Norton Vacation 2006: August 4

We all woke up at 8:30 so Nicholas and I could go to the lobby and take advantage of the "complimentary breakfast" and bring it back to the room. They didn't have much to choose from, but the kids loved it. Fruit Loops, Rasin Bran and Frosted Flakes for cereal. Pastries included chocolate, powdered and star donut gems. Orange and apple juice. Bread for toasting. You get the picture.

We ate in our room, showered, packed the van and checked out at 11:00. I bought the Zoo tickets at the front desk and got $1 off each. We stopped by Kroger's to pick up some batteries for the camera and a cooler for all the food we had leftover from the room. Disposable cameras were on sale, so we got each kiddo a camera for the zoo.

When we got to the zoo, the main parking lot was full, so we had to go to the Vine Street entrance. We walked through the gates at 11:55. We walked out of the same gates at 6:15 exhausted and cameras full of pictures. To see some of the pictures Kathy took, click here for the slideshow posted on Norton Pics. The main attraction at the zoo was, of course, the koala exhibit. When we first visited, both were asleep with their heads tucked in so we couldn't even see their faces. About four hours later, as we were on our way to the gift shop, we stopped by the koalas again, and they were eating, and very animated.

Before we hit the koala house again, we stopped by the Rhino exhibit. The zoo had an Icam on the rhinos, so I called Bobby in Oregon.....Read about our techno geek rhino cam cross-country collaboration and see some captured images here.

After the zoo, we wanted to stop and get something to eat, so we dropped by the Florence Mall again (for the culinary variety) and there was some kind of grand opening goinf on. The parking lot was full and clowns on stilts were walking around the lot. We (Kathy and I) decided to try something a little less adventureous, so we got back on I-75 towards Richmond. We ended up stopping on an exit with a variety of fast food places on it. Kathy and I got Skyline to go and brought it into Burger King while the kids ate burgers.

We got home about 9:00.

The end.

Norton Vacation 2006: August 3

We all woke up around 9:30. The three kiddos slept (finally) in one double and Kathy and I, the other. Bed was hard and short. My feet hung over the edge.

We missed the "complimentary" breakfast because they only served it from 6am - 9am. Kathy supposed that it was a ploy to get guests up and checked out on time. Guess so.

We showered, dressed and left to for Bob Evans for "brunch" at 11:45. After we ate, we headed for the Newport Aquarium, about 20 minutes away. I went down to the front desk to buy "discounted" tickets for the aquarium, and while waiting in line, found a small pamphlet with a $2 coupon per ticket in it. The front desk only gave a $1 discount, so I declined. I did order a rollaway for the night, though.

We arrived at the aquarium at about 1pm (a few missed turns). Kids loved the entire aquarium. Nicholas's favorite part was the sharks. Emily loved the gift shop, and Rebecca fel in love with the penquins. Check out this slideshow of the some of the pictures Kathy took.

There were a couple of choices for dinner. Originally, we were going to eat right after the aquarium - possibly at Pompillio's, but since we had a snack at 4:30, we weren't very hungry by the time we got out of the aquarium at 5:40.

After the aquarium, we were unsure what to do. I wanted to see Pirates of the Carribean: Dean Man's Chest, but the next showing at any nearby theater was 90 minutes away. We ended up going back to the Wildwood Inn. I called Pompillio's to see if MB (B's ex fiancee) still worked there, and she actually answered the phone! I hung up without identifying myself, and we decided we shouldn't go there for dinner. The kids wanted to check out the play area in the "Dome" so we all got our suits on and we went swimming (we practically had the pool to ourselves!) for about an hour or so. We left right as it started to thunderstorm outside.

After we dried off and got dressed, everyone agreed we had worked up an appetite. Since Pomp's was out, we decided to try the place across the street, Shakey's Pub and Grub. It had just finished raining and all the tables outside had been moved inside, so the wait was about 25 minutes. They said they had a nonsmoking section, but it was really crowded and smokey in there. We ventured on down the road for another place.

I really wanted to find a place we had never been to, and that we didn't have in Richmond. We settled on a Macaroni Grill. We've never been, even though there is one in Lexington. We were so full after we finished, we went to Barnes and Noble to walk around a bit. Kids and Kathy got some magazines, and I got a double shot venti cafe mocha.

Came back to the Wildwod at 10 and settled down to go to sleep.

Zoo tomorrow.

Norton Vacation 2006: August 2

We left Richmond at about 4:50. Arrived at the Wildwood Inn at 7:30. We got a 2nd floor NS, 2 dbl bed room for two nights. Rollaway beds were sold out. The front desk gave us these bright pink paper wristbands to wear so they know we are guests when we go to the pool. It had to be 98 outside. even with the air cranking in the van, it was still uncomfortable.

We checked in, got settled and took a "tour of the property.

The pool, or "Tropical Dome" as the call it is really neat. The "Dome" consists of an indoor pool (3ft-7ft), a hot tub, dry sauna, kiddie pool, two pool tables, gameroom, and a mini playground - all inside this tropical theme decorated glass dome. The neatest thing is a large "tropical plant" hanging over the pool with a shower of water falling into the center of the pool. Kids loved it.

We loaded up the van and went to the Florence Mall. Kids got a kick out of the escalator (we don't get out much). We walked around the mall for about an hour, buying the kids their dress shoes for school this year, and a few things at K&B toys. I got a multi pack of Wacky Packs (didn't know they still made those things)! Kids rode the carousel in the food court. We had a good time.

Came back to the hotel and the kids prepared for the pool. We went down to the pool at 9:30 or so, took some pictures, and let the kids swim for about 45 minutes. It was really crowded. Went back to the room settled back down. I left for Krogers to get some food (we have a fridge and microwave in the room) and picked up some deli meat and flour tortillas. Came back and made some roll-ups watched a little TV. Went to bed at about midnight.

More later.