Summer trip

Well, we are all set for our trip to visit family and friends next month. We are using some of the points earned on our credit card for free hotel stays, one night each way. Since it is a 14 hour drive, usually more with the kids, we like to break the drive up into a two-day trip. This relieves the stress for parents and kis alike.

Of course, I wish we could have saved those free nights for a vacation alone with my husband, like maybe some nice Hilton Head rentals, but the points will build up again before we have the chance to take another trip. Once the kids get a little older, we're planning to leave them with their grandparents for a couple of weeks while my husband and I get some much deserved rest and relaxation and finally get to take a real vacation.

But until then, it's off to Denver to visit the old stomping grounds. We decided to drive our van this time to keep costs down. Car rental prices have shot through the roof lately, due to the rise in gas prices, I'm sure. So hopefully we won't have any major problems and the van makes the trip OK. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

What a difference

One thing that really struck me as different traveling to Disney World this time was the amount of luggage we took. The last time we went, we only had one child and she was two and a half years old. Since we were staying at a hotel in the park and relying on Disney shuttle buses for transportation, we had to bring everything we needed with us from home. This included diapers (one whole suitcase full!), snacks, and drinking water.

This time, even though we have four people in the family now, we had less luggage than last time. Most of this is due to the fact that both children are potty trained and out of the "baby gear and supplies" stage that makes traveling with infants such a challenge. My in-laws also rented a van during this trip, so we were able to shop for snack foods and drinking water at local grocery stores. Of course, we still bought way too much food in the parks, but that was to be expected. That's the one nice thing about traveling with babies - you can carry lots of stuff in the bottom of the stroller, like picnic lunches, extra drinks, and extra jackets. Without the stroller, we didn't want to carry a backpack around with us on the rides, so we just opted to eat park food much of the time.

Oh well, now that our kids are older, we plan to start traveling more like we used to. We've missed it a lot and it is something that the whole family enjoys.

Oh no! Please no!

I found out today that our coveted $5 per month trolley passes for residents will be no more as of August 1st. This is all due to a complaint from a resident who lives in our county, but outside city limits. Residents living within city limits paid $5 per month, while county residents outside city limits paid $15 - which is still a great deal. Someone complained to the Federal Transit Administration because she had to pay the higher price. They decided that indeed it was unfair to charge a lower price for residents, and now the price will be $30 per month per person. What??!!??

And if that wasn't bad enough, they will also make us pay for our kids, who were free before, to the tune of $20 each - yes, this includes my two year old. So what used to cost us $10 a month for the whole family, will now cost us $100 a month. Well, it looks like we will be walking more because there is no way we will pay that amount.

In a last-ditch effort, I will try to buy six months worth of passes in July (at the $5 price) and see if they let me. It will be like getting six months for the price of one at the new price! Crazy. I am so upset about this. I really feel sorry for the disabled people I know that rely on the trolley as their daily driver. I hope at least they will get some kind of discount.