Like most people in Michigan this year, we took advantage of spring break to leave Michigan for warmer pastures and to find out what it’s like to dine in at restaurants.
Unlike most people in Michigan this year, we went to Texas, not Florida.
Since it was only a week, we chose to fly rather than drive to Texas. Our destination was a VRBO house with a pool. Staying for a week, and with kids that can be loud, we figured renting a house was the way to go. It had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, which is a good layout for a family of 6. Plus a kitchen, dining room, living room, washer/dryer, and back patio and pool. Better features, less crowded, and a similar price compared to staying in a hotel.
Now on to the chronological recap:
Day 1: Travel Day
We left our home around 10:00am, flew to Austin, got a rental car, and headed out to San Antonio. Direct flight to Austin, that’s why we didn’t fly to San Antonio. The rental car process was easier than I remember. The only mishap was that the Alamo and National counters were manned by only one person so there was only one line, but they didn’t tell you that until you went through the ropes course and got to the front of the empty Alamo line, only to be sent to the back of the National line. How hard would it have been to put a sign at the entrance to the Alamo line saying “Go over there to National” or something?
Anyway, we arrived to San Antonio just before dinner their time. We stopped at the Costco just outside SA to get some supplies for the week, plus a Costco pizza for dinner. The only real traffic we had was getting into SA.
All in all though, I’d say Texans weren’t bad drivers. I didn’t have a preconceived notion of Texas drivers, but for the most part they were competent. Which is above average if you check in other states.
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Continued from last week
Day 8
This was a travel day. A few hours through the UP and then the upper LP. A lot of 2-lane highways and not much of the freeways, which made for some scenery. I was doing most of the driving, so I didn’t get to take many photos of the scenery.
Except for this one: our rest stop before the Mackinac Bridge:
Followed closely by this one:
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Continued from last week
Day 6
We had a typical breakfast that we would have at home – cereal and bagels and stuff like that. And then we were off on our day of adventure in the greater Marquette area. First up: Presque Isle.
Fun fact: Presque Isle was designed by the same guy who designed New York City’s Central Park. Maybe “designed” is the wrong word for it – more like “conserved”.
Our first stop was to the mini lighthouse. I think officially it is a beacon, not a lighthouse. But either way, the walk out there was something that the boys liked. It was somewhat harrowing, but the lake was rather calm so it could have been worse.
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Continued from last week
Day 3
Our hosts offered us the use of their jetski. But not just any jetski – it was a stand-up jetski.
For those of you who have ridden a jetski: it’s not like a normal jetski. The difference is like between driving a car and driving a motorcycle. It requires a lot more balance and a lot of concentration. With a normal jetski you can slow down or stop and not have to do anything. With a stand-up jetski you must balance all the time. Imagine riding a bike or motorcycle and not being able to put your feet down, or a kickstand either. Because there’s not ground under you.
And the handlebar moves up and down when you don’t want it to. That was the hardest part for me – I wasn’t keeping the handlebar down all the way when I was starting and I couldn’t steer very well. Anyway, here’s some guy on a stand-up jetski:
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Day 1
After last year’s excursion to the west coast, we took a shorter vacation this year, staying in the Midwest.
First off, we drove to Green Bay, WI. I had fond memories of going to tour Lambeau Field, so I wanted my kids to experience that. Actually, I have only one memory of the tour, but I do remember going when I was a kid. So day 1 of vacation was driving to Green Bay and then going on the official tour of the stadium.
First up: the statues. We parked near the statues out front. One of Curly Lambeau
And then one of Vince Lombardi:
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I hope this is not a trend that is becoming popular, but the last hotel we stayed at had a sliding door for the bathroom door.
This is a bad idea for a couple of reasons.
The first is that it has gaps. The door has to keep a minimum distance away from the wall so that it slides smoothly, and they didn’t make it much larger than the doorway. So I heard giggling while I was changing my clothes and I heard Delta say “I can see you through the crack!”
The second is that the locking mechanism is weak. This isn’t necessarily a flaw of the style of door, but rather how this particular hotel chose to implement it. It was not mechanically robust and was already bent and dented, which was bad for a relatively new hotel.
When booking hotels from now on, if I don’t see photos of the bathroom doors I will have to ask, especially in Home2Suites.
And for those of you who are concerned that my ranting into the ether will have no effect, I already answered their survey so the hotel knows how I feel.
You shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver.
Exodus 26:36
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We are planning a trip down south that involves a stop for one night near the Smoky Mountains. Looking for a place to stay, Some Wife found a variety of rental cabins around Gatlinburg.
Since it was going to be off-season, the rates looked reasonable: $160/night, $180/night, and higher of course. But I figured $180 for a night for a cabin that fits the whole family is a good deal. Too good to be true, which of course it was, but I didn’t know that at the time.
I thought the rate would be $180 for a night, plus some taxes and fees, so I started booking it. It was open the night we wanted, good there. I entered my name and address and then they gave me the total so I could proceed to enter my financial information and book the cabin.
That $180 turned into $480 with taxes and fees.
Not a good deal.
Here’s the breakdown:
Cabin: $180
1-night stay fee: $75
Hot tub fee: $40
Cleaning fee: $80
Premium service fee: $50
Sales tax: $54.19
——
Total: $479.19
I think they really want you to stay longer. The fee structure seems to be setup that way.
Let’s see how it looks for a week (7 days / 6 nights).
Cabin: $180 * 6 = $1080
1-night stay fee: $0
Hot tub fee: $40
Cleaning fee: $80
Premium service fee: $50
Sales tax: $159.38
——
Total: $1409.38
So you can stay 6 times longer for less than 3 times the price.
1-night effective rate: $479.19
6-night effective rate: $234.90
My recommendation if you’re staying in the Smoky Mountains National Park area and really want a cabin: go for a longer time and find a cabin without a hot tub.
If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take your bed from under you?
Proverbs 22:27
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This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
