Darn...I thought I published this last week...anyway, here it is.
It would be an understatement to say I was excited to go to Disneyland. It's not that I love rides or Disney, but I was excited to be able to give the girls this magical experience. Right from the start, Disney was magical. We arrived Saturday late afternoon and after we ate, we wanted to go to Disney to scope out the ticket booths, entrance and Downtown Disney. We stopped at one of the ticket booths to ask some questions. Now, at this point, I am totally excited (and probably acting a little cheesy) I told "Jonathan" the ticket guy that it was my first time and my girls' first time and we are super excited to be here. I told him we moved to CA from Wisconsin and we had some questions about Disney, tickets & lines. I told him we (Mitch, Lily & I) did the "Give a Day, Get a Day" so we were definitely going to do one day at Disney, but we were unsure about the second day. He told us to go get our Give a Day, Get a Day vouchers and return to him.
Wow! We were thrilled because he was going to exchange our vouchers for tickets and we didn't have to wait in line the next morning. So, we took the shuttle back to the RV and got the vouchers, birth certificates and driver's licenses. When we went back to Jonathan, he took our vouchers and IDs. As he was checking the vouchers and IDs, I asked him if we qualified for the Southern California 2fer discount (buy one day, get one free) and he said he'd give us one better. He handed me 3 2-day Hopper tickets and charged my credit card $75.00 (technically he should have charged me $227.00 for these 3 tickets). I started to cry. I was in such disbelief that Mitch, Lily & I were going to Disney/California Adventure for 2 days for only $75.00. I was so happy and thankful. Jonathan said that I wasn't allowed to cry at Disney. I just couldn't help it! I felt so grateful! Then I remembered that I still needed tickets for Camy & Abby. He said "Don't worry about the little one. Let me get a ticket for the other one." I gave him my credit card again to buy Camy's ticket (I'm crying even harder now because he's letting Abby in for free - saving us $131.00!) After he finished with Camy's ticket, he handed me her ticket & my credit card and said "She's on me. Have a great time!" Now the tears are really flowing. The girls are looking at me trying to figure out why I'm crying. Mitch is shaking his head because he can't believe I'm crying so hard. And the girls are saying "Thank you Jonathan -- we're going to Disney!" (Goodness...I'm crying now just remembering it! I'm such a Hogan/Jeneski!) I walked away with a huge smile, not really believing what just happened - All 5 of us were going to Disney for 2 days for a total of $75.00! The total cost should have been $489.00 for 5 2-day Hopper Tickets!
As we walked around Downtown Disney, I thought, "Wow, good things really do happen to good people!" See Mom, despite your regular declarations that "life isn't fair", sometimes life is fair! (I'll have to remember this when I say "sorry, life isn't fair" to my girls.)
I'll write more about Disney tomorrow..Until later, my hope for you (especially you, Kirsten-if you're reading this) is that good things will happen to you too!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
RVing
As I mentioned in my last post, we rented an RV for Spring Break. Wow! What a trip it was! Living in an RV, going to Disneyland, camping in the high desert and driving 8 hours straight home. I have a feeling this is going to be a long post. Let's start with renting the RV....
One day I was messing around on the internet and I saw an ad for Cruise America. Out of curiosity, I went to the website and got a quote for renting a 30 foot RV for a week. Surprise, surprise....it was only $99.00 a night! That's cheaper than a hotel room. But wait...what are the "other" costs? Hmmm...you pay for each mile you drive. Oh, but they have a special right now...1/2 price mileage! 800 miles will cost only $124.00! OK - what about gas...yeah, 50 gallon tank which we foot the bill...well, whatever, it'll be ok.
I told Mitch what I found and he was really, really excited. We love camping and he has always wanted to buy a camper. We made the reservation and then figured out where to go. I pushed for Disney since we have lived in CA for 2 years and still have not gone. He wanted to go camping, so we split the time -- 2 days at Disneyland (really 3 days in Anaheim) and 3 nights of camping. How was the RV experience, you ask??? Well.....we're still married and all 3 girls are still alive which is a miracle considering how badly I was PMSing at the beginning of the trip. (PMSing sucks..but that's a subject for a different post.)
Living in an RV takes a lot of patience. Someone is almost always in your way. I can't tell you how many times I tripped over one of the girls because they are small enough to fit through a little space and they happened to decide to go to the front of the RV at the exact time I started to wash the dishes. Also, it was kind of hard to work together as a team to make meals because the space is rather small. This may not be a problem with some families, but Mitch and I almost always work together to make meals. So, having the limited space meant that I opened a cabinet at the same exact time Mitch was putting something in the sink, which, in turn, meant that I slammed his head with the cabinet door on numerous occasions. Sorry My Love!
The small space also means that it gets messy really easily. Even though there are many nooks & cranies to store stuff, stuff tends to get out of it's place pretty easily. It didn't matter how many times I "picked up", there were always things out and about, especially the girls' toys, books and crayons. It seemed to get pretty dirty quickly too, but that could be because we were camping and at Disney so our shoes carried in a lot of debris. Next time we do this (and yes, I do think we'll do it again), I am going to make a "no shoes" policy for the inside of the camper. As well, we didn't bring a broom or dust buster or anything like that, so I was using paper towels to try to get rid of all the sand and food crumbs off the floor. I won't make that mistake again, that's for sure!!! Really, these are the only drawbacks that I found with living in an RV for a week. (Oh yeah, I am comparing RV living to tent camping, NOT RV living to living in a home.)
Oh, I just thought of another con....since we didn't "tow" a car, sight seeing was kind of difficult since we had to disconnect the RV to go anywhere. It is also kind of hard to find parking places for a 30 foot vehicle. So, if you want to go RVing, it is best to stick to one location and just camp. Or, tow a car so you can go do day trips without having to unhook the RV and get it ready to go on the road (which means putting everything away so it doesn't fall as you are driving.)
To us, the major PRO of RV living is that you have a bathroom. Having an easily accessible bathroom with four girls is a big bonus, especially on those five hour drives. As well, when we were camping, it was great to be able to go when you had to go without having to walk to the outhouse/bathroom. The bad part (really, really, really bad part) of having a bathroom in your camper is that someone has to empty the tank. Totally GROSS! But, I wouldn't know anything about that since Mitch did all the emptying (thank you My Love!) I would rather clean up puke 10 million times than dump the "black water" tank in an RV. Yuk-gives me "shivs" just thinking about it.
Another pro is that you have electricty. This is great for making a hot cup of coffee in the morning. Usually when we are camping, I have to wait for Mitch to make a fire before I can have my cup of coffee. With the RV, Mitch would wake up and just make my coffee in the coffee maker. Yum!! Cooking is also easier because you have a microwave and stove top, so you don't have to depend on a camp fire to cook things. Having electricity for the DVD player also helped on our 8 hour drive home. And for all you women who have to look pretty all the time...having electricity means you can blow dry and curl (or straighten) your hair. However, I personally believe that camping "excuses" you from doing your hair or makeup. Remember, you are getting back to nature. Just throw on a baseball hat and it's all good!
The last major pro is.....sleeping arrangements. Sleeping is MUCH more comfortable in an RV than tent sleeping. You are actually sleeping on mattresses or cusions. You're not stuck in a sleeping bag, praying that the inflatable air mattress doesn't have a leak. And if it happens to rain (or snow as it did our first night of camping), it doesn't really matter. Nothing gets wet. The temperature isn't as much of a factor with regard to sleeping either. There is a heater and air conditioner that regulates the interior temperature really well. You know how everything seems damp in the morning when you are tent camping -- it's not an issue with RVing.
But, by far the best thing about RVing is spending time with your family. There really isn't TV or movies or video games. There is coloring, reading, playing games, hiking, fishing, swimming and making each other giggle.
So, overall, I really enjoyed renting the RV. The weather did not cooperate some of the time we were camping (it snowed one night, rained another night and was really, really windy) and it didn't really matter because we were able to hang out comfortably in the camper. I couldn't imagine enduring the weather we had in a tent! I will definitely go RVing again (as long as Mitch continues to empty the "black water" tank).
Well, since the RV part of this post turned out to be so long, I'll post about Disney and camping in the high desert in another post.
Until later....I hope you have had some good, quality family time over Spring Break.
One day I was messing around on the internet and I saw an ad for Cruise America. Out of curiosity, I went to the website and got a quote for renting a 30 foot RV for a week. Surprise, surprise....it was only $99.00 a night! That's cheaper than a hotel room. But wait...what are the "other" costs? Hmmm...you pay for each mile you drive. Oh, but they have a special right now...1/2 price mileage! 800 miles will cost only $124.00! OK - what about gas...yeah, 50 gallon tank which we foot the bill...well, whatever, it'll be ok.
I told Mitch what I found and he was really, really excited. We love camping and he has always wanted to buy a camper. We made the reservation and then figured out where to go. I pushed for Disney since we have lived in CA for 2 years and still have not gone. He wanted to go camping, so we split the time -- 2 days at Disneyland (really 3 days in Anaheim) and 3 nights of camping. How was the RV experience, you ask??? Well.....we're still married and all 3 girls are still alive which is a miracle considering how badly I was PMSing at the beginning of the trip. (PMSing sucks..but that's a subject for a different post.)
Living in an RV takes a lot of patience. Someone is almost always in your way. I can't tell you how many times I tripped over one of the girls because they are small enough to fit through a little space and they happened to decide to go to the front of the RV at the exact time I started to wash the dishes. Also, it was kind of hard to work together as a team to make meals because the space is rather small. This may not be a problem with some families, but Mitch and I almost always work together to make meals. So, having the limited space meant that I opened a cabinet at the same exact time Mitch was putting something in the sink, which, in turn, meant that I slammed his head with the cabinet door on numerous occasions. Sorry My Love!
The small space also means that it gets messy really easily. Even though there are many nooks & cranies to store stuff, stuff tends to get out of it's place pretty easily. It didn't matter how many times I "picked up", there were always things out and about, especially the girls' toys, books and crayons. It seemed to get pretty dirty quickly too, but that could be because we were camping and at Disney so our shoes carried in a lot of debris. Next time we do this (and yes, I do think we'll do it again), I am going to make a "no shoes" policy for the inside of the camper. As well, we didn't bring a broom or dust buster or anything like that, so I was using paper towels to try to get rid of all the sand and food crumbs off the floor. I won't make that mistake again, that's for sure!!! Really, these are the only drawbacks that I found with living in an RV for a week. (Oh yeah, I am comparing RV living to tent camping, NOT RV living to living in a home.)
Oh, I just thought of another con....since we didn't "tow" a car, sight seeing was kind of difficult since we had to disconnect the RV to go anywhere. It is also kind of hard to find parking places for a 30 foot vehicle. So, if you want to go RVing, it is best to stick to one location and just camp. Or, tow a car so you can go do day trips without having to unhook the RV and get it ready to go on the road (which means putting everything away so it doesn't fall as you are driving.)
To us, the major PRO of RV living is that you have a bathroom. Having an easily accessible bathroom with four girls is a big bonus, especially on those five hour drives. As well, when we were camping, it was great to be able to go when you had to go without having to walk to the outhouse/bathroom. The bad part (really, really, really bad part) of having a bathroom in your camper is that someone has to empty the tank. Totally GROSS! But, I wouldn't know anything about that since Mitch did all the emptying (thank you My Love!) I would rather clean up puke 10 million times than dump the "black water" tank in an RV. Yuk-gives me "shivs" just thinking about it.
Another pro is that you have electricty. This is great for making a hot cup of coffee in the morning. Usually when we are camping, I have to wait for Mitch to make a fire before I can have my cup of coffee. With the RV, Mitch would wake up and just make my coffee in the coffee maker. Yum!! Cooking is also easier because you have a microwave and stove top, so you don't have to depend on a camp fire to cook things. Having electricity for the DVD player also helped on our 8 hour drive home. And for all you women who have to look pretty all the time...having electricity means you can blow dry and curl (or straighten) your hair. However, I personally believe that camping "excuses" you from doing your hair or makeup. Remember, you are getting back to nature. Just throw on a baseball hat and it's all good!
The last major pro is.....sleeping arrangements. Sleeping is MUCH more comfortable in an RV than tent sleeping. You are actually sleeping on mattresses or cusions. You're not stuck in a sleeping bag, praying that the inflatable air mattress doesn't have a leak. And if it happens to rain (or snow as it did our first night of camping), it doesn't really matter. Nothing gets wet. The temperature isn't as much of a factor with regard to sleeping either. There is a heater and air conditioner that regulates the interior temperature really well. You know how everything seems damp in the morning when you are tent camping -- it's not an issue with RVing.
But, by far the best thing about RVing is spending time with your family. There really isn't TV or movies or video games. There is coloring, reading, playing games, hiking, fishing, swimming and making each other giggle.
So, overall, I really enjoyed renting the RV. The weather did not cooperate some of the time we were camping (it snowed one night, rained another night and was really, really windy) and it didn't really matter because we were able to hang out comfortably in the camper. I couldn't imagine enduring the weather we had in a tent! I will definitely go RVing again (as long as Mitch continues to empty the "black water" tank).
Well, since the RV part of this post turned out to be so long, I'll post about Disney and camping in the high desert in another post.
Until later....I hope you have had some good, quality family time over Spring Break.
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