Worst Hotel Stay:

Holiday Inn , Florence, South Carolina

Noisy, noisy, and noisy. Kids were left unsupervised in rooms and were jumping on beds and wrestling at 2 a.m. Three calls to the front desk and no one did anything about it.

No towels available at the pool after we were told not to BRING towels to the pool, they'd be provided. The complimentary coffee in the lobby was out and when we brought this to the front desk's attention, nothing was done. We checked back 30 minutes later, still no coffee.

No napkins in the restaurant, and when we asked for one, we got a crumpled brown paper towel. We tried to order off the breakfast menu and they were "out of" pancakes, waffles, and french toast. One restaurant employee was trying to make the best of things--I appreciated her efforts.

Our room key failed and had to be replaced.

All of the above took place in an 18 hour period.

Best fast food:

We hit McDonald's, Chick Fil A, Wendy's, Arby's, Burger King, and other places.

Arby's Martha Vineyard Salad was the best entree. Fresh greens, toasted almonds, real chunks of turkey breast, dried cranberries, apple chunks, shredded cheddar cheese with a raspberry vinagariette dressing. Yum! Arby's also had the best fries. Their homestyle fries are chunky and include the potato peel.

Favorite Dessert:

A tie between Ruby Tuesday's chocolate cake and the Westmoreland Berry Farm's fresh fruit ice cream sundae.

Biggest dessert disappointment:

Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. Too expensive, more sweet than flavorful. Even the kids thought it was kind of gross. We threw most of it away.

Worst stretch of highway:

I-95 south of DC to Fredericksburg, Virginia, is constantly congested, backed up or shut down due to accidents. It's depressing.

Kids' favorite attractions:

Adventureland water park in Jacksonville, Florida, was not too big, not too small, and great fun. The wave pool was a blast. 

My kids (who are nearly 12 and 10), surprised us by thoroughly enjoying their tour of Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC, and Jamestown in Virginia. 

Not too exciting:

The aquarium in Charleston. We've been to a lot of aquariums, and this one left us yawning.

August 1, 2007