Day 1 - Travel Day
I hope you enjoyed my family history yesterday and are ready to travel!
We normally travel early in the morning (ok, we PLAN on leaving early in the morning, but it's usually no earlier than 10 a.m.), but school constraints on Steph pushed us to an afternoon departure. Since we knew this before we booked our reservations, we decided to drive most of the way to Disney on Tuesday, spend the night in Gainesville, FL, and drive the remaining 2 hours in the morning. (Which provides me with a nice segue into my tips section!)
Tip #1 - Hotels.com
Use it! I have booked two hotel rooms recently and I have gotten exceptional deals on each and they were both very nice, clean rooms. It is so much cheaper, and easier, to book online ahead of time instead of being tired and grumpy and trying to find a decent hotel once you are worn out. We have done it both ways before, and, well, let's just say Gary didn't end up sleeping in a window seat THIS trip. If you are a super saver, create an account on Ebates.com and then link through them to Hotels.com to receive a cash back rebate! http://www.ebates.com/index.htm, http://www.hotels.com/ (and if they ask who referred you, please say me!)
Tip #2 - Eat a good breakfast (or lunch or dinner) BEFORE you leave your home. Gary cooked us some bacon and big, fat, yummy cinnamon rolls about an hour before departure. (And with it being vacation food, it didn't matter how many calories - right??). One of my biggest pet peeves is getting 20 minutes from the house and having to stop to eat. Not only is it money wasteful, but it wastes time too! I don't love the car ride - don't make it last longer than it has to be! So make sure your bellies are good and full before you leave.
Tip #3 - Bring along a cooler of drinks and a bag of snacks. Why, yes, I DID just say my belly was full, but it's VACATION...and you are traveling....in a car. MUNCHIES - duh. You'll save so much money bringing your own instead of stopping at a convenience store. So.MUCH.Money.
(sssshhhh.....hidden tip #1 - if worse comes to absolute worse, you can always use the cooler to, uhm, empty your bladder when there isn't a bathroom in sight for the next 100 miles. It happens to the best of us. I line my cooler with a large plastic garbage bag. That way you aren't actually 'relieving' in the cooler - but in a garbage bag.)
Tip #4 - If you have a traveler who can't seem to pass a bathroom without having to stop and check it out, check this out - Uricalm. http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/uricalm. By all means, READ THE LABEL and if this is something you think isn't for you - don't try it. But I am here to tell you - it keeps the urges at bay! It also turns your urine bright orange and can stain the toilet if you don't flush quickly...just so you know.
Tip #5 - Movies, movies, movies! I don't know who came up with the idea of those little tv's in vehicles, but they were geniuses!! We actually just use my laptop now to watch dvd's (Disney movies - what else???) but back in 1999, Gary actually bought a small tv, an outlet adapter, and a vhs and shoved them all between the front seats of his Jeep! Kept two little ones quiet for hours. What is an added bonus is that the driver (in our case, Gary) has something to listen to also.
Tip #6 - Trivial Pursuit cards. The last time I went to the Thrift Store I noticed they had tons and tons of old Trivial Pursuit games that people had given away. I bought one and we take a packet of cards (there's like a bazillion questions in one pack) with us when we travel long distances. It's really quite entertaining, and, heck yes, even a bit educational.
Tip #7 - Regardless of whether your Uricalm is working or not, take a couple of breaks from riding and stretch your legs. The driver gets tired - regardless of his He-Man status the fact that he can sit for hours and hours and hours at the computer playing a game. It's good for your mind to focus on something other than the road for a few minutes.
Tip #8 - I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but since you haven't left on vacation yet, you still have time to heed my advice. If you are splitting your trip up like we did, pack a 'take in the hotel for the night only' suitcase, which will contain ONLY what you need for that one night. Everyone packs jammies, the next days clothes, toiletries (and not all of them - only what you absolutely need), into one suitcase....and then place that suitcase on top of all the other suitcases. Believe me, when you are tired and just want to get some sleep, grabbing that one bag is going to make you sing my praises for weeks! (But actually Steph came up with this idea - so sing about her a little too.)
(ssshhhhh - hidden tip #2 - Pack a couple of garbage bags for dirty clothes. But keep socks and undies separate from all other clothing. Why?? Well, if you need to re-wear blue jeans - eh, no big. If you need to re-wear blue jeans and your Dad's undies have been laying next to them for a week....gross.)
Tip #8 - (again, probably should have mentioned this earlier) - but try to limit your trip to "bearable". Don't drive until the wee hours of the morning and expect to wake up refreshed and ready to tackle DISNEY. You are going to want to check in and hit the parks as soon as you can. Don't waste that time - and money - being tired and grumpy. Eat a good dinner and get a decent night's sleep so you are ready to seize the day!
And who else always seizes the day? Why, that'd be Winnie the Pooh! So let's finish with words of wisdom - courtesy of Edward Bear.
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"”
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