The Road Trip from Hell and then Sunk by the Nautilus (November 27 - December 8, 2021)

[BroadwayHermione5]

omg what a nightmare with getting home! I hope you got your money back!

 

[Hubie]

Oh my such an ordeal. Hope the rest of your trip home is smooth!

Thank you.

Unfortunately, the next day's drive wasn't the best. But after seeing the mess on I-95 near Washington D.C. the last couple of days we really can't complain. Obviously coupled with bad driving weather our experience could have been must worst. I really feel sorry for all of those people that were stuck for hours in the cold without water and something to eat.

 

[Hubie]

omg what a nightmare with getting home! I hope you got your money back!

The nightmare continued somewhat the next day as you will be able to read about in my next post.

We didn't get charged for the extra reservation in Prattville. Apparently, the desk woman was right, and it was just something wacky with the IHG APP. When we got home my IHG account was all cleared up and shows the appropriate information regarding our stay and points.

Thanks for reading my TR!

 

[Hubie]

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

I picked up the receipt for our hotel stay that had been slid under our door around 5:30 AM. Then I got dressed and headed downstairs for a cup of coffee.

A guy who was apparently manning the desk was sitting by himself in the lobby on a couch watching TV. I decided to mention to him the two reservations that were on my IHG account. He asked me if I only had one room and I assured him that was the case. I showed him my receipt and after looking it over he assured me that should be the only charge I would see. I thanked him and felt a little more confident I wouldn't be charged for a second room.

Before grabbing my coffee and heading back upstairs to our room I noticed it was raining out. DW and I returned to the lobby with our luggage and decided to eat the hotel's breakfast. There were several guys already helping themselves at the small buffet and when DW and I sat down with our food she told me that she was a little nervous because a couple of the guys had been constantly coughing in their hand, and then handling the buffet thongs for dishing up their scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy. And none of them was wearing a mask.

After we finished eating, I filled our insulated travel cups with coffee and took our bags out to the car. It was around 6:45 and just warm enough to keep the light rain that was still falling from freezing on my windshield or the pavement.

It eventually quit raining altogether just before we reached the outskirts of Birmingham. We arrived there about 9:00 and just as I feared we encountered the city's rush-hour traffic. Once again it was white-knuckle driving time until we were well north of the city.

Just after entering Tennessee, we stopped at its Welcome Center to eat a light snack, walk around and just enjoy the sunshine. But right after leaving that restful facility, north bound traffic was again stopped dead. DW soon learned from her phone that there had been a really bad car/semi-truck accident just ahead of us. Does it have to do with the shipping delays, I never seen so many semis on the road in my life?

We were, fortunately, stalled very close to an exit because I had to go really bad. Three cars behind me took the shoulder to the off ramp and I decided to follow them. I had no idea where we were, but right after leaving the Interstate we came upon a gas station. What a relief!

When we returned back to on-ramp for I-65 we saw the accident. It had occurred right at the south exit ramp allowing us to get back on an empty Interstate. We both decided that somebody must have been looking after us.

When we reached southern Illinois, we stopped to get a DQ Blizzard. Then we stopped off of I-57 North at Effingham, Ill. where we had intended to stay overnight at the IHG hotel located right off of the cloverleaf. DW had searched on her phone for a restaurant recommendation and found that "The Gabby Goat American Pub and Grill" was highly recommended. That's where we chose to go and well, we found out that it's located almost all the way across town. But we had a great meal there. I had their Effingham Burger (Grass fed beef patty topped with a thick slice of grilled ham and cheddar cheese on a pretzel bun with their huge portion of hand-cut fries). I also drank a Sam Adam's Hazy IPA draft to help me relax a little. DW had their pulled pork sandwich (BBQ pork, coleslaw, and pickles on a pretzel bun with their generous portion of hand-cut fries).

When we were finished eating, we discussed whether to stay at the Holiday Inn Express to just drive home. I asked DW what she wanted to do, and she let me decide. I just wanted to be in my own bed and made the decision to just drive home.

We left the restaurant in the dark about 5:15 and I soon took a wrong turn trying to get back on the Interstate. It was one of those sharp, right arrows turns where you have to go through the intersection and not turn right at the light. I was able to quickly correct my mistake and turned around after only a couple of blocks.

The short diversion ended up saving us from being stuck again. Just two miles down the road the traffic was stopped dead on both the north and south bound lanes. This time a state trooper was diverting all of the north bound traffic onto at narrow, two-lane road just ahead of us. And the road eventually took us almost all the way up to Champaign, IL. But just as we neared the city, we were allowed back on I-57.

While driving the two-lane -- due to the extremely flat countryside -- we could see a number of flashing red and blue lights and traffic on I-57 stopped in both directions for miles and miles. DW once again learned from her phone that it was a semi/car accident. The semi had also caught on fire and this time there had been fatalities.

Somebody was still looking after us. If I hadn't made the wrong turn in Effingham delaying us by a mere 5 minutes, we would've been stuck with everybody else just past where we had been diverted off of the Interstate.

Well, the end of the long drive finally came, and we arrived at our driveway right at 11 PM. It 16 hours after we had left Prattville. When I walked in the front door, I felt like kissing our new living room floor.

In summary, yes, we did have a difficult drive home from Orlando just as we did on the way there. Traffic in and through the big cities was horrible even outside of rush hours. How do people who live there stand it? The stress just getting to work and back home every day has to take a huge toll on their health. We can get anywhere we need to in our town of 10,000 souls in Wisconsin in five minutes. And for more to do, Madison is only a 30-minute drive away.

We really liked staying at SSR and generally had a good time while at DS despite the crowds. We also enjoyed all of our restaurant meals and the WDW resorts we visited. But if and when we do return, we'll definitely limit the number of times we visit the parks.

Have a wonderful 2022!

 

[Megan138]

Thanks for the great trip report! I enjoyed reading it.

 

[Hubie]

This isn't a post. My reply to Megan is below.

 

[disneyAndi14]

The stress of the drive ugh! I am a home care nurse in northern Minnesota so the last thing I want to do is drive when I go on vacation! I’m sure you were very happy to get home!
Thanks for the detailed report. I enjoyed following along!

 

[Hubie]

Thanks for the great trip report! I enjoyed reading it.

You're welcome! I enjoyed writing it and I'm glad you liked it.

 

[Hubie]

The stress of the drive ugh! I am a home care nurse in northern Minnesota so the last thing I want to do is drive when I go on vacation! I’m sure you were very happy to get home!
Thanks for the detailed report. I enjoyed following along!

Thanks for reading it and for the work you do.

This is the first time I can remember getting only one inch of snow down here and having to shovel my driveway five times so far because of the wind coming from where you live. How cold is it up your way?

 

[rdkeim]

Thanks for sharing - I enjoyed reading about your trip!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Thanks for reading it and for the work you do.

This is the first time I can remember getting only one inch of snow down here and having to shovel my driveway five times so far because of the wind coming from where you live. How cold is it up your way?

We are having a true Minnesota winter! In the last 2 weeks we have received at least 2 feet of snow and the wind has been crazy these last couple days! It is going to be -20 tonight! We live by Lake Superior.

 

[Hubie]

Thanks for sharing - I enjoyed reading about your trip!

Thank you for reading it. Next time we'll definitely fly.

 

[Hubie]

We are having a true Minnesota winter! In the last 2 weeks we have received at least 2 feet of snow and the wind has been crazy these last couple days! It is going to be -20 tonight! We live by Lake Superior.
View attachment 636543

Nice picture! It's supposed to be 30 degrees here tomorrow, but another blast is supposed to arrive on Sunday. Hopefully the below zero weather will end soon.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Happy to hear you made it home ok!

 

[Hubie]

Happy to hear you made it home ok!

Thank you! It was quite the drive, but at least we had good weather all the way to Orlando and back. I wouldn't want to be out on the Interstates now.

We're starting to think about or next trip. We really wanted to do DCL's Trans-Atlantic Cruise, but we're just not comfortable spending that much money to be on a ship under the present circumstances. Another top choice is to return to Scotland. We really fell in love with the City of Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands on our trip there in 2019. Other options once the pandemic winds down are returning to either Switzerland, Alaska or Hawaii. If nothing changes much, then we'll probably be stuck driving out west. The drive is so much easier that way than heading east or south, but it's getting that the only good time to go is in the spring before the fire season starts.

 

[rdkeim]

I am really hoping that travel returns to somewhat normal once this variant slows down. We have a Scotland tour booked for late April/May - a bucket list trip. My grandparents came from Glasgow to the US in the 1920's. Can I ask what you loved about Scotland?

 

[Hubie]

Once again, I messed this up. See response to rdkeim below.

 

[Hubie]

I am really hoping that travel returns to somewhat normal once this variant slows down. We have a Scotland tour booked for late April/May - a bucket list trip. My grandparents came from Glasgow to the US in the 1920's. Can I ask what you loved about Scotland?

I've been to 22 countries, and Scotland really wowed me. I hope you get to go and I'm sure you will enjoy the resident's friendliness and the country's scenic beauty. We didn't get to Glascow so I can't talk about that city, but here's my write-up of our too short visit to Scotland in 2019.

Scotland's City of Edinburgh, Highlands & the Isle of Skye

My wife, Judy, and I traveled to Scotland from 10/09/19 to 20/09/19. I found a direct flight from Chicago to Edinburgh with Lufthansa for approx. $1300 for the two of us through Kayak. Our flight, however, ended up being with their partner, United. I also booked a 3-day bus tour from Edinburgh to the Highlands & Isle of Skye with Highland Explorer info@highlandexplorertours.com, and 48-hr. Hop-On, Hop-Off, Royal Bus Tickets for the first, two- full days we'd be in Edinburgh, 12/09/19 and 13/09/19. Then I eventually had to reserve two different hotels in Edinburgh: The Crowne Plaza - Royal Terrace for the 3-nights before our bus tour and the Holiday Inn Express - Royal Mile for the 4-nights after our bus tour. Note: If you plan to spend any time in Edinburgh reserve your accommodations well in advance of your trip. The hotels there seemed to quickly fill up even during the middle of September. That's why we had to stay in two different hotels. I've yet to try Air B&B for accommodations but have friends that use it all the time.
Our flight was scheduled to leave O'Hara at 6:15 PM on Wednesday (10/09/19) and arrive at the Edinburgh Airport on Thursday morning (11/09/19) around 7:50. But we actually landed an hour early due to a very-strong tailwind. We then took the Tram from the airport to the City's Center (York Place). Kiosks for tickets at the airport accept credit cards and attendants are stationed by them to help you out. You can also purchase Tram or Bus tickets on-line before you leave home. I assume if you do you get a bar code to print, and then use that at one of the airport kiosks to get your actual ticket(s). A round trip ticket is available that includes an open-ended date for returning back to the airport, and the cost for two seniors is 17 pounds (approx. $21). Note: You must board the Tram within 30 minutes after getting your ticket(s). Otherwise, they become invalid! A Tram official marked our tickets as soon as we boarded. You also have to show your ticket to an attendant stationed at a gate after you depart the Tram on your return in order to enter the airport terminal. I mention this only because we're used to riding Copenhagen's Tram three years in a row, and we rarely had our 72-hr. transportation passes while there checked.
Taxis were standing by at York Place to take people to their hotel/apartment or other final destination. Cost to get to the Crowne Plaza, which is near the Town Center in New Town is a little over 4 pounds (5 pounds rounded up for a tip). If you choose to go by bus from the airport that also takes about 30 minutes to get to the Bus Station located near the City Center. And, obviously a personal taxi from the airport directly to your hotel or apartment is a more expensive option.
The 48-hr. Hop-On, Hop-Off Royal Tickets for Edinburgh include the ability to ride the red, green, and blue Hop-On, Hop-Off bus lines. The tickets provided us admission to the Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse (Queen's residence) and the Royal Yacht Britannica. Only the blue bus line goes to the yacht and to a stop at the National Botanical Garden, which is one of the largest in the world.
The Britannica is docked at the Ocean Terminal located northeast of the City Center, adjacent to a 3-story shopping center with a theater and some nice restaurants that overlook the pier/water. You could easily spend an entire day just touring the yacht, taking in the shopping center, and exploring the huge botanical garden.
We spent our first full day (Friday, 12/09/19) just walking around and riding the red and green buses to better familiarize ourselves with both Old Town and New Town. Then the following day we rode the red or green bus lines again to tour the Edinburgh Castle and the Queen's Palace/Grounds.
We finally decided late our second afternoon to catch a blue bus to check out the Britannica, but we arrived at the harbor too late to tour the retired yacht. The last admission to tour the yacht is at 4:30. We, therefore, ended up just walking through the shopping center before catching the last blue bus heading back to a stop near our hotel. The last blue bus leaves in front of the shopping center at 5:30.
Note: You need to validate your tickets when you first arrive to get on the Hop-On, Hop-Off buses at the Waverley Bridge Bus Tours. A little hut-like structure is located near the Waverley Bridge and the huge, Scott Monument located on Princes Street. Princes Street is the main road dividing Old Town from New Town.
Judy and I were very impressed with Highland Explorer -- especially with our Driver/Tour Guide, Caitlin. We were also very pleased with the 3-star, Skye Inn B&B where we stayed for two nights at the Harbor Village of Portree on the Isle of Skye.
In fact, we're now hoping to take Highland's 5-day Isle of Skye, Loch Ness & Inverness tour in the springtime the next time we visit the United Kingdom. I'd like to see snow on the mountain tops in the Highlands and there should be fewer tourists around -- especially if we go in April.
By going on our trip this past September, we avoided some of the crowds that are around during the summer, but we were still surprised by the number of tourists in Edinburgh. Caitlin congratulated the 23 of us on her tour for not coming in August when the entire country is apparently overrun by tourists. She said you can hardly drive in the Highlands due to the traffic and that Edinburgh is jam-packed due to all of the festivals held that month. If you're interested, you can order a free catalog from Highland Tours on-line.
Our first night in Portree most of us on the tour ate at the wonderful home-cooked meal at the Skye Inn. The next night Judy and I chose to eat seafood in the village. We saw a few midges (Gnat-like insects) while waiting to be seated in "The lower Deck" -- a small seafood restaurant located down at the harbor (Caitlin had told us it was the best place to go for fish & chips). Fortunately, the midges weren't the biting kind, because we had to wait outside the small restaurant for an hour. But when it started to sprinkle, we were rewarded with getting a view and pictures of a beautiful rainbow arching over the entire harbor. The "Lower Deck" Restaurant is located in a small, yellow building at the Portree Harbor.
The scenery in the Highlands and Isle of Skye blew us away. The entire area is a photographer's dream due to its unique lighting, lush vegetation and ruggedness. We only had one really bad weather day during our entire 10-day trip when it poured for most of the first day, we were on the 3-day bus tour. We were greeted with 40-50 mph winds and horizontal rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda when we stopped at the famous Eilean Donan Castle.
The castle, considered the most scenic one in Scotland, was closed due to the weather. A few of us braved the weather to use the facilities at the visitor center/store. While returning to the bus I quickly snapped a couple of pictures of the iconic castle. When I got back on the bus Caitlin said, "Now you've experienced real Scottish weather".
It was still raining some but less windy when we stopped for lunch in Fort Augustus, which is located on the western end of Loch Ness. Luckily the day mostly involved traveling in the bus to get all the way up to Portree.
Caitlin made sure nobody was bored as she was either passionately filling us in on the history of every place she drove by or played some great Scottish tunes. We also drove by the location where the next James Bond movie was currently being filmed. And in addition to the stops mentioned above, our first stop that day was at the quaint, village of Dunkeld.
tops while on the Isle of Skye included a site built by the Pict's back in Roman Times; the impressive Dunvegan Castle/Gardens; the Black Houses; the Kilt Rock area/overlook where there is a huge, cascading-waterfall that drops directly to the sea; and the Armadale Castle ruins/Gardens/Museum before taking the ferry ride over to Mallaig.
We had added the Jacobite Steam Train ride (featured in Harry Potter movies as the "Hogwarts Express") to the 3-day tour for an additional 42 pounds/adult. The train travels over 21-stone arches of the spectacular, Glenfinnan Viaduct. And the ride between Mallaig and Fort William is considered by many to be the most scenic one in the entire World.
Unfortunately for us, the steam engine had a mechanical breakdown that very afternoon. Caitlin, had to drive back up to Mallaig from Fort William to retrieve us and she did her very best to make it up to us for missing out on the ride by driving us to the Glenfinnan Visitor Center. From there a short hike took us to where we could get a picture of the famous viaduct, Loch Shiel, and the Jacobite Monument.
We then spent extra time at the scheduled Glencoe stop. It's the site where the Jacobite's under the poor leadership of Bonnie Prince Charlie met disaster. He forced his forces to march in the dark through bogs and woods for 12 miles to take on a waiting English Army in the large, open valley. He had expected the British forces to be drunk and sleeping. But they had been warned ahead of time that he was coming. The clouds had lifted when we arrived there to give us a perfect view of the awesome valley. Highland Explorer refunded the 84 pounds we paid for the planned train ride after we arrived home.
We spent seven nights (3 before our tour and 4 afterwards) in Edinburgh, but you could easily spend two weeks there and not see everything you might want to. In addition to riding the Hop-On, Hop Off Buses, touring the Edinburgh Castle and the wonderful Holyroodhouse we spent a lot of time just walking around. We shopped of course, visited churches, both the National Museum of Scotland and the Grassmarket area twice, and the National Library. Note: The National Museum has 7-levels and would be exhausting to try to do in a day. A number of the museums in the city, including the National Museum are free. Down time was spent at different tea/coffee houses. We ate at the local Hard Rock twice and in a number of pubs instead of any fancy restaurants.
Our stay at the Crowne Plaza - Royal Terrace the first 3-days while in Edinburgh was fine. Breakfast was extra and very good. The hotel is located right below Calton Hill (Monument Hill). Access to the monuments was closed, however, due to the new "Fast & Furious" movie being filmed there.
In any case, when we return, we'll probably stay at the Holiday Inn Express - Royal Mile for the entire time we're in Edinburgh. It's conveniently located on Cow Gate Street just below the Royal Mile and they offer a great free breakfast -- much better than what you get in their hotels in the States. It's also only a short walk to Highland's Office, which is located just up the hill on the Royal Mile. Note: You have to meet your tour bus at their office at 7:45 AM, and you don't want to be late, because the buses leave from there at 8:00 sharp. And you get dropped off there after your tour is finished.
We also found a great Brew Pub (named "Brewdog") located on Cow Gate Street about five blocks west of the hotel that has a big selection of craft beers on tap and very good personal-sized pizzas that have a very-thin sourdough crust.
As far as packing we just took a travel bag (for all of the necessities/bathroom items) that fits under the seat on a jet and a standard carry-on suitcase for each of us. We both packed a down or synthetic-filled vest, a couple of flannel shirts and long-sleeve T-shirts, a pair of light-weight synthetic pants from Eddie Bauer, a small travel umbrella (hardly used due to wind), and a quality raincoat w/hood.
We wore our raincoats or carried them with us on the tour and also while in Edinburgh. We saved space in our carry-on luggage by wearing jeans, one of the flannel shirts, and a long-sleeve T-shirt on the plane. We also only took the comfortable tennis shoes we wore on the plane. Note: We spent an awful lot of time walking on uneven concrete squares and/or cobblestone in Edinburgh and both of us averaged about 15,000 - 17,000 steps/day. We had sore feet, calves and thighs every night while in the city.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Thank you! It was quite the drive, but at least we had good weather all the way to Orlando and back. I wouldn't want to be out on the Interstates now.

We're starting to think about or next trip. We really wanted to do DCL's Trans-Atlantic Cruise, but we're just not comfortable spending that much money to be on a ship under the present circumstances. Another top choice is to return to Scotland. We really fell in love with the City of Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands on our trip there in 2019. Other options once the pandemic winds down are returning to either Switzerland, Alaska or Hawaii. If nothing changes much, then we'll probably be struck driving out west. The drive is so much easier that way than heading east or south, but it's getting that the only good time to go is in the Spring before the fire season starts.

We are supposed to head on a postponed London trip this year but we are already planning a back up trip to DLR incase. We just don’t want to risk it. So much unknown right now

 

[Hubie]

We are supposed to head on a postponed London trip this year, but we are already planning a backup trip to DLR in case. We just don’t want to risk it. So much unknown right now

We haven't been to London yet. Hope you make it there. Things are starting to get better in the United Kingdom and maybe this Spring and Summer it will be easier to travel there.