This vacation will go down in history as the “worst” All-State year, although we’re already laughing about it. You know what they say- the things that go wrong make the best memories! In addition to the things I already mentioned…
The hotel gave us a room with two full-sized beds. FULL. As soon as I walked into the room I thought “Oh no.” At home, my husband and I share a KING. I’m definitely a special needs sleeper- I use two extra pillows, one for my knee and one for my arm (I always sleep on my side.) This was VERY hard to achieve while sharing a full bed.
There was a lot of grumbling! Luckily I brought own blanket (see what I mean about special needs?) and after the first night we bought a blanket for my son ( who was sharing with my daughter.) One of the keys to sharing a bed happily is NOT sharing covers, so this eased the situation a bit. Here’s how our bed looked after housekeeping was there:
We drove home late Saturday night, but our troubles weren’t over! After several drivers flashed their lights at us from behind, we discovered that our taillights weren’t working. We were driving a rental car, so spent some time messing with all the settings. The headlights were on and the brake lights worked, so although it wasn’t ideal, we decided it was safe enough to continue on. We were worried about getting pulled over, but by that point it was almost midnight and we just had to get home. It was a stressful drive.
The next morning, before we returned the car, my husband thought to look at the owner’s manual and discovered that there is a setting, on the side of the steering wheel that we hadn’t noticed. But why- WHY- would anyone want to set it so their headlights are on but taillights are off??? Maybe if you’re committing a robbery and want to get away unseen? It’s so strange.
ANYWAY. There were good things, I promise! Like…. A BLOGGER MEETUP!
On Friday I met up with Stephany! We had an afternoon of fun planned. First stop…
You can purchase drinks, food, and hang out with the cats! We didn’t get anything to eat or drink (because we knew we would do that at our next location) but we met lots of cats!
The cats were available for adoption, and if I didn’t already have two cats, these two would now be mine:
“Licorice” and “Pumpkin,” two brothers who are a bonded pair. They were sleeping while we were there, cuddled together the whole time. I do dream of getting another cat one of these days, and I would LOVE an orange tabby. Stephany told me that the number of cats you own should match the first number of your age, and I like that! That means I can actually get THREE more! Now I just have to convince my husband.
After we had our cat time, we went to a bookstore…
We browsed, each bought some books, and then sat in the cafe for iced coffee and tea.
I mean… could this be any better? A blogger friend…. cats… books… iced tea, and a fun conversation. Stephany had some great ideas for the “reading” category of my 2025 goals, which I’ll be sharing soon. (Yes- I promise I’ll share my 2025 goals before Valentine’s Day.)
Does anyone drive a Dodge Durango? Do you set it to drive with your taillights off????????
How many cats is too many? – My husband and I do not agree on this.
37 Responses
Hooray for a fun blogger meetup. Um, for me – any amount of cats is too many cats, but I am very allergic to cats – so that is definitely a me problem. I laugh at how I used to babysit for families who owned cats and I was just expected to deal with it, it was never like something that was discussed. I was in 7th grade at the time, and I was excited to make some money. I used to come home with my eyes so red and puffy. Oops.
The full size bed situation would be rough. We are used to sleeping in a queen, but the king we just got in amazing, but even for us – a full size bed is always a challenge. We usually travel with a sleeping bag or an air mattress if we are driving. That way, if the kids don’t want to share, they have options.
AN AIR MATTRESS. We will be doing that next time!!!
It seems like in the old days, people just delt with things like allergies- it’s like we didn’t take those things as seriously or something. It’s very sad, but I have to agree that 0 is probably the correct number of cats for you.
Were you planning on the room having 2 kings? Or 1 king? If it was just me and my husband I think we would have each taken one bed and been glad for the extra room, LOL. But we have a queen at home. We used to have a king, which we both loved, but when I started working from home, we had to buy more furniture (desk, filing cabinet, and another desk for my husband) so our bedroom is PACKED with furniture. Sigh.
Yay! You got to hang out with Stephany! So much fun! I love the cat cafe.
We usually get a room with two queens, which is fine. Last year we had one queen and a pullout couch, and we got a rollaway cot for my daughter, and that also worked fine. I, ahem, was not the one who made the hotel reservations… we’ll be checking that pretty closely next time.
That’s so strange about that setting not being on by default on the car!
But a cat café???!!! I’m coming!! That sounds like the perfect business idea. I would be there every day if there was one near me!
Now I’ll just get those 5 cats you talked about. 😀
Go ahead- apparently you deserve to have five cats! Yes, I was thinking it would be fun to OWN that business! I would also be going often if it were near me.
Oh my goodness, those beds look so narrow! And hotel rooms are often quite compact, it must have been quite the challenge navigating with four people in one room, especially with just one bathroom. But you managed it – well done!
At home, we have a queen-sized bed and opt for two separate covers to avoid any middle-of-the-night tug-of-war. I also have a special leg cushion, I can’t imagine sleeping without it!
Yes, especially when one teenage girl is a BATHROOM HOG. The more I think about it, the more amazed I am that we made it through. We really need two rooms- but that would be WAY to expensive!
sorry to hear yoou’ve had many issues with this trip. I can definitely sleep well in a full size bed with my husband, I need my space and I need a pillow between my legs too.
glad you had a fun blogger meet up, really all the favorites things to do. My girls love cat cafes they are sooo cute. More cat the merrier.
I’m going to say that you and your husband are both pretty narrow people. But even so- the extra pillows make a full size bed challenging.
Yay blogger meet up!!! Sounds like the perfect day. I think we would need a kid room and parent room because that is A LOT of togetherness. Good call on the no sharing covers though! You are definitely right that’s the hardest part of sharing. Love that you guys can already laugh about it
A kid room and a parent room would be ideal. Or, just a separate room for my daughter, ha ha…
Full sized beds are definitely not big enough for two adults to sleep in comfortably! When my parents have visited me, I have to share my queen sized bed with my mom and medium-sized dog (my dad sleeps on the couch) and even that is a tight fit.
I’m more of a dog person than a cat person but a cat cafe sounds fun and the cats are definitely cuties!
I guess a “dog cafe” wouldn’t really be a thing! The cat cafe was definitely fun.
Adding in a dog… I think I would need a king bed for sure!
Gah at having to share a full sized bed!!! When the Hubs and I got together I had a full bed and he had a California king. During the years between the time we met and the time that I moved in with him, I think he slept at my house a grand total of one (1) time.
I’m glad to know that if I ever decide to get up to no good and need to turn my tail lights off that the Dodge Durango is the car for me!
Yay for the meetup with Stephany and the cat cafe!!! I have officially died from cute. As far as how many cats, for most of my childhood we had three people and three cats in the home, so I think that a 1:1 ratio is perfect. Does your husband need anything else besides my opinion for you guys to move forward with getting the orange tabby that your home so desperately needs?
Ha ha… I think we need an orange tabby to mysteriously wander into our house and then we’ll be like “Oh, I guess we have to keep him!” I think my husband would like a third cat once we actually had it.
I am so bad at knowing what all the buttons in my car do, so that setup would be like a nightmare for me! YAY for the IRL adventures of Jenny and Stephany! That looked like such a fun day. I am dreadfully allergic to cats, but I feel like the right number of cats is the balance between what your heart wants and what your house can handle? Maybe?
I definitely shouldn’t go with what my heart wants, or I would be like the woman who owns the cat cafe- she told us she has NINE.
Your blogger meetup date was so perfect and that picture of you two is so cute! Is that your Christmas sweater?
I love that you can laugh about your accommodations, I’m glad it all kinda worked out.
We used to share a full… we now share a queen.. I still wish we shared a full LOL
That thing with the car is super weird, for sure!
YEs! You have a good memory- that’s my Christmas sweater (glad it isn’t the brown one that my son described as “perplexing.”) The meetup was super fun!
I’m so jealous that you get to meetup with Stephany!! I hope it was so much fun.
Four cats is too many. Three is my limit.
I HAVE A DODGE DURANGO STORY. In the year 2002, I dated a guy who drove a red Dodge Durango. I drove him to the airport in his car and on the way back to my house, IT BROKE DOWN. I had it towed to the nearest Dodge dealership because what else was I going to do? He was SO MAD at me that I didn’t take it to just a regular mechanic. We broke up. That is my story.
Hahahaha. I guess the moral is, don’t get a Dodge Durango. They’re bad luck.
ohhhh wow a cat cafe! that is awesome. FULL SIZED beds?! i haven’t seen that in a hotel room in a long time, that is crazy! and hooray for blog-inspired IRL experiences!!
Yes, and this was a pretty nice hotel! I mean.. it looked okay from the outside, ha.
Yikes. All in one room? And I need a queen or king. Glad I travel alone.
I once had 5 cats. But I think 2 is perfect. But I could easily get another if I knew they’d get along.
Hooray on the blogger meet up. Perfect options too.
Yes, that is a big issue- will all the cats get along. Makes a huge difference.
I do like traveling alone! Especially after this trip, lol.
That blogger meet up sounds heavenly! Cats! Books! STEPHANY! How fun.
The taillights thing is so dumb. Vehicles have too many options! I make do with probably 10% of my car’s functionality and I’m FINE WITH IT.
Those kitties are sooooo cute! I want a cat so badly! I think two or maybe three is the ideal number of cats?
Let’s say three, ha ha…
You’re wearing the new blue sweater! Not only that, but STEPHANY!!! How fun to have such a meetup. Lovely! Also – jealous! Lol!
First of all OH MY GOD FOUR GROWN PEOPLE IN ONE ROOM as well as FULL SIZE BEDS???? Woof. That’s untenable in my opinion! We also have a king and I will also sleep in a queen if necessary, but FULL? No thank you!
That car thing is very weird. Mind you I know almost nothing about cars but my assumption would be that if the lights are on, the rear lights are also on. I think it’s very strange that this wouldn’t be an automatic function!
I’m sad the trip is over, but not sad to be back in our nice king bed!!! And yes… we thought the taillights much be broken- WHY would there be a setting for it…???
Full beds. EEK. That’s what my parents have at their house and it feels like they belong in a doll-house. Like you, we have a King at home and anything that is smaller than that feels TOO SMALL. I am with you 100%.
Sorry this experience in Tampa wasn’t 100%, but yay for books and bookstores and bloggers 🙂
Yes, there were lots of good things about this trip. It’ll be a while before I recover from the bed situation though.
We have two cats (we adopted them as a bonded pair) and that seems like plenty for me. They get into stuff. One of them wants to eat human food. I love them with all my heart and also can’t imagine two more. Two cats is enough for me. 🤣
That bed is CRAZY narrow. Is that really a full? I slept on a fill lately with my husband and did not love it. I’m also a special needs sleeper (I’m going to use that phrase), and trying to sleep is always the hardest part of traveling.
But yay for a blogger meet up! Sounds like a super fun time.
It was really fun! And I weirdly slept pretty well in spite of being cramped- probably because I was so tired.
Cats are WAY easier than dogs! But they can still get into things, I agree. I feel like we could squeeze in one more though : )
I had to google “full-size bed” because in Australia they are called “double bed”. And there’s NO way my husband and I could sleep in that- he is a special needs sleeper too with multiple pillows! And we are used to a king. But I think the minimum size bed in hotels is generally Queen these days?
That blogger meetup sounds so fun! We love cats in our family and had two until recently when one passed away. My husband would get more, but with young kids I think 1 cat is ideal, well that’s true of any pets- I don’t need any more “dependents” until the kids get more self-sufficient!
I’m still astonished at the hotel room with full-sized beds. WHO IS THAT FOR. And for four people to be in the room with two full-sized beds… that’s wild. I’m glad you guys survived and can now laugh about it.
The car story sounds scary – but yeah, why would anyone want to turn off the taillights? That’s crazy.
I’M SO GLAD WE GOT TO HANG OUT AGAIN! It was the perfect afternoon. 🙂
Those beds are narrow! Jeez!
That is so bizarre about the tail lights. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I’ve seen cars driving around like that so maybe that’s what’s going on with them.
As long as we have Scooby, one cat is too many. 😉