Day 23 - June 23, 2010

June 23^rd

Richie’s birthday!!!!  I magnanimously let him sleep in while I packed and loaded the car.  How sweet am I?  Also, I really have my own system after 23 days and I didn’t want him messing with it.

Ed was asleep when we left, so coffee and breakfast on the road.  We had a bit of a drive ahead of us, but our last long one.  We stopped for lunch somewhere north of Dayton and south of Cincinnati, I took over driving so that Rich could work.  We rolled into Elizabethtown, KY about 4 o’clock (8 hours).

We made reservations at Pine Valley Golf Resort…a condo where Rich had “lived” in 2003, while working on site at his company.  We’ve stayed there many times over the years.  In fact, the last time I was in E-town, for Rich’s 40^th, I stayed there with the kids.  Well let me tell you, the place is now a DUMP. Oh. My.   God…Disgusting!

Smelled. 

Various walls & doors had holes

Cracked door frame

1/4 inch of scum in the tubs

 Toilets not cleaned

Questionable yellow, streaked stains on the walls (beer, urine?)

Questionable brown stains on the bathroom door

Thick dust on most surfaces, or surfaces not wiped

Sheets that had not been washed.

As I write this, I cannot for the life of me figure out why we didn’t run.  To be honest, we didn’t immediately notice everything.  We had to unload all our stuff, which is a lot.  And the kids were so excited, thought they were at Buckingham Palace ….it’s all about perspective.  Then we started looking around.  We’d booked the condo because of the space: 2 bedrooms, living/dining, a full kitchen and a washer & dryer.  And it was only a $100 a night…trying to save money.  The Fairfield Inn, would have been over $700 for two rooms for three nights (shocking) and they couldn’t guarantee connecting rooms…they were almost sold out (and I again have to ask, like in Columbus, why was this town such a Hot Spot?).

In retrospect, all of the above in no way justifies our snap decision to stick it out, other than the fact we’d had to PREPAY for the room.  Hello?  Red Flag!  I know Richie really didn’t want to load up and then unload again…and it was his birthday, so I wasn’t going to argue.  What we needed was vodka (check) and bleach.  I was off to the store.  I spent $70 on cleaning supplies, laundry stuff and various disinfectants.  When I got back, Rich had already started a load of sheets…and said we were definitely going to have to buy pillows…he shuddered as he told me that.

We spent the next hour scrubbing and washing, but I couldn’t shake the hibbie jibbies.  All the while, the kids are running around lake maniacs….rolling on the floor, chasing each other, laughing…while mommy did her best not to throw up.

We went out for a lackluster Birthday dinner.  I felt so bad for Rich.  He kept asking me if I was okay…I said it would build character.  We got home and put the kids to bad.  Camden was the only one who was truly safe, in a pack and play.  Rich & I then drank some wine…trying to fortify ourselves, neither one actually wanting to lie down and sleep.  We reminisced about when we used to stay here and how little the boys were and how scared we were about the future and what would happen….never envisioning then, that we’d be okay and that Pine Valley would become a dump in seven short years. 

Miles traveled:  Detroit, MI to Elizabethtown, KY  434miles/8 hours

Silly Band Award:  Cammy & Bear

Quote of the day:  Aud, to Cammy – “You want a booger?  Cause I got a booger factory up my nose.”  As a mother, there are no words.
 Cammy – “Ahh…I ripped my diaper.” – nonchalantly, after Hunter sang the Sponge Bob song.

Lodging:  Hell