Ed and I got up earlier than the kids - no surprise; they are always up the latest. We headed down to the breakfast bar and were pleasantly surprised by all of the choices. After we ate our breakfast and had our coffee, I started gathering up bowls of cereal, some yogurt, a bagel with cream cheese, a Belgian waffle, bananas, and cups of juice to bring up to our room for the kids to have after they awoke. An attendant who was refilling some of the foods offered me a tray. I thanked her and in a slightly louder voice explained that my kids would be hopefully appreciating my efforts. I didn't want anyone who saw me hoarding all of the food to think I was planning on eating it all myself. Ha!
Ed and I brought it all up to our room and then went out to the parking lot to hook the trailer back up to the van so he could bring it in to be checked out. I went back in and took a shower, got my suitcase in order, and loaded up our cups and containers for the cooler. Just as I was finishing up, Ed returned with disturbing news.
The RV repair shop less than a mile away, which was the reason why we chose this location to begin with, had a Viking pop-up camper identical to ours in the front of their lot. Ed thought this was a good sign. The mechanic/owner took one look at ours and said that he only repairs the ones that he has sold. This is not what their website advertised, but Ed had no proof of this, so there was nothing left to do. So, I guess he CAN repair it, but he just doesn't want to? Frustrating! He then fished around for a business card of someone else in the area whom he felt might be able to repair it. That sounded hopeful, but once Ed got back in the van to enter the address in the GPS and then call, he looked more closely to discover that they were located in Michigan. Seems like it was just a tactic to get rid of us. As Ed headed back to the hotel he couldn't believe all of the porn shops and other businesses dealing with that industry that he passed. We had driven into Toledo from the other direction, so we had thankfully missed those sights! This is one place that we will surely not return to.
As Ed returned to the hotel parking lot, a couple of housekeeping employees were outside taking a break. Ed jokingly (but maybe not) asked them if they wanted a broken camper. One of them said that she and her husband always wanted one. He told her that she could have it for $500. OMG! When he came into the room to tell me about the repair shop runaround and the offer he had waiting outside, I was absolutely stunned. Did he really think that I would be thrilled with the deal he was making? While I was not happy with the camper troubles, I was not willing to give it away either. After making my point very clear for the next few minutes, Ed changed his mind to see it my way. Smart!
We would still be able to raise the camper up and sleep in it until we could find a better repair shop to work on it.
By now it was 11:00 and check-out was noon. We knocked on the kids' room door and I called Ali's cell until we finally got them awake. One by one they made their way over to our room to eat their breakfast. Ed went out to get a quick haircut at Supercuts. He had been talking about needing a cut for the last week, so I'm glad that he found a place close to the hotel when he had been out earlier. At the stroke of 12:00 we were out the door and in the elevator, not sure what would happen when/if we got to Sandusky. We had to wonder what would happen if the canopy would no longer rise up. Or, what if it would fully get in the open position. We had to try and think positively and hope for the best.
We got onto Interstate 90 again going east without any trouble. Ed let us know that he'd rather go south and skip the rest of the trip, but he was outvoted. Using the Hotspot again, Ali located a phone number of someone who comes to Cedar Point to do repairs on their RVs. I called him to tell him of our situation. He said that he could come and check it out, but he only has standard parts that he brings with him. If we had an older or an unusual fix, he may need to order parts for it, which could take days. Instead, he recommended a shop not far from the freeway and still on the way to Cedar Point. He gave us the name and we looked up the number. They told us that we could bring it in and they could see what they could do. They gave us the exit number and their address. It was only a one hour drive from Toledo to their shop. Ed and I were happy that when we exited the freeway we only had a $5.50 toll; so much cheaper than the day before.
We easily found the RV shop and the mechanic told us that he had never worked on a camper like ours. He said that he was unfamiliar with the mechanisms used to lift and lower it and he would not be able to help us. He recommended that we not even attempt to raise it and sleep in it. Great!
We were only 10 miles away from Cedar Point so we decided to go there and see what our options were. We had to pay $20 for parking, but were told that it would be refunded when we checked-in. As we drove around the complex we were amazed at how beautiful the property was- directly on Lake Erie. Nice.
It was a back-in spot, which Ed was getting quite good at maneuvering in to. We were happy to see that the restrooms and showers were right beside us. Convenient for middle-of-the-night trips. We unhooked our van and started cranking up the pop-up. Fingers crossed. We were all happy to see that it raised all the way up without any issues. Yeah! Ali and I started unloading the van with the essentials while the boys finished up with the rest of the set up. And, here comes the next problem. When they turned on the camper's a/c, it whined and whirred quietly, and then stopped. Silent. Not even one hint of cold air came from it. This was not good. It was a high of 91, which is not too hot for us usually, but with the heat index, it felt like 102. Unbearable.
We didn't spend much time getting the beds set up. I took the comforters and blankets out and stored them in our van. After unpacking the cooler and putting the items in the fridge (at least that worked!), the kids and I headed to town to see what we could find to keep us cool. Target had a large array of fans. They had a/c units which fit in window openings, but that wouldn't work for our camper. I then found an oscillating tower fan that had a digital thermostat that showed a reading as low as 60. Sounded perfect. It was $65, but would be worth it if it kept us cool. I bought a few more grocery items for dinner and items for the rest of the trip. Cameron had spotted a bookstore in the plaza next door. He had been without a book for a few days and wanting the next book in the series he was reading. So, we went there next. They had only one copy and only in hardback, too new for paperback. I don't normally spend $20 on a fiction book, especially one involving zombies, but who am I to deprive my son of reading material for the trip home? I then ran into Aldi and bought a few grocery items that Target didn't have. Last stop was at Rally's, same company as Checker's. I really didn't want to cook in a hot camper and make it even hotter. By dinnertime, the camper would hopefully be cool enough and I would make a meal then.
We got back to the campsite where Ed was hanging out in one of the campchairs looking pretty uncomfortable. We ate our sandwiches and fries, and had our ice cold drinks, while Ian started working on assembling the fan. We helped him finish and got it turned on. We set it to the lowest temperature setting and the highest fan speed. Ed and Ian headed to the pool, Cameron sat in the shade and started his new book, and Ali and I hung out outside. I kept checking on the fan. The temperature in the camper was warmer than what it was outside. Not good. The thermostat read 87 for the longest time. At this rate it would take a week to get cool. We unzipped most of the windows, screens behind the canvas. I was hoping that we might get some ventilation and help the fan do its job. By around 7:00 it was down to 85 and still warmer inside than out. We couldn't postpone dinner any longer, so we did all of the cooking outside. We decided to make spaghetti again, this time with a spaghetti sauce that we were familiar with. We boiled the noodles and heated up the sauce on the two propane burners. While they were being made, I buttered the bread and put them on a frying pan to be toasted outside, also on the burners. We even made the salads on the picnic table. The dinner turned out pretty well and most of the clean-up was a breeze. The pot and pan would have to be cleaned in the morning, since by this point it was dark. It was still 84 in the camper, so the kids and I decided to stay outside and play a board game, a newer version of Trivial Pursuit. We had to occassionally swat at and spray the bugs that were attracted to our lantern, but it wasn't a major annoyance. We had fun playing; we couldn't believe Ed was in the camper attempting to sleep the whole time that we were outside. By midnight we had no choice but to get ready for bed and hope it would cool down enough for us to sleep. The bathrooms were not air conditioned, so even getting ready was uncomfortable. I decided to sleep in a cami and encouraged the boys to just sleep in their boxers. The fan was closer to Ed's and my bed but I was hoping that they could at least feel some of the strong breeze that was blowing. Too bad it wasn't a cool breeze. When I joined Ed on our bed I blocked the air from blowing to the side of the bed he was now laying on. This would clearly not work. We had one more bed across from the kitchen area which was right beside the fan that could be pulled out and slept on. So that's what we did. I told Ed that he could sleep in that bed since he is even more sensitive to the heat than I am. We all layed on top of our sheets and "slept" quite restlessly all night. One of the times I awoke, I noticed the digital reading on the fan show 80 degrees. I'm pretty sure that was warmer than it was outside. I heard lots of tossing and turning throughout the night. I can only assume now that the digital readout is just meant to report the air temp., not actually to be used with air conditioning to cool to the desired setting. Wish I would have know this when I purchased it.
Day 41 - July 16 Cedar Point
I didn't need an alarm to get us up at 8:00. We were all easily awakened with the heat. Our plan was to be in line by 8:30 to take advantage of the 9:00 early entry for those who were staying in one of their facilities. We hadn't slept much, but we wanted to get our money's worth out of the one day tickets. Ed surprised us by saying that he would join us for part of the day. Backpacks aren't allowed on most rides, so we slathered ourselves with sunscreen and then I put a tiny sunscreen bottle in my pocket along with my cell phone and coin purse. By the time we got to the line at 8:35, the line had already formed. We went over our game plan again as to which rides we would go to first and where they were located in the park. It had a world record of 72 rides, with a total of 16 roller coasters. Amazing.
Once it was 9:00 and we got through the entry gates, we were off. Ed was amazed at how quickly we could move without much sleep and at this time. We hadn't even eaten yet. We headed to Gatekeeper, the newest roller coaster that that just opened in May and it has the highest inversion in the world. It was a fairly short wait and the ride was great! Even Ed thought so.
We didn't find out until later but a man became unconscious on that ride that same afternoon and they had to shut it down, but it turns out it was a medical condition that was unrelated to the ride. And, the very next day they had a lucky 1 millionth rider who won some special prizes. That could have been us!
As soon as we got off, we ran-walk to our next ride. Ed decided he was going to search for coffee while we continued on. This was too much activity for him without caffeine. He then decided to just hang out, both in the park and at the camp site while we rode the rides. We went on Millenium Force, Wicked Twister, Skyhawk, Power Tower, Dragster, Corkscrew, Matterhorn, . . . I no longer remember the exact order. And, since I could not bring along my camera, no photos of us were taken while we were in the park.
At 11:00, I gave the kids some money to get some food, and Ed and I got our hands stamped so we could take care of our camper. I went back to the registration office to tell them that we would have to cancel this night's stay. Even though we forfeited our payment, it didn't matter. We could not go another night without a/c. I walked back to our spot and finished helping Ed get the camper ready to be collapsed once again. I made sure that whatever items we had inside, like toiletry bags and food items that we might need the next night were put into our van. Thank goodness it did collapse to the same height it was the day before. I was hoping that it would completely close, but this was too much to hope for.
As soon as we drove out of Camper Village I was looking through the AAA Guidebook to find a cheap place to stay for the night. No reason to pay through the roof if we were going to stay late in the park and eat somewhere for dinner. I found a Budget Host Inn only a few miles away that had a room with two beds and a pull-out couch for only $70. We took it. The first room we were given was so smoky, I turned right back around and told the clerk that it wouldn't do. She said that the room directly above was also vacant that we could use. It had a slightly musty smell to it, but it was livable for one night.
There was much to be desired in the property and the room, but it had good a/c, so we were happy. I had asked for a refrigerator so we could keep our cooler items cold, but sometime during the night it stopped running. The things inside were cool-ish, but I didn't even bother complaining.
After we got the suitcases and laptops in the room, I left Ed to chill out while I went back to the park. Ali had texted me earlier saying that the money we left was hardly enough to feed them since everything was so expensive there. No food or drinks are allowed to be brought in the park either. I decided to drive through McDonald's for meals and DQ for fruit smoothies on my way back. When I got to the parking area I was hoping that I wouldn't have to pay again to enter. The Camper Village pass that I still had on my dashboard allowed me to drive back in without payment- at least one good thing.
I called Ali so that she and the boys could meet me in the van to eat, drink, and cool off. It was absolutely miserable outside. None of us had ever experienced such heat and humidity before, nowhere near the degree Florida has ever gotten to. We were dripping sweat the entire time we were outside. I tried taking a photo in the parking lot of the kids with the rides in the background. All that was captured on the screen was a blur of white from each angle I tried. I have a feeling that it was too hot and humid for my camera to work. Weird.
Every chance we got, we stopped at a concession stand and asked for glasses of ice water (free for the asking). They couldn't give out ice, since we were told that they were running out. I could imagine why. We rode a few more rides together like the Iron Dragon and Magnum XL-200 and watched a show about Broadway, but not too much long after, Ian was done with the rides. The original plan was that I would leave the park to pick up Ed so we could do some other shows and ride some final rides, but the new plan turned out to be me bringing Ian with me and letting him stay in the hotel while Ed and I returned to the park. On our way back to the hotel I drove through DQ and got a grilled turkey sandwich for Ed and Ian to share to tide them over until dinner.
We got back to the park just in time to meet Ali and Cameron for the All Wheels Extreme stunt show. The bikers and gymnasts were very talented. We then went on a hunt for a Cedar Point shirt for Ali. We went through half the park looking for the perfect one, and ended up going back to the first store we looked at to get one for both of us. Ali and Cameron had ridden 15 out of the 16 coasters and were hoping to ride them all, but the final one had an hour wait. Too bad. They'll have to save that one for a return trip in the future I guess. We left the park before the official closing time at 10:00, since we still wanted to make it out to dinner at a reasonable time.
Ali had spotted a restaurant, when we were around town the day before, that she had wanted to try called Chipotle Mexican Grill. We called and they said they were open until 10:00. We went to the hotel to get cleaned up a bit- basically a mini-sponge bath; we were filthy. Ed ended up staying in the hotel. He was okay with eating the Mexican leftovers from the night before. So, the kids and I went to the restaurant together. We each had a large burrito and a drink. Couldn't believe that they charged extra for chips or chips and salsa. Moe's and Willie's give them out with their meals back home. The burritos were pretty good at least.
When we got back to the hotel we took turns showering and I had Ed go get us some more towels. He had taken two showers throughout the day and they were not generous with supplying many for our room. He came back with pool towels - good enough for now. We did not stay up too late, although Ed would think so. We needed some time to wind down from our busy day and just chill for a while before turning out the lights. Ed had the temperature turned down pretty cold. I'm sure to make up for the lack of it the night before. I just wrapped myself in the blanket and slept well. And, I believe the kids did the same. It was a marathon day.
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