A trip to Danvers Ma day 3

Its day 3 and JW is gone by 7 his meetings have started so we are on our own. I wake up at 9:30am and I am surprised at how quiet the room is. When the DC's finally crack eyelids it is 10:30am and I am very happy with this. It means everybody got a good nights sleep. So after we are up and dressed we head downstairs and grab some muffins and milk for the girls and coffee me. I talk the girl at the counter into getting the shuttle to take us to a place called Richardson's Dairy. It sounds like a great place it has a dairy that you can tour, mini golf course and they make their own Ice Cream. The shuttle drops us off and the driver tells me to call him when we are ready to get picked up. Sounds great kill a couple of hours looking at cows giving milk maybe watch them make some ice cream play a little mini golf. Just me and two 3 1/2 year olds. What can go wrong here?

Well let me count the ways

1)Always make sure you have your cell phone. Mine was charging in the bathroom at the hotel. The girls ran out in the hall  when we were leaving and in my haste to catch them I left it behind.

2) Never take the word of a Xeroxed piece of papers word on what a family friendly attraction is. The cows were way in the back in a barn that was roped off in other words NO TOURS. Not only were there no tours of the "oldest operating dairy in Middleton Ma" we didn't get to watch them make ice cream.

3)Miniature golf with  two 3 1/2 year olds that have never played it before  in 90 degree weather BAD IDEA. We made nine holes before Lillibean declares that it is to hot and she is done.

Now we are hot tired and all of us are CRANKY. I am ready to leave so I approach the counter and after I order some food and drinks for myself and the DC's I tell the girl behind the counter that I need some help and explain in what I thought was very clear speech what my dilemma was. I am stuck here with my children I have no phone, and can not call for a ride I need you to call the hotel and ask them to send the shuttle. I finish up with a very desperate can you help me. She looks at me with a blank look and says "let me ask my manager" and off she goes.  She comes back in about 10 mins and says "my manager says you can use the pay phone out by the road". I reply "that's great but I don't have the number" and she just looks at me. I walk away and barely keeping my composure thank her for all her help.

I know that no one will miss me till 6:30pm that's when JW expects us to be ready for the event at the waterpark.

I sit and wait for the girls to eat their hot dogs and drink their lemonade while thinking over our position. It does not improve with contemplation.

 Once the counter slows down again I decide to give it another go.   So I walk up and ask the girl behind the counter to see if she can loan me a phone book. I would love to try and recount the conversation verbatim from here but I think that I will just give a synopses. One employee tries to give me to directions I explain again that I didn't drive my hotel shuttle brought me I need to call them to come pick me up. She says oh and walks away. Then the Manager finally comes out front and asks me for the name of the hotel I tell her the name of the place and as she is walking away from the guy behind the counter says something to her but I can not hear what he says she nods at him and walks off she is gone for about 10 mins. She comes back and tells me that the Country Club has no idea what she is talking about. Country Club???? I never said I was staying at the Country Club but apparently that is what the guy told her as she walk away. I give her the name of the hotel again and tell her that if she will just get me the number and a phone I will call them myself. She goes away and again and another 10 mins goes by she comes back and tells me that the hotel told they don't have a shuttle. Well that's a surprise to me. She slides a piece of paper with the phone number across the counter and tells me where the payphone is again.

Now where were the DC during all this well they were very busy taking turns approaching me at the counter with requests demands for ice cream or loudly declaring the need to go potty. Well there were no bathrooms inside the building. At least one trip to the counter with the napkins and ketchup for what I don't know they were done eating and the hands were clean.

So I get the girls and traipse across the parking lot to the payphone by the highway put in my 50 cents and make the call. The poor girl at the desk must have thought that I was a crazy women because when she told me that it was going to be 45 mins before the shuttle got there I started crying. I couldn't help it I was done it had been our worst day so far. Jitterbug was whiny and Lillibean was all attitude. However there was nothing I could do but go sit and wait. First we went to the bathroom and then went back to the patio outside the ice cream shop and sat and waited when it got to be close to the time the shuttle was supposed to pick us up the patio was filling up so the DC and I got up and walked over by the bathrooms and waited and waited I finally made another call and was told that the shuttle had left and should be there to pick us up. So we waited another 30 mins and just about the time I was starting to panic a nice lady comes up and offers to help us and the shuttle pulls up. We pile in the shuttle and take off to the hotel.

All total from the time we called til the time the shuttle showed was an hour and 30 mins. I find out on the ride back to hotel that the shuttle didn't even leave the hotel til 10 mins after I called the 2nd time.

We get back and I give the girls quick wash offs in the tub and let them lay down to watch tv within mins both are fast asleep. I make contact with my parents who come by to have an early dinner with the girls and me.

Once JW is done with his meetings we take the DC to the waterpark event and they have a blast Lillibean tries out the lazy river and Jitterbug thought she wanted to go down the big slide with daddy but changed her mind once she got to the top. after 2 hours of playing its time to wrap up and head on over to the reception and visit for an hour or so before it is time for bed. The DC and I are exhausted so it doesn't take long for us to fall asleep. It has been quite a day.