Month of a Million Travels...part 2

I mentioned before that November was the "Month of a Million Travels" for our family. Part 1 was when we went to KY during Jay's mom's illness. Part 2 took place the next weekend after we got back.

We had scheduled a mini-vacation to Orlando soon after Jay got his job, as a way to celebrate finally ending the long, hard 8 months without a job or any income. It was supposed to be a very relaxing time for all of us. Supposed to be.

Three days before we were scheduled to leave, Jay came home from work early. He stepped through the door and stumbled to his bed. He was burning up with fever, had chills, and a terribly sore throat. He had even completely lost his appetite, which should tell any of you who really know him that he was most definitely sick!

Jay promised that he would be better in time for our trip, which was 100% non-refundable. However, after three days in bed with no change, I thought we were going to have to bite the bullet and cancel the trip. But, Jay insisted that we were still going to be able to make it, even though he could barely speak. We took him to the doctor, who told him he had a nasty case of strep throat. He could barely drive, but he told me to get us all packed and ready to go.

So, it was then my job to nurse my very sick hubby, homeschool the kids, care for the little ones, clean the house, shop for the trip, and pack everyone. All in less than a day. I was more than a little stressed. But, we crammed all of the suitcases and children into the van, and headed for Orlando. For our nice, relaxing vacation.

We got to our hotel in one piece, and were pleasantly surprised at how extremely nice it was. Jay's dad had a timeshare there and we were able to use it for the trip. We had 2 bedrooms, a living room, a den, a dining room, a large fully stocked kitchen, a laundry room, and 2 large bathrooms... both of which had jacuzzi tubs in them!

Here is a link to see a virtual tour of the hotel room we stayed in. It was by far the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in! When you click on the link, you can click on both of the 1 bedroom buttons and you will get some idea of the room we had (Both bedrooms are attached to each other).

I was very disappointed, however, because with all of the hustle and bustle of packing and everything, I completely forgot to bring our camera. I had NO way to take any pictures of our hotel room or the trip. I was so upset! But we went to the gift shop and bought a cheap disposable camera. I took several pictures, but when I got them all developed, very few of them turned out at all. I have included some of the few that did (found below)...

We went to "The Holy Land Experience" in Orlando. It was surprisingly very educational! TBN recently bought it, and when you are walking through it, you can definitely see the influence they have put into it (with many things seeming to be a bit "cheesy", and sometimes we would cringe as we saw the way they were portraying things). But, overall, I have to say it was a fairly positive experience.

Like I said, a bit "cheesy"... and you might cringe at this...

This is in the children's area, which is full of very vivid colors. They also have a giant whale that you can walk into and listen to the story of Jonah. And a giant ark where they have story time. It's all a bit too commercial for our taste. But the kids enjoyed the rides. :o)

This picture is very dark and hard to see, but it was taken in a room that was filled with tons of these sports chairs that swiveled and had matching ottomans. The kids liked to sit in this room and watch the TBN children's shows they had up on a big movie screen.


Above everything else we did on our trip, though, the best time the kids had was when we were in the hotel room, and they all got to go "swimming" in the hot tub! ha ha.



Jay was still very sick throughout the entire trip. But he was a trooper. We did some shopping in Downtown Disney and "oo'd and awe'd" at all of the statues in Lego Land.

It wasn't our usual, fun-loving, go-all-out kind of vacation. It was a LOT more toned down than usual. But, we still tried to make the best of things.

And, you know... the kids still talk about that beautiful huge hotel room and how they got to go swimming in the giant tub every day. So, in that respect, our little mini-vacation turned out to be a winner after all. :o)