Pennsylvania Cabela's and Cracker Barrel

First of all, we arrived early early morning to the Petersheim and made ourselves at home in their motor home.  How wonderful it was to sleep and not think about checking out and traveling more the next day.  The wind and the rain had taken it's toll and we were tired.  It was wonderful to wake up to the sound of their chickens pecking around in the grass near the camper!  Just like the ranch in BC!

Due to the obvious fact that we were having fun, we didn't keep as good of records as I would have hoped, but even though I may get some of the days mixed up...these things did it fact HAPPEN!
So.... no further delays...

Secondly, we learned that Reading is pronounced RED ing, not READ ing.
Reading PA was first home to early polish steel factories, etc.  It is now more Hispanic and the area we saw had these brick style row houses everywhere.  Lots of beautiful architecture that is "common" to them and very unusual in Manitoba Canada.

One building was a high school but looked like it could have been one of our parliament buildings!

Our general impression was how funny the city roads and city planning was.  Guess it had been mainly horse and buggy trails, so roads will literately go right up to someone's door and weave around the house.

Speed limits are also not reduced very much in residential areas like in Canada.

We were told that Reading has the best welfare program, low income assistance, so that is why it is so populated in the area we were in.

We also noticed a lack of "old beater" vehicles but were told they have rust and emission inspections.
When we went into the little Bible book store, I felt right at home.  Lots of Rod & Staff books and books by Mennonites with hand drawn pictures, etc.

Weds, april 30th
 Renita pulled kids from school, which we hadn't realized how big of a deal that was for them.  They rarely miss a day and this one they missed birthday cake for one of their teachers.  Talk about feeling special!

Row houses in Reading, PA

Fairview Christian school was an old sewing factory at one time.  The school had done a good job at renovating it to meet some new standards, but we couldn't help but think how it would have probably been condemned in Manitoba.  There was still plenty of life left in this building and they had a cafeteria, gym area, classrooms, etc.  We found ourselves a bit envious.

The ACE school that our friends children go to

A very similar set up to how I was schooled from grade 2-4

Mei found an almost identical purse for Chrissy ~ twins!

2nd hand store had lots of dresses, all sewn in the same pattern but with different material $13.

Stickers!  Just like the little craft in town when Kate was little.  Some were identical to those she used to buy with her shiny little quarter I gave her each time we went.

The next day we decided to go to Cabela's and then off to Hershey, PA to the chocolate, chocolate, chocolate factory!  We could be thankful for the rain, as that meant that Daryl could move some things around at work and join us at Cabela's...a nice manly place to visit with someone you just met. The store we went to was in Hamburg and the website is HERE if you want to click on it.

Oh the penny squishers!

How can it be that you can meet someone and within half an hour you can feel like you've known each other all your lives?  The Petersheim family has been blessed with the gift of hospitality, compassion and humor.  We instantly felt at home.

Huge fish tanks on either side of the tunnel ~ made for some fun fish viewing.  Some kinds that we had never seen before either. Some were more interesting than others too!  

They have displays of the "Dangerous Five" animals, as well as many others.  All in "natural" type poses that were very well done.  Shopping at this store was a main event in itself!

Steve & Bertha meet a long lost relative

Old friends who are really not that old!

Our girls, approximately the same age we were when we last saw each other.
 Hopefully these two will see each other more often than that!

These two had fun telling some hunting stories.  The favorite was the kicking turkey one ...hee hee

Thiessen and Petersheim Families

Waiting ... giggling... waiting...

Lazy campers

Had some fun playing the shooting games, Duck Dynasty style

The trophy wall

I was pretty excited to buy a Thermarest mattress for camping. 

 Gone are the days of lying on blankets in a tent!

Some were more lazy than others.  

A great marks woman

Playing games on the ride home

Cracker Barrel is an awesome little franchise in the US.  I remember going here with my volunteer group to Kentucky in 1992 and also with our Grad Trip.  They have the same little peg triangle toys to amuse yourself while you wait.  The covered veranda in the front displays rocking chairs that you can purchase, etc. The gift store area is also a feast for the eyes and stomach.  We purchased a Willow Tree ornament here for Renita and her girls as well as some hard candy sticks and souvenirs.  Check out their website HERE to see what we were raving about.

They bring your fresh biscuits and corn bread while you wait.

We asked how they met...that explains the smiles

Cracker Barrel Sampler Plate

A very filling and home cooked meal here costs approximately $9 US.  Gregg tried the fried okra and orange pecan catfish with a baked sweet potato.  I went with the sampler.  We decided we had to go again at least once before we got home to Canada. Jo had the sampler ~chicken and dumplings, meat loaf, ham , broccoli/carrots, green beans, fried apple $9.

It was also wonderful to have more selection than the typical "Soup, Salad or Fries with that?"

The rest of the day was spent going to Hershey...and just enjoying being at their home in Pennsylvania.

Rain, chilly
Leesport PA $77 fuel

Cheap & Economical Accommodation Near Disney World

Now that we had phoned around for some quotes for our family of 5 to stay on site at Disney World, we decided to check out neighboring communities.  A deluxe "motel room" with a kitchenette would have been adequate, but we thought we'd look into condo's and townhouses.  We were quoted anywhere from $5000-$7000 for a week, or around $125 per night for a motel room near Disney.  Not exactly what we wanted.  We were looking for in the $50 / night range if possible.

Google Maps is your friend.  Or Map Quest, whatever.  I use Google Maps.

This was a stressful experience for me.  I used a lot of my scrap paper stash just writing down info and it was very overwhelming and at times stressful.  We had never done this before.  The more you search, the more you get your head wrapped around the whole thing.  I was dreaming of this at night though.  The best thing I did was give myself a 2 week deadline to find something.  Next time I should be able to get this done much much faster.

The easiest site I found for myself to navigate was VRBO.com Vacation Rental by Owner Click HERE to go to their website.  Making an account for yourself is easy, they don't ask a lot of questions.  Then you can keep track of who you've contacted, their responses, your favorites, etc etc etc.

We decided on the Kissimmee / West Orlando area.

Punch in your dates, whether you are flexible, your preferences and your budget and up pops a bunch of rentals.  Then you can weed those out based on their reviews, etc etc.  Reviews are most helpful.  Some will tell you exactly how many minutes it took them to drive to the Disney Gate, etc.  This is why it is so nice when guests leave reviews!

I struggle with posting exactly what we paid and at what townhouse, because I know we got a really good deal, straight from the owner.  Pick a slow time and either book well in advance so they don't fear that they will have no one, OR wait until last minute and gamble if you can find something.

So we had it narrowed down to a few favorites, based on price and location and being a townhouse.  We thought that with a condo, there would possibly be more stairs, less convenience with parking and perhaps more noise.

Most communities are gated, have an outdoor communal pool, and then some have more perks like exercise rooms, theatres, larger pool areas, etc.  They will be slightly more expensive, but would be nice if you were sticking around your rental and not traveling out each day.

Windsor Hills ~ there are some rentals that are done by the week/ by the owners.  Saturday to Saturday for $199/week, $299, $399 etc, depending on season.  Dave Robinson is a contact and you can sign up for his newsletter and the website is HERE .  You could also go directly to Windsor Hills website and go through them.  There are a lot of ways to book them, but here is another site click HERE.  We did drive by this once when we were going through Orlando.  Friends have stayed here as well, but we wanted 9 days, so staying for 1 week or 2 weeks was not what we wanted and the other methods of booking were out of our price range. Friends stayed here, in a house with another family, and they had a good time.

There are a tonne of booking sites to go through and I did look at reviews on numerous ones.
TripAdvisor.ca
Booking.com
Travelocity.ca
Expedia.ca
Homeaway.com
vrbo.com

What worked for me was VRBO.  I searched the area and then sent out a mass email to anyone who had a vacancy in our budget range.  Depending on the responses, I did more research.

We stayed May 4-13th ( 9 nights) at Crestwynd Bay Kissimmee Florida CLICK HERE for some TripAdvisor reviews on the area, etc.  Our actual rental was this one HERE 2689 Andros Lane.  We phoned the owners (who live in Ontario) and talked to them directly about the procedure to book it.  We had a quote from another place for $480 and just asked if anyone would meet it.  (I wasn't sure about the original one that quoted that...it was further away from Disney and very basic).  So with exchange rates, it cost us $528 for 9 nights in a townhouse 1.5 miles from Disney World.  It was so convenient that we even came back to the townhouse a few times during the afternoon for an early supper and a break. Driving time was an easy 10 minutes into a Disney World parking lot!

Now, we were having so much fun in Florida that my husband just couldn't stand the thought of leaving after 9 nights...so we set about searching for another townhouse.  (We also hadn't realized that we could indeed use 12 days of passes with our tickets).  Once again, we sent out mass emails through VRBO to different owners on their townhouses in Crestwynd and a few places nearby on the map.  An owner from Oak Water ( just across the street and slightly closer to Disney) responded to a plea for help.  So we stayed another 5 nights for $320. The link to our rental at Oak Water is HERE.  This was the nicer rental by far.  The kitchen was so much better equipped (a strainer, vegetable peeler, egg flipper, etc) and it was spacious and my oh my ~ the master bedroom was huge!  Walk in closet and a massive bathroom by our standards.  It was also quieter...less highway noise.

Our unit 2845 in Oakwater.  Garage and townhouse that could easily sleep 8-10

Oakwater grounds

Oakwater playground area, there is a pool as well 

Oakwater clubhouse

One of the streets on Oakwater

All places require a safety/damage deposit, usually paid through PayPal in advance to hold your lodging.  Both times our deposit was refunded within the week of checking out.  Both rentals could have easily accommodated more people...as in your parents or inlaws or another couple.

Hope this helps a little!