20 posts tagged “vacation”
One of the cool things about our annual pilgramage to Disneyland is that there are lots of pirate shirts to be found (though finding shirts that are not blatantly Disney branded can be tricky). Here is this year's acquisition.
yes, I'm wearing a tiara. The shirt is rhinestones, so really the tiara is an appropriately matched accessory...
we tried getting a photo in front of the jolly roger flag and a big pile of pirate treasure on Tom Sawyer's Island, but you can't take strollers there, so Eric had to hold Chris while taking photos - and Chris kept yanking the camera strap. None of them turned out. :( So here I am at dinner instead. Yes, I'm a bit tired. We'd been up since 4:20 am with Chris. great dinner. great day. great shirt.
yeah, I know, I didn't blog on day 2. so to catch everyone up... Yesterday we spent the day at the park (Disneyland, if you haven't been paying attention) and rode a bunch of Allyson's favorite rides. It was really hot and we were meeting an old friend of mine for dinner, so we left around 4:30 to go clean up and cool off. We had dinner at Buca di Beppo and saw my friend Brian for the first time in probably 10 years. Allyson, being the shy wallflower she is (NOT!) acted as if she had known him her whole life. Here she is after dinner demanding that he change her new Ariel doll's dress.
we were lucky to have Allyson with us at dinner at all. Earlier in the day we had a bit of a run in with local park wildlife. We should have been suspicious when Tigger nibbled Chris's head.
Then Allyson gave him a hug...
And he ate her head!
but he gave it back.
whew.
ok, no more photos for this blog post, the hotel connection is way too slow.
today, Allyson and I actually had the best mother-daughter fun we've ever had. Ever. Disneyland has this genius thing called the Princess Faire, where you can easily burn several hours in the shade with no lines. We spent probably 3-4 hours there. She saw 3 different storytime sessions, one by Princess Jasmine, one by Snow White, and one by Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Allyson loved this one Lady In Waiting who was wearing purple so much she wanted to sit next to her for stories instead of by me. She so charmed this Lady, that she was pulled aside and given a pass for a private meet-n-greet with Cinderella (her favorite!) and Snow White. She also learned to curtsey and dance like a princess, made a crown, and got her face painted. The photos are adorable and will be posted after we get back home to a net connection that isn't slow as molasses. It was so much fun, for both of us. You'd think I'd be princess overdosed (well maybe just a little) but we had so much fun, we might go back tomorrow.
From the time we left the Faire to go do other things, she insisted that we call her Cinderella, and her stroller was her carriage. This went on for over five hours through rides, dinner, up until she went to bed. She was so tired she could hardly string a sentence together. She also has been calling me Little Mermaid. Not Ariel, but Little Mermaid. "Little Mermaid, will you carry me?" hahahahaha.
My head cold is clearing and my ears aren't clogged. I'm losing my voice now, but that's just a nuisance, not painful like the head congestion was. Tomorrow is our third and final day at Disneyland, I think we are going to try and put in a half day at California Adventure too...
we left Seattle for Anaheim today... The kids were pretty good on the flight, though Chris was overtired and really squirmy. His daddy got to hold him a lot on the flight because my stress levels were too high to deal. Then on landing, my left ear wouldn't equalize - it was excruciating. After about a half hour the pressure finally blew, but now, hours later, when I move my head it is still terribly painful. I would love a hot tub, foofy drink, and back rub right now! We got to the hotel (which is surprisingly super-nice) with no problems, ordered in room service and got the kids to bed. And as usual, holding Chris in my arms while he slept allowed me to unwind myself. He is so sweet with his eyes closed and head nestled in my chest, all cuddled up and peaceful. I lose track of time holding him like that, and just breathe and feel for a brief moment that nothing else matters but this. It was nice to re-set my stress so I can start the day tomorrow in a positive mood and really enjoy our time at Disneyland. Yay!
This is one of my favorite shots of Allyson at the park in Arlington VA this summer
and a couple others from vacation - a petting zoo in VA, and back in NC
wow, the customer service people with Comfort Inn Hotels need to take Intro to Customer Service 101 over again. I swear, I'm not making this stuff up.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
response to mail thread 2:
From: KymPxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 1:46 PM
To: 'guest_survey_inquiries@choicehotels.com'
Subject: RE: Survey
I hope you DID know I was recently in Arlington VA, because I had a terrible experience and have been waiting for a response to my email (attached) for two weeks now. Do you people not care at all about big gross cockroaches in your hotel rooms, and hotel managers who are rude? Or is it just customers you don’t care about?
Kymberlee
From: Guest Inquiries [mailto:guest_survey_inquiries@choicehotels.com]
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 12:35 PM
To: KymPxxxxxxx
Subject: Survey
Dear Ms. Possible,
Thank you for responding. I do apologize the wrong information was sent to you. This was not forwarded to any other guests and we did not know that you were recently in Arlington, VA. This was supposed to be sent to Mr. Lxxxxxxxx. Again I am sorry for the confusion.
Sincerely,
Barb
Guest Survey Specialist
Choice Hotels International
I've gotten two separate emails from Choice Hotels International since completing their online Guest Survey about my leetle friend la cucaracha in el bano. I've copied them below for your entertainment, along with my replies. Last names have been obscured for privacy. As with all mail threads, read from the bottom up.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mail thread 2:
From: KymPxxxxxxx You have got to be kidding me.
Who is Kevin Lxxxxxxxxr? Kevin Lxxxxxxxx of British Columbia Canada? Did he ALSO have a cockroach in his room? And how many people have gotten emails with my name on them instead of their own, so they now know that I was recently in Arlington VA?
This is the most ridiculous customer service I’ve ever seen.
From: Guest Inquiries [mailto:guest_survey_inquiries@choicehotels.com]
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Dear Kevin Lxxxxxxxx, Thank you for taking the time to respond to our recent customer satisfaction survey and for providing us with the additional comments about your stay at the Comfort Inn Ballston in Arlington, VA. We do apologize for the incident that occurred at this hotel. We have forwarded the information and issues you have raised to our field staff who will be addressing them directly with the hotel. Choice Hotels is committed to helping facilitate corrective action and ensuring that appropriate changes are made with the hotel directly. Your comments have assisted us in identifying areas in need of attention, and we greatly appreciate your feedback. Should you need further assistance please contact us at 800.300.8800. We are looking forward to providing quality accommodations and service to you in the future. Thank you for your continued patronage. Best Regards,
Lance Guest Survey Specialist Choice Hotels International, Inc
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mail thread 1:
From: KymPxxxxxxx Wow, so did you even read my survey comments? You have nothing to say about the giant cockroach in our bathroom, but if I’d like to share more information I can contact you? How about you read this: http://kympossible.vox.com/library/post/creepshow-meets-psycho.html and tell me what you think.
From: Guest Inquiries [mailto:guest_survey_inquiries@choicehotels.com]
Thursday, July 12, 2007 Dear KYMPxxxxxxx, Thank you for taking the time to respond to our recent customer satisfaction survey. You indicated on your response that you would like a representative from Choice Hotels to contact you.
Please feel free to respond directly to this email address with any additional information you would like to share with us or contact the Survey Department at 1-800-300-8800. We are available between the hours of 8:00AM to 8:00PM central time, Monday through Friday.
Best Regards,
Barb Guest Survey Specialist Choice Hotels International, Inc
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and yes, I did email Kevin Lxxxxxxxx of British Columbia and asked if he had a big nasty cockroach in his room. Why? Two words for you: Mean Streak. I figure if the hotel is going to disclose to me that he recently had a problem with them, I should balance the privacy breaches and let him know I also stayed there and had an issue. Sort of a you showed me yours so I'll show you mine philosophy.
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:06 PM
To: 'guest_survey_inquiries@choicehotels.com'
Subject: RE: survey
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 5:24 PM
To: KymPxxxxxxx
Subject: survey
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 3:22 PM
To: guest_survey_inquiries@choicehotels.com
Subject: RE: Choice Hotels Survey
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 2:40 PM
To: KymPxxxxxxx
Subject: Choice Hotels Survey
I didn't get online while in VA and now that we are back in NC, the intarwebnet has been down at my in-laws - a technician MAY be out tomorrow, but maybe not until next week. The next door neighbor is away on vacation and has an unsecured wi-fi network, but for some inexplicable reason we've got connectivity tonight, so I'm not having to leach bandwidth from the neighbor to post this. I've been blogging in notepad the last few days waiting to post it all - so here you go. I've edited the posting dates so they are published following the timeline they were written in.
And since I've brought up the idea of leaching wifi... I was astounded by the number of wifi networks I could pick up from the car driving down I-395 in the Arlington area. About 25% of them were unsecured. If I were a full time geek still (aka didn't have two small kids in the car whose auto travel tolerance limits are about 90 minutes shorter than the trip is going to take) we'd have cruised by the Pentagon just for giggles to see what popped up.
By the way, Granny played Wii-Tennis until almost midnight last night, and she's playing again now (10pm EST). I promise you a photo of Wii-Granny soon. I hope this doesn't screw up her real tennis game. She's pretty doggone good. And it cracks me up that we appear to have gotten her hooked on it (if only the photos would show you how she heckles her doubles partner and the other team when they cost her a point. Its priceless). I didn't know Nintendo was going after the 70+ age bracket. LOL.
My s-i-l's husband (does that make him my b-i-l? my husband's, sister's, husband. hmmm.) is an awesome cook. So is my husband, but that's a different blogpost. Anyway, while we were in Arlington he kept us happily well fed with: banana/peach pancakes and bacon, grilled mahi mahi with asparagus and rice, fresh baked cherry scones, smoked beef ribs with roast potatos and corn on the cob... and margaritas. No margarita mix, he used fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice, sugar, Don Julio tequila... Soooooooo good. I made sure to get the recipe for our next BBQ shindig which is inevitably coming soon, since Father's Day this year meant we finally decided to invest in a new kick ass suburban backyard warrior BBQ. (Our current BBQ is in pretty poor shape - not surprising since it is 8 years old and only cost $100 or $150 to begin with). And did I mention that my s-i-l's hubby cooks all this great stuff with a 2 year old and 6 week old twins in the house? We were more than happy to help out with baby duty and toddler shepherding, but sometimes there are parenting things that only a mommy or daddy can do. Anyway, a great weekend. Kids outnumbered the adults, but everyone remained sane and had a really good time. Good times. A few photos of the kidlets will be uploaded after we get back home, but none of the amazing meals. I wish I'd taken pictures of the food. I really do. But I didn't. Too many kids to juggle feedings with to pop the camera out for a shot of scones.
(written 7/2/07)
In Arlington we are staying at a Comfort Inn a couple blocks from my s-i-l's house. I haven't stayed at a Comfort Inn in over a decade; I'm a Marriott, Westin, W, Hilton, Hyatt snob these days. But the location was good, and the suite (a necessity with two small kids) was very reasonably priced. The room was actually very large, well decorated/arranged, etc. The beds were unbelievably uncomfortable, though maybe I'm just a spoiled princess and a sissy. I'd have given the hotel high marks up to this point.
The part that totally freaked me out was that while my husband was in the shower, a big, nasty cockroach crawled up between the shower curtain liner and the exterior shower curtain. He caught it in the plastic cups they leave in the bathroom for drinking water, but after that we wouldn't let our 3 year old go potty alone and I couldn't shower in there at all. Yes, it was only one and not a skittering, light frightened brigade of roach invaders. But the freaking thing was close 1-1/2 inches long and probably a half inch wide. We'd have taken a picture, but I was afraid it would get out of the cup if we took the cover off. So we took it to the front desk. The guy working there offered to move us to a new room, but then when I said we were in a suite, his face fell; they didn't have any suite's available. He said I should tell the manager, who would be there on Monday when we checked out, and that the manager would probably give us something off our bill. So I left the cockroach with him in it's little plastic cups and off I went to my s-i-l's to shower.
This morning (Monday), I am checking out and ask to talk to the manager (Frank) about the huge bug, and he comes out and is a total ass. Sort of 'yeah, ok, I'll let them know. Is there anything else?'. I don't know who 'them' is, maybe the exterminators? It was like I'd totally inconvenienced him by asking him to come up to the front desk to talk about this. I was kind of surprised, and said I just wanted to be sure he knew about this big gross cockroach. Since I had nothing else to add, he repeated himself about letting someone know, and went back into the back again. I got nothing off my bill. So I'll send a letter to the Comfort Inn customer service chain, and once again exhibit my mean streak by publicly blogging about the Comfort Inn in Arlington VA having big disgusting cockroaches and management who appears to have failed Customer Service 101. jackass.
(written 7/2/07)
Get off the plane, take the taxi back to the inlaws, hug and kiss the family, unload my backpack from Seattle (the lightest I've ever traveled anywhere in my life), pack a suitcase, two backpacks and a cooler, and load up the car for the drive up to Arlington VA for a 4 day weekend with the s-i-l and her family. They have a 2 year old and 6 week old twins, so I don't expect them to visit us for a few years at least. Can't wait to see my new niece and nephew, and introduce them to our cutie-pie boy. The toddlers have met before... I'm sure they'll be a sight to see, running around like mad and playing non-stop. :)
(written 6/29/07)
