Perdido Key - 2015

 

Wow - where to begin?  And how am I ever going to select the pictures to use for this post?

I don't want to spend a lot of time on the pre-vacation, but the week before we left for Florida was one. long. week!

On Tuesday, daycare called and told us that Oliver needed to get picked up and taken to the doctor because of his cough.  After ANOTHER appointment with Dr. D, we established our new asthma plan.  Andy and I were getting so frustrated and yet we felt so bad for Oliver.  Wednesday, daycare called and told us that Oliver needed to get picked up because he had a fever - which meant he couldn't go to daycare on Wednesday.  Oh. My. God.  Thursday - the day before we were supposed to leave daycare informed me he was inconsolable, fussy and didn't eat.  I went home that night and lost. my. shit.  How on earth were we going to leave for Florida - driving there none-the-less?  As I lay on the floor, sobbing with Oliver, Andy decided to just take Oliver to urgent care to get him looked over and a medical opinion on if we should/could travel to Florida.  15 minutes later, we learned Oliver had a DOUBLE ear infection.  While this wasn't great news - at least we were armed with an antibiotic and a Doctor's blessing to head cross country!  And for once Andy and I said, "Thank Goodness we aren't flying!"

The next morning I went to work, Eleanor went to school, Oliver went to daycare and Andy staid home to pack our van.  This was really happening. 

At 1:46 we turned onto the expressway - The Bach Family was heading to Florida!

We made it to Decatur, IL when I started to hear a flap, flap, flappy sound.  We determined something was wrong with our cartop carrier and made a quick exit at the first available opportunity.  Sure enough - the strap had fallen off.  We filled up with gas and Andy jerry-rigged the strap to keep it secure.  I seemed OK with this solution and off we went!

 

The state of Illinois is long, flat and boring!  But we kept heading south and watched it get overcast, dark, cloudy and foggy.  Then the mist started. We made it to Tuscola, IL (just outside of Champaign) and stopped for dinner and some bungy cords.  Eleanor and Oliver changed into pajamas and I decided I was still doing OK and could keep driving.  The kids fell asleep rather quickly and I tried to maintain a good pace.  But the rain just wouldn't let up!  I clenched the steering wheel and strained my eyes. 

I kept pushing myself how long I could drive.  730.  800.  900.  Finally at 1000 I couldn't handle it.  I needed Andy to take over.  We pulled off the road at the nearest gas station and then something happened that I hadn't expected.  Both kids woke up.  Crap.  We took Eleanor in to go to the bathroom and filled up with gas.  Andy started our next leg and I tried to get Oliver back to sleep.  This is when things get REALLY blurry!  I was SO relieved to see us cross into Kentucky.  We were finally out of Illinois.  Some time around 130 we made another stop, but Andy and I can't remember why or where?  But I know it was raining and I know there Oliver was WIDE awake at this point.  I also know that Eleanor and I went to the bathroom behind a dumpster, because we were literally in the middle of nowhere and the gas station was closed.  I also know that Eleanor and Oliver now staid up for a very long time.  I drifted in and out of sleep in the front seat and in the back seat trying to shush Oliver.

We made it into Tennessee and then to Alabama.  Andy was loosing steam and it was still raining!  We stopped at the most ghetto of ghetto gas stations, filled up, bought sludge coffee, got hot water (because every time Oliver squawked, we tried feeding him...piggy ate all the way to FL) and switched drivers.  Now Andy did what I did and tried to sleep and tried to get kids to sleep and stay asleep.  Somewhere between delirium and exhaustion, we crossed into Florida.  At this time, the sun was also starting to rise.  I remember thinking, "This is what it feels like to be in a vampire movie.  You just wait and wait for that first streak of sunlight."  Yup.  I had that thought!  We watched the sunrise as we turned onto Blue Angel Parkway...Holy. Cow.  We made it.  We really really made it.  I literally almost started crying!  We pulled into the parking lot at 743 AM.  We had driven 1097 miles in just about 18 hours!  We were beyond amazed!

We first stopped at Shirley and Scott's condo and let Oliver move and groove and wiggle around on the floor.  He was elated!  Then we checked into our condo.  It looked like it was going to be a glorious day!  We quickly unpacked and made ourselves at home.  Would you believe I have very few pictures of our condo?

I wanted to get to the grocery store quickly to get it over with - So Andy unpacked more and I went to Wal-Mart up the road.  By the time I came back, Eleanor was already down for a nap, the Gaylords had arrived and Oliver was ready for a nap number two.  He was having a hard time adjusting to a new place, so I took one for the team and held him during his nap - for two hours I held him and drifted in and out of sleep on our king size bed.  Andy napped on the couch.  Eleanor...well she napped for four hours in her bed!

We then all headed over to the pool and met up with the rest of Andy's family.  We were all pretty exhausted and decided on ordering pizza and calling it an early night.  By 7 both our kids were sleeping and by 830, Andy and I were also in bed!

The next morning we woke up and really took our time getting ready.  I made a quick trip to the best Target of all time (would you believe we didn't pack diaper cream?  and little buddy's butt was a little red after all that traveling!)

I will not provide detail of every day of the trip, because the formula is pretty simple.  Morning beach walk to collect seashells, breakfast, to the pool, dinner, games, sleep.  Repeat.  Each day was sunny and gorgeous and warm.  It was heavenly.  And Oliver?  Sick little Oliver?  He is the healthiest he has ever been in his life! 

A view of our resort from the ocean

The view from our patio.

Oliver would hang out with us at the pool either in his high chair or stroller.


Sometimes Oliver would even take a nap down by the pool with us!



Hangry! 

Snack time by the pool!

Andy knew the pool was not heated and that it would be too cold for Oliver, so at the last minute, we threw in a little wading pool.  We'd fill it up in the morning and let the sun heat it.  By afternoon the pool was perfect for Oliver to start exploring!  He LOVED the water!

 

 

I can't even!  This girl is just too much for me!

Our sunrise walk on the beach!

 

 

SO many sand dollars!

Not every day was a sunrise walk on the beach, but every day there was a walk on the beach!

 

 

 

Sometimes our morning walks were just too much for Oliver to handle

And although the pool was cold, we still swam in it - a lot!

 

 

And although I really hate sand, we even found some time to play on the beach!

 

 

 

Oh this girl!  It's like spending an entire week with her made me realize how grown up she really is.  She's like a grown up little person...in a little body.  Argh!  I love her So much!  I teeter between thinking she's beautiful and cute...it's that grown up/child struggle!

And then there's this kid.  O.M.G.  Those eyes.  Those dimples.  He is going to be trouble.  And this momma is just going to cave under those eyes! He was SO SO good on vacation.  I could never have expected that much from a 6 month old!

 

 

 

And then...then you put them together.  A little Eleanor + A little Oliver and it's like Ka-Boom!  My heart just explodes!

 



 

 

 

Nothing says "Family Vacation" like lots and lots of family pictures!  Oh I just love family pictures! (Especially family pictures on the beach!)

 

 

Oh!  And speaking of St. Patrick's Day!

 

Each night, one family was in charge of dinner.  It was SO very nice to not eat out every single meal of vacation!  Then one night we all went out to dinner together to The Gulf.

 

Taco night at the Bach's condo

And one night, we got a "sitter"....

 

Because, "There's a place down on the coast, between Florida and Alabama..." Melissa, Fred, Andy and I head out to the Florabama for a few drinks.  

 

 

And then our last night our little family of 4 head out to Tacky Jack's.  It was a beautiful night for dinner out on the patio.  And delicious too!

We should have started this much earlier in the week - but Eleanor started using my camera to take pictures of us!

Another Eleanor original!

Now let's talk about our last day.  Oliver didn't have the greatest night.  So Andy and I took turns with Oliver.  But when the day started, Andy wasn't feelin it and crawled back into bed for awhile.  Oliver was napping - so Eleanor and I ran to Target for a few essentials for our drive home.  There is a Starbucks attached to Target and I was so excited for coffee...but one smell of the coffee made me feel very nauseous.  I spent the morning not feeling the greatest and Andy spent most of the day dozing on and off in the shade.  I assumed we all had a touch of sun poisoning or sun stroke...so I made sure we drank lots of water and I staid covered up most of the day. 

It was always our intention to take 2 days to drive home, so Andy also spent some time researching where a good 1/2 point would be.  Our first thought was to drive as far as Louisville, but then decided something a little more actually 1/2 day...and settled on Bowling Green, KY.  We got a big 2 bedroom suite to ensure everyone could actually sleep. We didn't want Oliver keeping Eleanor up.  If we were going to stop, we were going to sleep. 

That night we started packing up and hit the hay early.  Our goal was to be on the road by 10 AM. 
The next morning I woke up feeling better.  Andy felt different and experienced the same "symptoms" I had the day before.  AND now Eleanor was complaining of stomach pain. She said she felt like she was going to throw up.  I chalked it up to emotions of leaving and the sheer exhaustion from the day before.  She swam all day long.  Not using any water wings or inner tubes.  Just Eleanor and the water.  All. Day. Long!

We got on the road at 9:11 in the morning - well ahead of schedule.  We made it about 15 miles down the road and Eleanor threw up.  Awesome.  She then told us she had to go to the bathroom.  So we made a quick stop, just as Oliver had fallen asleep.  At this point, I still think that Eleanor is just exhausted and will feel better after a nap.  We get on the expressway.  Oliver only staid sleeping for a short time and woke up crying.  I crawled in back and tried to calm him down.  Nothing worked.  Finally I realized he had pooped.  Everywhere.  There was poop everywhere!  So...Andy made a quick exit and we got Oliver changed.  His clothes are in the garbage can at the rest stop!  So back onto the expressway.  We hear something rattling on the car.  Andy tries to convince me it's coming from below the car- gravel or something.  But I'm convinced it's from above.  Eleanor tells me she hears it too - and then says, "I see a strap!".  I pull over on the side of the expressway and Andy jumps out.  The bungy cord has snapped!  So...once again, Andy once again does some jerry-rigging and, apparently, I'm OK with this. 

Poor Eleanor spends the rest of the trip throwing up into several black trash bags.  When she wasn't throwing up, she was trying to sleep.  It was just so sad to see her.  And she did SO great.  She was such a trooper.  Outside of Nashville she started crying, she just wanted out of the car.  I had the thought that maybe we should just push through.  Maybe we should just drive all night - we could be home around 1 AM.  But Eleanor really was done and Bowling Green, KY couldn't come soon enough. 

When we got to the hotel, I took Eleanor and Oliver upstairs - Eleanor really wanted a warm bath.  And the minute she got in the tub, she really brightened up.  Andy was downstairs unloading the car.  When he came upstairs he informed me that the zipper of the car top carrier had basically deteriorate.  We would not be using the car top carrier the next day.  Awesome. 

We got both kids to bed - not as early as I thought...but that's another story.  Andy ran to Qdoba to get us dinner - even though Andy's stomach was still bothering him.  We pulled the couch out and got settled in to watch the Wisconsin game.  Which, I think I saw approximately 3 minutes of and then we fell asleep.  I woke up and crawled into bed and Andy staid on the couch.  Every one slept pretty good and the next morning Eleanor even had a little color in her cheeks! 

Snuggling on the couch before our final day of travel. 

Andy and I managed to fit all our stuff in the car without the car top carrier (I guess we didn't bring as much stuff as we thought!) and it was off on our final day of travel!  This last day was, in my opinion, the longest.  Eleanor was feeling better, but not 100% so she was restless and wanting to get home.  Oliver was just plain done.  Andy wasn't 100% either.  And I was getting car sick. Each state line was a huge celebration for us! 

 

And finally we entered our final state.  Our final city.  Our neighborhood.  And then we pulled into our driveway!

We made it to WISCONSIN!!

My view from the backseat of the van.  Entertaining both Oliver and Eleanor.

Our family vacation had come to an end!  We all survived.  I can't believe that we drove across the country with a 6 month old.  A 6 month old with an ear infection.  And drove home with a 6 year old with a stomach bug.  This is the stuff memories are made of.  And memories were made!  We had an awesome time and even started talking about our next vacation! 



But not for awhile...It may take us at least a few months to feel brave enough our next road trip.