As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
What a trek into the city! I think it's perfectly ok for strollers to use the handicap elevators in the subway. It's not safe to carry them up and down the stairs or escalators. I use the elevators in my scooter and never questioned when people with strollers use them as well. Trying to remember which subway stops in NYC are accessible and which are not is such a pain! Then, when you find one with an elevator you have to deal with the disgusting fact that they're often used as urinals.
I hadn't thought about the urinal tendency Now I'm really glad we struggled hauling the stroller up and down the stairs. There are only a few handicap accessible subway stops on the Metro line and some only offer elevators from the turnstile down to the platform levels, so there are still stairs to be dealt with. I was really surprised how handicap unfriendly the city seemed to be. I thought for sure that would have changed in the past 10 years since my last visit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Oh my goodness, I can't believe how far behind they were running behind! I also can't believe the struggle you had with the stroller - you guys must've been exhausted by the time you got there.
It was a long morning, but it was also fun and gave me a new appreciation for living in Ohio where it's a ton easier to deal with strollers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Just getting caught up again! Sounds like you've had some great weekends! Sorry for all the troubles in NYC!
We have had some really great weekends
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
That was a lot of stroller lifting on a hot day. I can't imagine waiting that long for a doctor's appointment. A positive aspect of living in small town America. Sounds like you all have your hands full with home redo projects.
I can't believe you actually live in Troy. My parents were both teaching in Pleasant Hill (don't know if you know that even smaller town) when I was born at Stouder Memorial Hospital in Troy. A few months ago Luke and I were shopping in Hobby Lobby when I saw these cute boxes made from yard sticks cut up. Then I looked closer and the yard sticks had Troy, Ohio on them. I had to buy one.
I had to reply separately Are you ready for a few more "small world" moments?
Pleasant Hill (referred to as P-Hill around here) has been split into two districts - half of the town goes to Newton Schools and the other portion feeds into Milton-Union. I used to teach in Milton-Union. Next, Stouder Memorial Hospital? The city built a new Hospital a few years back, Upper Valley, on 25 A halfway between Troy and Piqua. Stouder was purchased by Troy Schools and now houses the special education preschool, where my son Cullen goes to school.
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
I had to reply separately Are you ready for a few more "small world" moments?
Pleasant Hill (referred to as P-Hill around here) has been split into two districts - half of the town goes to Newton Schools and the other portion feeds into Milton-Union. I used to teach in Milton-Union. Next, Stouder Memorial Hospital? The city built a new Hospital a few years back, Upper Valley, on 25 A halfway between Troy and Piqua. Stouder was purchased by Troy Schools and now houses the special education preschool, where my son Cullen goes to school.
Mom and Dad taught in the Newton School district. How cool that the old hospital has been refurbed for special needs kids. I have had family who lived in Piqua, but I'm not sure if any do anymore or not. My Mom grew up in and around Mendon. My grandfather was a migrant/itinerant worker for many years before he got a full-time factory job that allowed them to buy a home in Mendon. I have an aunt and uncle (Mom's siblings) who still live in Celina. This is just too cool. "Small World" keeps playing in my head.
Cam, I'll try to get a good picture of Stouder when I'm there for meetings next week though I'm nowhere near as good at taking pictures as you!
Jill and I had boarded the #5 Express train back to Brooklyn. Everything was fine until we heard the conductor's voice announcing a "signal problem" that requires all guests to depart the train at the next stop. We got off at Bowling Green and I did have a picture of the sign because that's where Coach and I met...only in Ohio. I was a bit nervous, but Jill said that we'd take the #4 which ran on the same track but took longer because it wasn't an express train. After about a five minute wait, a #4 train pulled up. We boarded, settled baby G and chatted. She said it was the first time in several years that a train she'd been on "malfunctioned" and had to be taken off service. Then...we had to get off two stops later and switch to the #2 train in order to get closer to her apartment. Honestly, we probably could have walked, but it was raining and despite my mom's advice, we hadn't brought an umbrella with us. The only way we could tell it was raining was from the very wet people heading down to the platform. We got off at the correct stop for the #2 train and were confronted with the ONLY way to get to the ticket level...an escalator I suggested she carry the carseat and I would take the stroller up the escalator - we couldn't fold it up because we had no way to carry the food we'd bought at Union Market...she felt we could just lift the stroller up and hold it above the escalator stairs. Our only choice was to take the #2 up to the next stop and then hike the 6 blocks back toward her house. That was my choice, but to the escalator we went.
We made it okay, but my arm muscles were aching. We stopped at the ticket area and had to wait for an attendant to buzz Jill through the handicap gate - thankfully, we didn't have to lift the stroller over the turnstiles. Finally, we reached our last set of stairs and lifted the stroller (and now frantically hungry baby) up to street level. Jill had a rain shield which I helped her put on because she'd never used it and off we set toward the apartment. Matt texted to say he was finally boarding a train from Columbia and would be home in about an hour, apologizing because he'd been held up over a discussion over his work trip to Africa that was coming up. We reached the apartment at 3:30, exhausted and Jill was starting to get frazzled because Gabe was furiously hungry, and had soaked through his diaper and his last clean outfit.
We let ourselves into her apartment. My Dad was on a work phone call, and Mom was putting away the rest of the baby's laundry. She'd also done a couple loads of clothes for my brother who mentioned that he needed clean clothes. As I put the groceries away, Jill cleaned up Gabe and sat down to feed him. We heard someone knocking at the door, and Dad thought it was Matt. Figuring he'd locked himself out again, he opened the door only to be confronted by two people who stated they were from the Housing Authority.
Jill came into the room hall and asked them to produce verification, which they did. They explained that they were here to inspect to see if they'd remedied "past violations" on the co-op. Jill, still a bit flustered over Gabe, got defensive and said that they'd requested an inspection 2 1/2 years ago. The guy, Javier, just shrugged and informed her that they were "here now". Dad was feeling quite confused and a lot protective, was telling Jill to go call Matt before she let them in. Thankfully, George, the building super arrived on the scene to help Jill out. Suddenly, Gabe, realizing he was alone and still hungry, started wailing. Jill asked me to go tend to him while she looked over the paperwork.
Javier asked her if the baby lived here and she said that he did, but he was born only four weeks ago. So, he cautioned her..."Do you have baby gates on all windows? If there aren't gates and I see the windows, I have to assess a penalty." Jill picking up on that said, "Could you go inspect another co-op and come back when Matt is here?"
George was laughing - "is a four week old baby going to abre la puerta?" He asked Javier..."No, hombre, el nino can't even move on his own". Javier stood his ground and reiterated that the baby guards needed to be installed on every window - even the bathroom window which had been painted shut going clear back to the 1980 inspection.
Once they left, Jill settled down with Gabe while furiously texting my brother. George returned with window guards and had my Dad help him begin to install the guards on the windows, both of them were laughing about needing them, mainly because the co-op was due to begin installing brand new windows September 1st and all the windows were coming with baby guards, whether children resided in the apartments or not.
About an hour later, Javier and his partner re-entered the apartment and inspected the old violations, noted the newly installed baby guards but "violated" the apartment because the windows still opened all the way. George again argued with the inspectors because the windows were all going to be replaced, and the new windows would have the stoppers to prevent them from opening higher than the baby guards. Matt arrived in the midst of the predominantly Spanish argument, produced the papers showing the new window installation date and components which would be installed. That must have satisfied the inspectors because they left and did not issue any official violations. Dad of course was still confused as to why the inspectors were there to begin with if the apartment was officially owned by Matt & Jill rather than a rental Finally, we convinced Dad that different cities have different rules.
It was now 5:00 and I hadn't talked with Coach or the boys ALL DAY so I called because I was in withdrawl. He didn't answer? I left him a message and went to talk with Matt about dinner - Jill and I planned to make a clam pasta, with a light salad using the tomatoes I'd brought from the garden. We hit a roadblock when Matt remembered that Zach's wife, Esther, is allergic to shellfish so we sat down to talk through our options Finally, we decided to put some of the Basil Jelly I'd made on top of goat cheese and serve it with crackers as an appetizer. Esther was bringing a Cold Cucumber Soup and Matt was going to make this pasta dish with jalepenos, red onion and lemon. We would have a fresh Cherry pie made by Jill for desert. Matt and I headed down to the local grocery store to pick up a few items while Dad helped Jill pit the fresh cherries and Mom enjoyed some "Gabe" time.
We finished up the dinner preparations just as Zach and Esther arrived, and my phone rang. It was Coach, finally checking in. He said that the'd washed the van, then swam in the pool for a bit before deciding to head up a day early to his parents' house. It was Chicken Festival weekend, and he thought the kids might be better off being entertained with Grammy and Grampa. Buckeye fans will like this part - The Danger Brothers were playing at the Festival that night as part of the all Delta-Pike-York Reunion and Coach was going to check it out. The last time I was able to see the Danger Brothers, I was pregnant with Nolan and serving as the Designated Driver for a group of our friends.
After I said goodnight to the boys, who didn't really want to talk because they were getting ready to watch a movie, I told Coach to give me a call later and rejoined the party.
Matt's grade school friend gave him a bottle of wine from his father-in-law's vineyard in California for a baby shower gift and Matt opened it so we could enjoy it with our appetizer. Now, I'm not one for wine, but I was curious to see what a $150.00 bottle of Merlot tastes like. It was really good! Matt sent a picture to his friend of us toasting and we moved through dinner. Everything was delicious, and we left with bellies hurting from laughter about 11:30 that night. It was raining pretty hard, so Zach and Esther rode back with us (they live in the brownstone next to where we were staying).
Up next: You let our son do what? And being a tourist, in NY
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Such an ordeal with the subway! I can't imagine how Jill would have gotten throught that day without your help. And how did she have energy to make a cherry pie?! The scene with the housing guys about the windows is such a farce-- welcome to life in NY!
I had no idea how unfriendly the New York subway was to strollers, but now I think about it, I guess London's not much different, as very few stations, outside of the newer ones have step free access from the entrance to the platform. I can't get over those building inspectors either. Thank goodness they were able to satisfy them in the end.
Such an ordeal with the subway! I can't imagine how Jill would have gotten throught that day without your help. And how did she have energy to make a cherry pie?! The scene with the housing guys about the windows is such a farce-- welcome to life in NY!
Jill has a lot more energy than I did with a little one that age She also has an incurable sweet tooth so she was driven to make the cherry pie because she's never happy with "store bought" or bakery versions. My brother reverse to it as her "champagne tastes on a beer budget" and tries to remind her that she's only four weeks out from having a baby...she would pay for all the activity the following day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
The subway does not sound designed at all for strollers. And then the ordeal with the inspectors. Thank goodness dinner was a success!
I still am surprised at the transportation issues given that many, many families live in NYC. When we tour on Saturday, we took mostly drove.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
Strollers in NYC sound like a nightmare! I'm glad that you had a great time at dinner though. Sounds like a nice ending to the day.
It was a nice ending, and I was very glad that I hadn't had the youngest with me. I'd actually toyed with the idea of bringing one of my boys with me - Cullen being the obvious choice because it would have been easier for Coach to just handle the older two. Cullen's stroller is MUCH heavier than the one Jill uses for Gabe - that would have been a ROYAL pain because I would have worried about his bolting tendencies when he wasn't strapped into the stroller.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I had no idea how unfriendly the New York subway was to strollers, but now I think about it, I guess London's not much different, as very few stations, outside of the newer ones have step free access from the entrance to the platform. I can't get over those building inspectors either. Thank goodness they were able to satisfy them in the end.
I hadn't thought about London's subways in a long time. I have a good friend from HS who spent four years in London when her husband was transferred there (he's originally from Britain). While she was there, they had two babies and she wrote a really entertaining blog about adjusting to the British way of doing things, including a few entries about why the public transportation is so much more efficient than our versions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Good grief, what a day! At least it ended on a yummy note!
Thanks!
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
I'm trying to get this update posted, but between problems here on the boards, and Photobucket being a major pain...this might be a short update
I do have some cute pictures from the Cinci Zoo, but photobucket is refusing to upload them (I keep getting "timed out") so they'll have to wait Last night, I attended my first official department meeting as an adjunct and received all new textbooks for the classes I will be teaching - that start in 20 days . For the writing class, the textbook is an updated version of the one I'd been previously given, so it shouldn't be too difficult to tweak my lesson plans. Honestly, I made more of a curriculum map and really only planned out the first week of instruction because I will need to adjust once I meet the students. Right now, my MW class has 14 students, with only one more seat available. The TR class doesn't begin until the end of October, but is already full with 30 students. That class involves an entirely new book series, including a common novel which I've never read, so I have a lot of planning to do for that course. I've also been asked to consider teaching a class in Darke County and I may pick it up, if I can arrange afternoon care for the younger two kiddos for an hour. I have until Friday to provide an answer. If I can't get there to physically teach the course, there is a possibility I may be allowed to teach it on-line, which would be an awesome solution
Coach is taking the older boys halfway to his mom's. They're going to spend the night with her after going to the Sauder Historical Village in Archbold, Ohio. Nolan loves history, so I think he'll really appreciate the working historical village. Tomorrow, Coach and I will travel up with Cullen. We'll all spend the night before returning home on Thursday. Cullen was a bit bent out of shape at being excluded, but I plan on taking him to the library, the video store and out for ice cream after dinner
Back to the report:
We arrived back at our flat around midnight that Friday, and I texted Coach. He seemed to be enjoying the Danger Brother's concert. I was pretty tired, so I quickly turned in. Saturday morning, my phone rang at 7:00 and woke me up. Nolan was telling me about their trip up to Grammy's, helping "cook" dinner and making cupcakes with Grammy. They planned on heading to the Chicken Festival - which is held in the park right behind my in-laws, and were going to Coach's friends' to swim after dinner. Nolan asked when I would be coming home, and admitted that he missed me and "might have even cried" a little at bedtime the previous night. The other two refused to talk, but I expected that because the boys rarely like to talk on the phone. I talked to Coach, then showered and dressed for the day. Dad and I were debating where we should go to get coffee, when Matt texted to see if we'd like to meet up for breakfast at a cafe he liked on Prospect. After another debate, we decided to walk because in Matt's words, it was like "six" short blocks.
Already, at 8:45 it was sunny and very hot and humid. We were predicted to have temps in the upper 80's to low 90's with high humidity and a chance of showers/thunderstorms later that day. We set off walking and I realized after half a block, we were going the wrong way We turned around, and I suggested to Dad that he might want to get the car because it was a lot of walking. My mom had to have her knee replaced in 2009, then in 2011 she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. After surgery, chemo and radiation she's been cleared of cancer, but still gets very tired easily and doesn't deal well with extreme temperatures. Dad thought it might prove difficult to park, and that we should just walk slower, so on we went in the correct direction this time.
We found Matt and Gabe sitting at a little cafe table. Matt and Dad went in to order while I pushed the stroller to get Gabe back to sleep. Mom ordered an ice water and a blueberry and bran muffin, Dad had a bagel with cream cheese and a black coffee, Matt had a cheddar jack and jalepeno biscuit and a very large coffee and I chose a cranberry scone and water. Everything was delicious, though I'm not sure it was worth the $40 we paid. After we ate we headed back to our place because Matt wanted to go to the street market to pick up some fresh vegetables. There was a hidden co-op garden founded in 1850 across from where we were staying and every Saturday, they opened the garden for public access and sold extra produce. Dad, Matt and I toured the garden. I was really amused to see four chickens hanging out in the back of the garden. They also had a goat. We didn't buy anything, but I really enjoyed walking around.
Jill was moving a bit slow probably because of our adventures into the city, making the cherry pie and hosting the dinner party. She'd decided that she wanted to go to a Mommy and Me Yoga class at noon. While she was going to do that, Matt felt it was a good time for us to "act like tourists" and tour Brooklyn we did!
Next update: A picture favor for Nolan, Rockaway neighborhood and eating at a friend's restaraunt
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
I'm not surprised you guys were moving slowly after the day before! That weather would exhaust me as well - I have chronic fatigue and exceptionally hot or cold temperatures always tire me out.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I'm not surprised you guys were moving slowly after the day before! That weather would exhaust me as well - I have chronic fatigue and exceptionally hot or cold temperatures always tire me out.
The humidity was starting to really build up. I don't know how Matt & Jill made it through the following week with temps in the 90's and excessive heat warnings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Breakfast sounded delicious! Can't wait to hear about Brooklyn!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Heat and humidity always feel worse in the city! I used to visit a friend in Brooklyn all the time, so it'll be fun to read about your tour.
Hopefully, I won't mess up things too much! My notes are kind of sketchy because I tried to jot things down as my brother drove us around
__________________
The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
Ch-Ch-Changes July 2015
[URL="http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/sharing-adventure-disney-world-trip-reports/288847-ch-ch-changes-ptr-july-16-24-a.html"]
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Now I'm really glad we struggled hauling the stroller up and down the stairs. There are only a few handicap accessible subway stops on the Metro line and some only offer elevators from the turnstile down to the platform levels, so there are still stairs to be dealt with. I was really surprised how handicap unfriendly the city seemed to be. I thought for sure that would have changed in the past 10 years since my last visit.
I also can't believe the struggle you had with the stroller - you guys must've been exhausted by the time you got there.
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
. I was a bit nervous, but Jill said that we'd take the #4 which ran on the same track but took longer because it wasn't an express train. After about a five minute wait, a #4 train pulled up. We boarded, settled baby G and chatted. She said it was the first time in several years that a train she'd been on "malfunctioned" and had to be taken off service. Then...we had to get off two stops later and switch to the #2 train in order to get closer to her apartment. Honestly, we probably could have walked, but it was raining
and despite my mom's advice, we hadn't brought an umbrella with us. The only way we could tell it was raining was from the very wet people heading down to the platform. We got off at the correct stop for the #2 train and were confronted with the ONLY way to get to the ticket level...an escalator
Finally, we convinced Dad that different cities have different rules.
Finally, we decided to put some of the Basil Jelly I'd made on top of goat cheese and serve it with crackers as an appetizer. Esther was bringing a Cold Cucumber Soup 
and Matt was going to make this pasta dish with jalepenos, red onion and lemon. We would have a fresh Cherry pie made by Jill for desert. Matt and I headed down to the local grocery store to pick up a few items while Dad helped Jill pit the fresh cherries and Mom enjoyed some "Gabe" time.
He said that the'd washed the van, then swam in the pool for a bit before deciding to head up a day early to his parents' house. It was Chicken Festival weekend, and he thought the kids might be better off being entertained with Grammy and Grampa. Buckeye fans will like this part - The Danger Brothers were playing at the Festival that night as part of the all Delta-Pike-York Reunion and Coach was going to check it out.
The last time I was able to see the Danger Brothers, I was pregnant with Nolan and serving as the Designated Driver for a group of our friends.
. It was really good! Matt sent a picture to his friend of us toasting and we moved through dinner. Everything was delicious, and we left with bellies hurting from laughter about 11:30 that night. It was raining pretty hard, so Zach and Esther rode back with us (they live in the brownstone next to where we were staying).
And then the ordeal with the inspectors. Thank goodness dinner was a success! 
PassPorter Guide Author
Thank goodness they were able to satisfy them in the end.
She also has an incurable sweet tooth so she was driven to make the cherry pie because she's never happy with "store bought" or bakery versions. My brother reverse to it as her "champagne tastes on a beer budget" and tries to remind her that she's only four weeks out from having a baby...she would pay for all the activity the following day.
Last night, I attended my first official department meeting as an adjunct and received all new textbooks for the classes I will be teaching - that start in 20 days 
phone rang at 7:00 and woke me up. Nolan was telling me about their trip up to Grammy's, helping "cook" dinner and making cupcakes with Grammy. They planned on heading to the Chicken Festival - which is held in the park right behind my in-laws, and were going to Coach's friends' to swim after dinner. Nolan asked when I would be coming home, and admitted that he missed me and "might have even cried" a little at bedtime the previous night. The other two refused to talk, but I expected that because the boys rarely like to talk on the phone. I talked to Coach, then showered and dressed for the day. Dad and I were debating where we should go to get coffee, when Matt texted to see if we'd like to meet up for breakfast at a cafe he liked on Prospect. After another debate, we decided to walk because in Matt's words, it was like "six" short blocks. 
We turned around, and I suggested to Dad that he might want to get the car because it was a lot of walking. My mom had to have her knee replaced in 2009, then in 2011 she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. After surgery, chemo and radiation she's been cleared of cancer, but still gets very tired easily and doesn't deal well with extreme temperatures. Dad thought it might prove difficult to park, and that we should just walk slower, so on we went in the correct direction this time.
That weather would exhaust me as well - I have chronic fatigue and exceptionally hot or cold temperatures always tire me out.
Linear Mode
