Trip Report So, This Just Happened! A Very Late and Unexpected Turn (In More Ways Than One).

Just arrived at Disney Springs. More details to follow.

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Updates after lunch.
 

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Safely back in the Lehigh Valley! Happy to be home. I’ll share a few pre Disney days and what Crystal and I did once we left the parks. Saw plenty of our beautiful southern states. In total, we visited 12 states and Washington DC on our road trip (PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, WV). We head to Boston on Sunday to start college visits with Madelyn.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Awesome that you were able to have a couple Disney days. I wish I would have been checking the site more closely, we were down there at that time too. It would have been nice to see you. I knew @lostpro9het was there but timing of what we had planned didn't work to meet up with them which was a bummer. I do love that you had the "kids" along for the fun too! :)
 

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Awesome that you were able to have a couple Disney days. I wish I would have been checking the site more closely, we were down there at that time too. It would have been nice to see you. I knew @lostpro9het was there but timing of what we had planned didn't work to meet up with them which was a bummer. I do love that you had the "kids" along for the fun too! :)
Definitely would have been cool to have “team awesome”grab a drink together again! Hope you two had a great time.
 

MissingDisney

Well-Known Member
@coachwnh I’m usually just a reader/follower/admirer on your trip reports and feel like I have watched your kids grow up, having kids myself around the same ages. 🥰 We have also been an avid Disney family forever and my kids still love it just as much today as when we started taking them as toddlers.

I absolutely adored this trip report as we are planning our first Disney trip without our kids this December. We have very mixed emotions about it as we know we will miss them terribly - every corner, attraction, restaurant has decades of memories for us as a family, but after reading your report, I’m less anxious and so excited! I am definitely going to copy your picture idea and “bring the kids” with us! They are so happy we are going by ourselves as we are celebrating our 26th anniversary, but I know they’re bummed out that they’re not going. This will surely be a fun way to calm my nerves and also include them in our Disney adventures. You are such a beautiful family!
 

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@coachwnh I’m usually just a reader/follower/admirer on your trip reports and feel like I have watched your kids grow up, having kids myself around the same ages. 🥰 We have also been an avid Disney family forever and my kids still love it just as much today as when we started taking them as toddlers.

I absolutely adored this trip report as we are planning our first Disney trip without our kids this December. We have very mixed emotions about it as we know we will miss them terribly - every corner, attraction, restaurant has decades of memories for us as a family, but after reading your report, I’m less anxious and so excited! I am definitely going to copy your picture idea and “bring the kids” with us! They are so happy we are going by ourselves as we are celebrating our 26th anniversary, but I know they’re bummed out that they’re not going. This will surely be a fun way to calm my nerves and also include them in our Disney adventures. You are such a beautiful family!
I can’t thank you enough for the kind words. I hope you enjoy the time in Disney. I agree that’s it seemed different without our kids, but enjoyable nonetheless. Sometimes parents need time to themselves Thanks again and have a great trip!
 

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just a few updates after leaving Disney. We stopped in Mobile for a night and stayed at the Malaga Inn. Tell me it doesn’t remind you of The French Quarter. The room we stayed in dated to 1862. The inn had an old speak easy in the basement, but unfortunately it’s now the laundry area and off limits to guests.

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The staff was very friendly and we were able to watch the fireworks from the lot of the inn

It was raining when we arrived, so we had dinner then visited Braided River Brewing. Our bar tender was very nice and we had a great time there.
 

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After a night in Mobile, we had planned a long day with some planned stops, and made some out of the way detours as well.

Our first planned stop was Laurel, Mississippi. Crystal is a fan of the show Hometown. We wanted to stop for lunch at the Bird Dog Cafe then visit some of the sites in town.

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It was a cool place inside. The food was good. Although it was early, I still had a beer with lunch

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coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When we left Mobile that morning, the goal
was to make it to Knoxville, and hopefully by midnight. It was a 2 hour drive to Laurel. The next drive would also be 2 hours to Tuscaloosa to visit the Univerity of Alabama. Brayden had applied to and been accepted there, but decided he’d rather choose between returning to ASU or attending FSU. After visiting FSU, he’s decided to transfer there.

Anyway, Alabama was my dream school since I was a kid, so I couldn’t wait to see the campus

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coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Prior to making it to campus, we made a stop at a rest area.

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Crystal found some brochures and one was a list of microbreweries in Huntsville. This would add between 1-2 hours to our trip today, but we decided to as soon as we saw a microbrewery named Fractal Brewing Project. Even shared a message with @fractal . He said he really needs to trademark that name 😂

So it was off the Huntsville and a 2 1/2 hour drive.

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coachwnh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So our last day was going to be a nearly 10 hour drive. We knew we’d make stops, but had no planned goals or sites to see.

The only really stop was Lexington, VA. A cute, historic town about half way home. We stopped for a quick drink and lunch here

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Wish we had more time to visit VMI or Washington and Lee, but we really wanted to get home before dark. Actual arrival time was just before 9:30. Two straight long days, but well worth it!

More pre-Disney updates soon.
 

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