with it- how awesome to have our first "white Christmas" and not have to deal with the crap and stress from my mom? Plus, it is not my fault! Win-Win! I haven’t even gone into the stress that is Christmas Eve at Grandma’s- missing that is an extra bonus! Win-Win-Win!!). My hope is that we can fly out after Christmas and stay for a week without having to pay any money out of pocket. This way, there will be not as much stress and we’ll even be able to see our friends instead of being obligated with all the family stuff.

But, it is out of my hands right now. I need to go call the airline again. Grrr. Very frustrating to not be able to get through!

 

I’m baaaaaack!

Hello everyone! So sorry I haven’t updated lately. We got home Sunday July 11th. The second half of the trip I didn’t have reliable internet access to update the site. Now that I’m home, I haven’t had the time to upload my journal with my slow dial-up. So, I ordered DSL, but have to wait until the equipment arrives. It should be here any day. I will put the finishing touches on my journal and update it soon.

We had a great time. But, boy is it good to be home. Now almost 2 weeks back, and we are just now starting to get into the groove.

Thanks for checking my site. It’s fun to know people are out there “watching” me!! Makes me feel like I just might have an interesting life. Ha- right!

By the way- Scott got the job he wanted. He is very excited and overwhelmed at the same time.

I’ll update soon, I promise!

 

Days 10, 11, & 12

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Photo Album for Wisconsin (lots coming soon)

Saturday:
We stayed in the motor home on the street in front of Scott’s dad’s house. It was a busier street than I thought. I slept fine, until the propane alarm went off- multiple times. Scott just went and turned the propane off.

We slept in late (9:30) and after breakfast I started on our 8 loads of laundry.

Then from 11-12:30, Scott and I cleaned the motor home while Owen slept and Macy played with Grandpa and Grandma Penny. I can’t explain why I was so obsessed about cleaning it, but it was just driving me crazy. The great thing about it being a small space is that it didn’t take too long to clean the entire space, from top to bottom. I worked up a sweat and felt great about knowing how clean it would be when we started the second leg of our journey.

Scott walked down with his dad and the kids to Lake Michigan. They had a blast in the sand. Bob and Pennys’ house is practically on the Lake. It was beautiful. Too bad it gets so cold in Wisconsin in the winter or I would consider living here. (Just kidding, Mom)

While the kids took a late nap (4-6pm), I surfed the web and then got ready for dinner. I hate that the kids are taking a nap so late, but they are still on West Coast Time. Plus, it comes in handy since we our dinner reservations are at 7pm.

Bob and Penny ended up changing our reservations to 7:30 when they saw us running around like crazy people trying to shower and pack dinner for the kids and get the kids ready. That was perfect.

Dinner was at the American Club Hotel in Kohler Village. Kohler Village is the home of the Kohler company that makes sinks and tubs and stuff. It was a neat place. The hotel was gorgeous. It was the place where the immigrants used to stay when they came over to work at Kohler. But now it is a upper-end hotel.

We ate at the Horse Plow restaurant. We only brought camping clothes (i.e.: jeans, t-shirts, shorts, etc.) But Penny insisted we would be fine. I wore khakis capris and a red collar t-shirt. I felt a little underdressed at the hotel, but we were fine when we got in the restaurant. The food was great, when it got to us. I ordered baby back ribs and they had the best BBQ sauce ever!! It was delightful.

Owen and Macy were pretty good considering how long it took for our food to get here. I fed Owen right after we ordered and then had to give him fishy crackers, fig newtons, and anything else I had in the diaper bag. Macy was starving. She’s been a good eater since we got to Sheboygan.

After we got home, I put Owen down and ended up bringing all my night time stuff in the house because we slept in there. I felt bad that Penny and Bob had to sleep on the futon in the cold, basement, but they insisted. It was nice not having to move Owen and the play pen back to the motor home.

We went to bed sometime after midnight.

(Continue reading for details of the rest of our Wisconsin visit)

 

Day 9

Sioux Falls, SD to Winona, Minnesota- (Actually, all the way to Wisconsin)

Day 9 Photo Album (not a lot of pictures, a driving day)

Scott wanted to drive to his dad’s today, but that would be almost 600 miles! Plus, if he is going to fly home, we’ll be there even longer than originally planned, so he is OK with a stop in Minnesota.

8:45 am Wake up. Wow! I could get used to the kids letting us sleep this late.

Breakfast: eggs and English muffins

Clean up. I’m going to go crazy if we don’t vacuum this place soon!! Last night was the first time the motor home felt small and I think that was because it was cluttered and dirty. I straightened it up this morning and it felt a bit bigger. But it needs to be vacuumed. Especially the kids’ car seats. Because they serve double duty as car seats and eating seats, they are FLITHY! Owen dropped some fig newton in his seat and pick it up to put in his mouth, and even he couldn’t eat it! It was covered in dust, and hair, and crumbs. It was so gross. He tried scraping it off his tongue. This is the kid who eats rocks and doesn’t mind. That’s how bad it is.

10:00am Scott calls OUSD. They do not want him to fly out because then they might feel obligated to give him the job. That makes sense. Plus, the Asst. Supe he spoke with made him feel better about getting a fair shot with a conference call. So that is good. No flying home for Scott.

Disconnect and straighten up some more.

11:15 am Gassed up and on the road. Coffee too.

 

Day 8

Hill City, SD to Sioux City, SD

Day 8 Photo Album

8:30 am We slept in again. This time zone changing thing is good for something. This is vacation.
It is still raining.
Scott disconnects and I get the kids dressed.

9:30 am Pancake Breakfast at the KOA. $2.00 per person for all-you-can-eat pancakes. Yummy. It was outside, under a tent. Macy was cold, but she is always cold. She ate 3 whole pancakes!! Owen ate 1 and a half, almost 2. That boy won’t stop eating. I don’t think he ever gets full.

It’s really cold out. Macy and Owen share a blanket.

10:40 am Verizon Wireless Store in Rapid City, SD. I found it online. It was right on our way out of town. I thought I was going to have to get a new phone, but my plan isn’t up until Oct. and I can’t get a new phone discount until Aug 30! It looks like it is going to cost me over $250 for a new phone and accessories. I ask him if he can just switch my more minute plan to Scott’s line, but they can’t do it there, I’ll have to call *611 to connect to Pacific Verizon. Then the guy says he’ll take a look at my phone to see if he can fix it. I unfortunately lost the battery. I took it out when I gave it to Owen to play with, because I thought the phone was toast and I didn’t want him to get shocked or anything. He couldn’t get it to power up. He said there was lots of “gunk and debris ” in the keypad. “Did you spill something on it?” Oh, no, that would be Owen Slobber. When he was getting really antsy we would let him play with our phones with the keypads locked. Guess that was a bad thing. So, the Verizon guy was great, Robert was his name- he was a phone repair tech that they keep in the store, he offered me a “FRU phone” for $50. Basically, it is my exact same phone model, but one that has been refurbished at the factory (Factory Refurbished Unit). Doing this doesn’t effect my plan. I can still get a new phone in August, if I want. I guess this is what they do when you pay for the service protection plan ($5 per month) and they can’t fix your phone, they give you the FRU phone for free. So I thought that was a deal for $50. The phone is better than the one I had. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a new battery and Scott can’t find the other one. So it is an additional $40 for the battery. I figure this is just like getting a new phone. So I won’t need to get one in Aug. The only REALLY bad part is he couldn’t get my phone book from my old phone. That sucks. There were numbers in there that I only had in my phone, and of course I can’t remember what numbers those were. Oh well. At least I got a phone that works now!

12:15 pm Finally on the road. Guess who is irritated? Scott? Yep. But not just for leaving so late, he thinks I got screwed at Verizon. I don’t think I did. Especially if I wouldn’t have lost the battery (honestly, I think I threw it out, which is so unlike me. I save everything, “Just in case.”) I try to explain to him that I now shouldn’t need a new phone for at least a year. He doesn’t see it my way. He thinks we’ve been customers of Verizon for at least 6 years and they should make it happen to get me a new phone to thank me for my loyalty, especially since there is so much wireless competition out there. We agree to disagree. I’m quite happy with my new phone.

Scott went to the grocery store and picked up some essentials while I was at Verizon.

Music: BNL One

1:35 pm Stop at rest area for lunch

 

Day 7

Buffalo, WY to Hill City, SD (Mount Rushmore)

Day 7 Photo Album

7:40 am Gassed up and on the road. Scott should be much more happy than he is. This is the earliest we have ever left. But he wanted to leave at 7am. (I’d also like to take this opportunity to point out that this was not my fault, he did not get up when the alarm went off at 6:30 am)
We let Macy lie down in the back for awhile.

8:30 am Macy is up and in her car seat eating breakfast (Squeezy Yogurt and an apple)

9:35 am The 16 highway just ends in a residential area that is under construction. Scott doesn’t stop quickly enough for the lady holding the Stop Sign. She hits our motor home and yells at Scott. Told him he was almost in a head-on accident. Scott does his best to be apologetic. He’s angry she hit out motor home, but he knows he should have stopped better.

10:04 am Enter South Dakota.

Music: Rush

Macy is playing with stickers

Owen is asleep

I’m hungry- didn’t eat breakfast.

11:02 am Arrive at the KOA in Mt. Rushmore
This is a nice one. It is beautiful here. There are horses and restaurants all within the KOA campground. The weather is great. This is like real camping. In the mountains, lots of tents and cabins. Thin air (Scott and I are really sucking wind! Macy just doesn’t understand why it is so “tiring to walk.” At least she’s in shape.)

(keep reading to see a picture of Mt. Rushmore and find out about the killer butterfly!)

 

Day 6

Yellowstone to Buffalo, WY
The Day the Driving went on Forever

Day 6 Photo Album

8:00 am Scott & I slept in…. or should I say the kids let us sleep in!! I slept up top with Macy. It was freezing- even with the heater on. I will now be more aware of the temperature for her. It is difficult because she doesn’t complain until it is really bad. We’re trying to teach her to sleep under the covers- she just hates them. I bet the temperatures will change her mind.

Breakfast of bagels & coffee
Get ready
Dump
Return rental car

10:30 am Hit the road.
Owen fell asleep pretty fast
Macy is busy coloring and using her stickers.
I play on the laptop to adjust our route before we get to Scott’s dad’s . The AAA directions are not valid for today because they were figured with us staying at the Old Faithful Inn which makes leaving Yellowstone National Park from the wrong direction. So I’m trying to use the Microsoft Trips and Streets. It is better than AAA triptix online version because it lists WAYYYYY more KOAs and campgrounds in general. But it is a little less user-friendly. For instance, It breaks up the trip for you and if I put a “stop” at Mount Rushmore, and there is more time to drive that day, it will put a end of day out further on our route. The opposite is also true, if we want to drive more than what we set our driving time at, it will put an end of day before our “stop.” I have read the book and used the help, and I don’t think it is my error, that is just the way it works. I also don’t like how it keeps a running mileage total only. I want to know the miles to each “stop” and the total miles.

10:55 am Driving through Yellowstone.

Macy, “Wow, we’re in a picture!”

That’s how beautiful it is.

 

Day 5

Montana KOA & Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Day 5 Photo Album

7:15 am I let Scott turn on the heater. I figure now, everyone else around us is awake. If we blow up at least there will be someone to call the fire department.

I nurse Owen and put him back to sleep. This time change has messed us all up.

8:55 am Scott rolls out of bed to go get the rental car. I thought it would be easier to rent a car than take the motor home into the National Park. I was thinking of how horrible it was at the Grand Canyon in April. There was no place to park, it was crowded, it was far away from where we camped. Turns out, we probably didn’t need it, but it was nice not to have to move the motor home.

10:00 am Scott returns with a red Ford Focus, 4 door. And surprise, surprise, Scott is irritated that the kids and I are still asleep and not ready to go. I feel horrible, but how often do the kids let us sleep this late? Especially after the cold night of Owen screaming last night.

 

Day 4

Day 4 Salt Lake City, Utah to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Day 4 Photo Album

6:00 am Owen wakes up. It is really cold, so we shut the doors and windows and he goes back to sleep- YES!

7:15 am Owen gets up for good. Macy is still sound asleep. Scott takes Owen for a walk to let me sleep in. Happy Father’s Day, Honey. He’s a good dad. I’m useless when I’m that exhausted.

9:00 am I finally get up. Scott has Macy and Owen fed. Macy is dressed. Scott’s a little mad at me because he wanted to leave by now. At least we’re getting a little better each morning!

10:02 am On the road, Propane filled, Gas tank filled= $70 later

 

Day 3

Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, Utah

Day 3 Photo Album

This is supposed to be our long day of driving- over 400 miles, Scott wanted to leave at 8am. I think that is going to be a common theme on our trip- Scott wants to leave early, we don’t get on the road till much later than he wants to leave. That really is the story of our life together. He really hates how long it takes me to get going- which of course is even worse now with kids.

3:00 am Owen wakes up screaming. I nurse him to sleep. WTF?!?! He hasn’t done this for months. I was close to weaning him, I think this trip is a giant step backwards when it comes to weaning- I guess it’s the 24 hour togetherness thing. Oh well, it’s not like he’ll be nursing till college.

7:00 am WooWhoo! Slept in. We thought the kids would be up before now, Scott honestly expected Owen to get us up at 6am, he figured we’d be at Wal-Mart at 7am and breakfast with Wendy at 8am.
Scott showers and I get the kids ready.
Scott dumps and disconnects.

N: “Did you dump the black tank?”
S: “No, this dump would be too difficult. The hose has to go up. I don’t want poop stuck in the hose, I’ll do it at the next place. Don’t worry the black tank is only ½ full, we’ll be fine.”