The annual Dub Family Spring Break trip is upon us. We have 4 days in Orlando to relax and rejuvenate ourselves for another year. The relaxation part is never part of our vacations though. I live in a house with 3 females so I always have my hands full. And Spring Break has evolved over the years from carefree beach weekend to romantic weeklong getaways with Mrs. Dub to carrying diaper bags and strollers and waiting in long lines to get “It’s a Small World” stuck in my head for weeks. It’s always an adventure though and this year I’m documenting this wild and crazy journey. There will be a lot of fun but I’m sure I’ll write some of this on the verge of exhaustion tears.
Sunday is travel day so we will be on the road most of the day from our sleepy town in Georgia to bustling Orlando, Florida to see everything Mickey. We have taken the kids 4 times before and we’ve hit Disney, Universal, Animal Kingdom, Sea World, Islands of Adventure, Blizzard Beach, Wet N Wild and numerous mini golf courses. We are going back to Disney this year because we think the kids are the right age to get everything. Bailey is old enough to ride all the rides and G is old enough to not be scared of the characters in costume. At least that’s how we have it outlined in our heads. Don’t worry, there will be cards too!
So let’s hit the road!
Sunday
Really not much happening on travel day other than what feels like herding cats. Actually leaving the house feels like a tremendous accomplishment; never mind the 5 hour drive that awaits. We all get hungry in intervals and anybody with a wife and multiple daughters also knows that they all have to use the bathroom at different times. This ride was better than last year because G has learned how to occupy herself with a movie and she also slept a little. The wife slept more than a little and Bailey rotated between angel and master complainer.
We did make it safely though and that’s really all that matters. We had a rather uneventful check in and the room was as advertised. I know it is more entertaining to read about something in the room being broken or somebody already being in the shower when we open the door but I’ll take boring any day of the week when it comes to checking into a room away from home. We do have a nice pool view but that comes with the constant, “I want to go swimming” from the kids. Even when it’s time to eat supper or go to bed!
We did make our normal Target run though to stock up a little and I spent some time in the card aisle staring at the lone box of 2018 Leaf Heroes of the Game. I struggled with whether to take one more chance or stick with the three I pulled and call it a success. Ultimately I left the box sitting on the shelf. My rationale was that I really wouldn’t pull anything better than Ripken, Gwynn or Montana so I was really tempting fate with that $35 of vacation money. It’s only Sunday though and I have until Wednesday to change my mind!
Monday
This was the big day! We rolled out of bed bright and early and headed out for Disney World. This was going to be G’s 2nd trip and Bailey’s 4th. I realized this morning that we have been to Orlando every year since G was born. We were here the year Alicia was pregnant with her too but that trip didn’t go too well if you’ll recall the ups and downs I wrote about in The Strongest Woman I Know. At any rate, when G was 7 months old, we went to Universal and Islands of Adventure. She wasn’t old enough to even remember it. The following year was a trip to Wet n Wild and Sea World. Then last year, Disney and Animal Kingdom with the Collins’, which was a total blast.
We decided that Disney would be the call again this year because G was a little older and she was much more into the Disney scene. Last year was a bit of a letdown when we immediately found out that she was afraid of the castle. We weren’t able to really enjoy any of the shows or castle parties with that being the case. She was much more into the whole castle scene this year and even sat front row for a show. The volume was a little loud but she made it through the whole thing.
We went to another “show” of sorts with a newer attraction featuring Belle of “Beauty and the Beast”. They even asked for the audience to participate and Bailey was chosen to play Mrs. Potts. It was a fun time and Bailey and G both got their photos taken with Belle. Of course, we rode Dumbo and It’s a Small World because that is a bit of a tradition. But we skipped Peter Pan this year because of the wait times and replaced it with The Little Mermaid ride. We also weren’t able to ride the Seven Dwarves roller coaster for the second year in a row because the wait time was never less than 150 minutes.
I finally got Bailey to Thunder Mountain and it was a total blast! We hardly ever go to Frontierland for one reason or another but we made sure that we checked that box this year, even with the daunting 70 minute wait. Alicia and G did the Philharmonic while we road the coaster. Bailey loved it and called it her second favorite ride ever. She has my sense of adventure and she’ll ride all the cool stuff with me. We just can’t ride as much with G not understanding why she can’t go too.
We then met up with Alicia and G to attempt the Haunted Mansion as a family. That was an adventure. G didn’t make it to the elevator before she chickened out so she and Alicia had to take the emergency exit. Bailey and I went through the elevator portion and just as we were about to get in the ride car, Alicia and G appeared out of nowhere because the little one had changed her mind. She and Bailey hopped in the car with me before we could really sort things out and Alicia got stuck riding by herself. We were able to get it done as a family but Alicia got the shaft.
We also found some time to get a ride on the carousel in but we eventually closed out the night with Winnie the Pooh, at G’s request. We sort of owed it to her after the Haunted Mansion ride and then the fireworks scaring her way more than some cheesy spook house effects. I had to take her into a gift shop during the firework show and one of the shop workers even came over to talk with us and offered G some stickers to help her feel better. She took the stickers and put them on her ears! So Winnie the Pooh was a must and she loved it so we were able to end the night on a high note…..almost. It took us over an hour to get on the monorail and then the tram to finally get to the car. G fell asleep on my shoulders with a huge sucker in her hand, which stuck itself to my hair.
All in all, it was one of the better days we’ve had at an amusement park. I’m not saying that any of the days are ever too bad but we tend to experience occasional meltdowns when we get too tired, too hot or have too much fun to choose from. Besides the occasional “I haven’t gotten to ride anything I want” and “I’m hungry”, we had a pretty solid day in that department. We had one particular moment that I’ll cherish for quite a while. We got stuck inside Gaston’s Tavern because of some rain but we all sat and shared popcorn, a cinnamon bun and frozen apple juice and nobody complained, everybody loved the food and we had a good time laughing at each other.
Now, everybody is fast asleep except for me as I’m trying to recount this day before I lose some of the smaller moments to sleep. But sleep is coming because my feet are swollen, my back is tight and we have a full day of swimming ahead of us tomorrow. But for now, today was a damn good day and one that feels like we did it the right way.
Tuesday
Today started off the right way; ripping! Even though it’s wrestling and not a product I rip a lot, it’s always fun. I’m more of an old school wrestling guy so this isn’t really my speed but I can still get down with it. I’ve got a real nostalgic wrestling post in the works but it will have to wait until after spring break.
The product is Topps Road to WrestleMania and includes two hits with at least one autograph guaranteed. There is a cool tribute to André the Giant so that’s right up my alley!
Of course, the Undertaker is an old school guy too!
Of the modern wrestlers, I like watching Asuka because she is very entertaining. Undefeated too if I recall correctly.
In a modern/throwback combo, here is a nice Charlotte Flair. The Nature Girl?
But my favorite lineage duo has always been The American Dream and Goldust!
As for the hits, I hope Nikki Cross pans out because I’ve opened 2 WWE products in the last few months and I now have 3 of her autos. My 2 hits in this box were the same autos but one is numbered to 50.
After the rip, it was time to hit the pool!! This is really what the kids had been waiting for probably more than Disney. All I’ve heard for the last week is, “I want to swim at Liki Tiki!” We’ve stayed here a few times and the kids are familiar with the slides and the volcano fountain and all the other stuff that gets their attention. Our pool view room didn’t help when we got here either but I’m not complaining about that.
I will say that spring break in late March always has the possibility of being a little on the chilly side. Don’t get me wrong, 75 degrees isn’t exactly chilly but its borderline swimming weather for South Georgians. We have Christmas Days that are warmer than that. The breeze was pretty strong and as long as we stayed in the water, we were good. The minute you got out, you felt like you were at Polar Bear tryouts. The kids didn’t seem to mind so that’s really all that mattered. Even though it was a little chilly, I’ve got red shoulders, Alicia’s neck is red and Bailey has a red face. G dodged the sunburn bullet.
Tomorrow is travel day back home because the Orlando trip was really only a venture for the first half of the week. We’ve got some plans in Ocala and I have a Donruss box that I haven’t ripped yet so we’ll see if there is anything left to post.
Wednesday
Well, the trip ended on a sour note for me. I was hit with a bout of food poisoning during the middle of the night and spent several hours hanging on for dead life. I’d never had full blown food poisoning but I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I’m going on about 20 hours with no food and just drinking water and Gatorade. It changed the ride home for me as I just slept but Mrs. Dub and the kids did some touring of stables in Ocala and got some trail riding in so it was a good time for them.
I won’t let that last part ruin my memory of the trip because it was a fun excursion. We had a lot of fun at Disney and the kids are enjoying it more now when we go. They are sort of in that perfect age range to get the most out of it. Bailey is wanting to do more scary rides now so she is probably going to want Islands of Adventure or Universal for the next trip. But this year was really good. We still have half of a week to rest and enjoy ourselves and I still have that box of Donruss to rip when I’m back on my feet so it’s not over yet! But this part of the vacation was a “4” on the Dub-O-Meter. Would’ve easily been a “5” if not for the severe abdominal pain over the last several hours!
J-Dub
I remember some great times with GaGa though. When I was a kid, she was like my “extended” mother. She was always around. We lived in a small town of about 5,000 so even if you lived across town, you didn’t live far away. That was the case with GaGa as she lived in some apartments on the far south side of town. We could be at her house within 5 minutes and we were there a lot. My parents would go out on a Friday or Saturday night and that meant we were staying with GaGa. I can still picture the full layout of that apartment. She had her recliner in the far corner of the living room and there were three separate graduation pictures of my mom, my Aunt Ann and my Aunt Nancy, over the couch.
Another memory I have is eating breakfast on Saturday mornings. For many years, like clockwork, GaGa would make a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and grits for her three daughters, their husbands and all 6 grandchildren. This was where I was introduced to the homemade jelly that BeeBee made. This is also where me and Adam and Trent would go play on the wooden beams out in front of the apartment. We would play kickball, wiffle ball and football; unless it was a day that Adam had to “rest up” for R.A. Basketball. Trent will get that one for sure. Those breakfasts carried on for years, even after she moved into a new house just down the road from us. She had more room to entertain but we all still piled up on each other because we had all grown up.
We had Christmas at her house annually. First, we were at the apartment. This is where Michael and Chase are taking their goofy NASCAR picture with Ashley in the background. This is where Trent wore his karate gi one Christmas. That was a different Christmas than the one where he was caught on camera uttering an unenthused “clothes I bet” while opening a gift from GaGa. This is where Uncle Danny received a gun cleaning kit 10 years in a row. This is where the story of Adam and “Crossfire” became a legendary tale because I heard it there that Christmas morning. I loved going to GaGa’s house on Christmas morning to eat breakfast and kick off the present ripping for the day. Then she moved over to the new house and we made memories there too.
One such memory will go down as one of the greatest moments in holiday history for our family. This moment is remembered as more than it really was but if you knew GaGa, you’ll know why this was such a big deal. As she was finishing up breakfast, we were snooping around the tree, as usual. We were getting a little too handsy with the presents when GaGa went to reprimand us and meant to say, “Put the presents down!” What she said was “Put the down presents….down”; which we heard or “interpreted” as, “Put the damn presents down!” This was an impossibility because she was unable to use such language and was as pure a human as I’ve ever known. But that didn’t stop us from letting her know that’s what we thought she said. Emotions ranged from embarrassment to aggravation with us over the years with that repeatedly coming up Christmas after Christmas.
As a sports fan, I have memories in that realm too. Any Atlanta Braves fan from my generation will remember what life was like from 1991-1995 and that was right in my teenage wheelhouse with me being 14-18. The playoffs were on at my house every year and it was a gathering place for our whole family to enjoy the games. I’ll never forget 1991. Even though Kent Hrbek stole that series from us, with the help of a Lonnie Smith base-running blunder, that is the most memorable postseason series of my lifetime. And GaGa was there with Ma Jean, Uncle Charles, Andrew, and everybody else. We collectively cheered when David Justice crossed the plate in the 12th inning of Game 3 and we collectively cried when Dan Gladden scored the series winning run in the 10th inning of Game 7. It all happened again in 1992 but the players were Francisco Cabrera, Sid Bream, Joe Carter and Kelly Gruber. Our family was together though and GaGa was cheering right with us.
But that is the manner in which I remember GaGa today. When I think about her, I smile or I laugh and I just feel love. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times we got in trouble with her. Negativity was not present when we were around GaGa. We enjoyed ourselves. She bought me baseball cards for Easter, Halloween and Christmas. I still remember the 1990 Fleer Mark McGwire I opened while eating my trick or treat candy. We played Phase 10 while Uncle Charles made up fake words to cast spells on the deck in his favor. We sat in the same spot every Sunday at church. She checked in on me when I was home alone and the parents went to the lake for the weekend. She ALWAYS believed me when I called sick from school, even when I was faking. And I remember the quilt she made me when I was 5. It still sits on our bed, 35 years later, and Alicia uses it for an extra layer because I keep the house so cold.
I went to see GaGa the day before I left for the Industry Summit because her health had deteriorated to a point where we didn’t know how long she had left. She didn’t look like GaGa. She didn’t recognize me. She slept most of the time. But I was in the room with her just one more time. Ma Jean was there too, along with mom and Andrew. I felt at peace in the room with her. My GaGa has been gone for several years but Nell Kelly passed away today (March 3, 2018). She leaves behind a big family of Lamb’s and Hayes’ and Shiver’s that grew up together because she kept us together. She was the matriarch of our big family and we learned a lot from her. I like to think that she passed down to me some of her laid back personality and chili making skills. I know that we all have a little piece of her with us today.
I miss my grandmother but that is not a new emotion. It is compounded with the passing of her earthly body. But I have these memories of her. And I want them to be remembered even after I am gone so they are now a part of this blog. I pray that I, nor anyone else in my family, has to go through what she went through. But just in case I one day find myself reaching for memories that are leaving, I hope that this writing will be there to help me remember my grandmother.