Trip Report Readers Chick Chat and Guy Gabbing Thread!

[Tuvalu]

Barbie’s chillin’ at Chick-fil-A.

 

[amjt660]

Barbie’s chillin’ at Chick-fil-A.

Fluorescent rays in her case.


Max

 

[cgersic]

Well, you all sure know how to make a girl cry on a Tuesday morning! @TheMouseFan, the graduation tributes and the garden are just beautiful. We still have the bench from my mom's garden and just sitting on it makes me feel her, even after 20 years, so I'm sure your beautiful girl is right there with you @Bullseye1967, your tribute made me cry so hard because it was such a beautiful act and @Darstarr, you finished me off with your story and photos. What wonderful, kind bunch of people we have on here!! Congratulations to the littles that are having birthdays - keep those adorable pictures coming! And @amjt660, you are doing such a great job at the meet ups!

 

[erstwo]

Chit Chatters (since I'm trying to say away from using Magicians LOL) 3 out of 4 of the fam are headed to NYC next week (Thurs-Sun). Thurs& Sun are travel days and Saturday I get to see my beloved Mets at Citifield (yes, yes, I know, they stink...nothing new I've been a fan for quite a while now) So, Friday is our only sightseeing day. Here is what I've sketched of our day:

Central Park Carriage Tour-1 hour tour of the things that were on our list to see https://www.nychorsecarriageride.com/central-park-tours-prices
Rockefeller pass by
NY Library pass by
Grand Central Station stop
Ghostbusters Fire station pass by
9-11 Memorial
end our day with Staten Island Ferry ride (I only need to see statue don't need to go to island)

Too ambitious?? Are we missing anything big??

(Don't really feel a need to see Times Square)

I know I've said this before on here - but it's a Disney related forum so I'll repeat myself the 'real' Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger, Kanga, etc) live inside the NYC Library in Bryant Park, so give it a stop when you go by if you want a chance to see them.
Macy's in Harold Square?
If you do decide to give Times Square a look - the Broadway Lounge in the Marriott Marquis is the way to go. You can see all of Times Square from above (away from all the craziness) and have a drink or a bite to eat. Views are amazing (give it a google to see what I mean), service is usually great. Just go in the hotel and tell the doormen you are taking the elevator up to the Lounge.
As songbird mentioned - so many great works of art to see in NYC, but visual and performing art isn't for everyone, so understand if you'd want to pass on that.

 

[TheMouseFan]

We survived our first family trip without Lily. It was so hard, but we managed to have a good time. I have very few pics of us because Owen in particular, but really all of us, didn't want to take group pics without her in them. We spent two days in Dollywood. Our trip happened to fall during the week that anyone who lives or works in Sevier County could get in for $5, so I was very worried about crowd levels. To try to combat this, I purchased a VIP tour for the four of us for our first day there. This included a tour guide for 8 hours, front of the line access to the rides, lunch, and an employee discount on purchases. It was expensive, but we had an awesome tour guide and I felt it was worth it. We got to ride the new coaster, Big Bear Mountain, 4 times that day and their big coaster, Lightning Rod, 3 times, plus all of the other coasters multiple times. We chose to stay at the Dollywood resort, DreamMore. They had a trolley to take us to and from the park and we received TimeSaver (like Fastpass) for staying there. We obviously didn't need the TimeSaver the first day, but it was convenient to have it the second day when some of the waits were 2+ hours.



A few room pics for those of you who like them!



And fancy, embossed toilet paper!!


Hallway carpet


A view of the pool from the lobby area:


The boys had fun playing checkers.


We wandered around for a little while until dinner time. This is where we ate dinner.


We just missed the Flower and Food Festival, but the decor was still up at the resort

 

[TheMouseFan]

More Dollywood:

The boys found another game to play:


Owen was winning, but when he went to put the winning piece in, the entire bottom opened up and all of the pieces fell out!

After dinner, Logan and Brian stopped to play checkers while Owen and I went back to the room.


I have exactly zero pictures from our first day in the park. I was just busy surviving the day. Our tour guide was Trey and he was a child therapist. He was fantastic and knew exactly how to help us through the day. He and Owen especially seemed to click. We ended up calling it a day at about 4:30, but we were all just emotionally spent and couldn't handle any more. We just relaxed in the room that night.

Next morning, we were at the park shortly after it opened at 10. First up was one of my new favorite coasters, Mystery Mine. It has two lifts that are like the one on Rip Ride Rockit at Universal, which is straight up!






Owen actually let me take this picture because he knew I would have taken it even if Lily had been with us!

 

[TheMouseFan]

More Dollywood:


We found a Lily garden and spent a few minutes there.


Then we rode on Cinderella


We spent a few minutes watching mama and her babies.


We were too early for the Summer Celebration, but they had all of the decorations up already.

 

[TheMouseFan]

One last Dollywood post:





I felt like Dollywood was a good combination of Disney World and Kings Island which is our home amusement park. There was a lot of theming like you would find at Disney World, but the rides were more like what you would find at Kings Island. It was a good destination for our first trip. I could see us returning at some point, but not anytime soon.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Right before we left for Dollywood, Logan participated in his first half ironman in Des Moines, Iowa. Average finish time is 6 hours and he finished in 5:48:34. We are so proud of him!





He and four other members of the Iowa triathlon club finished the race


And crazy boy signed up for another one in Sandusky, Ohio on July 23!! However, that does mean that I get a trip to Cedar Point!!

Also right before we left, we finally got our fireplace replaced and we were able to finish it after we returned so that we have a proper place for Lily's ashes.


We have started to add some decorative items, but still have a long way to go.


I had an ornament that I was going to give her for Christmas to commemorate her trip to Chicago in October with her best friend for the Harry Styles concert.


And she designed these pink Converse for one of her Christmas presents. I made sure she got to wear them once by having the funeral home have them on her when we were able to view her body. She was so excited about them.


And I have the Hogwarts Castle Scentsy warmer that she had in her bedroom.


Lots more things to gather and put on the shelves, it just hurts so much to do it, so I have to do a little at a time.

 

[TheMouseFan]

And I forgot to add that we may be adding this cutie to our family:


His name will be Harry.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

@TheMouseFan It looks like Dollywood was very nice. I’m glad your family was able to have a good experience there. Continued good vibes and prayers for your family.

 

[Swissmiss]

And I forgot to add that we may be adding this cutie to our family:
View attachment 726946

His name will be Harry.

Thanks for sharing your trip. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for all of you.

Bravo to the triathlete! I volunteer at a few triathlons over here and although I run, I cannot fathom running after having swum and then biked. And while the running courses are relatively flat, the bike course is often on mountain pass roads (in the Alps).

 

[Wicked Sisters]

l also cannot imagine how hard that must have been going away for the first time but so pleased you managed it. You took such lovely photos. I admit I did shed a tear when I saw Lily’s ashes and you said about the shoes. Little Harry would make such a beautiful addition to your family he is adorable. You are always in our thoughts and take care of ourselves.

 

[MinnieM123]

Thank you for the nice photos of your vacation at Dollywood. My heart goes out to all regarding the loss of your daughter; but this first trip without her, was probably helpful to all, in your healing journey.

 

[Zipadeelady]

So glad you shared your trip to Dollywood. You grab my heart when I read your posts. Harry is a keeper!

And yay for Cedar Point! Love that park. We used to visit it yearly. I need to get back there.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Thank you for sharing @TheMouseFan. All of the pictures are beautiful and I am happy you all managed to have a good time.

And go Logan! Wow, that's impressive.

 

[Darstarr]

His name will be Harry.

As in Styles or Potter? Or both?

 

[TheMouseFan]

As in Styles or Potter? Or both?

Both was what Brian had in mind when he said that's what he wanted to name him.

 

[Tiggertoo56]

To all of .my American friends!

 

[donaldtoo]