Perdido Key 2016
One of the most daunting tasks of going on vacation is writing the post trip blog entry.
Sigh. Here were go. (for what it's worth - I typed that sentence and then stared at my computer screen for almost 4 minutes!)
On Friday, March 18 Andy and I left our house around 1:30 PM to start our trek south for a week of fun in the sun! Our first stop was to get Eleanor, then Oliver and by 1:51 we were on I-43 heading south. Our trip did not start out well and I started getting flashbacks to our trip last year. At 2:42 PM, Eleanor announced she needed to stop for the bathroom and at 4:16 PM, she asked for another stop. I told her she was bored and she needed to find something to do (and said a silent prayer that she really was just bored and didn't really have to go to the bathroom).
We pushed through until 5:45 (ish) and stopped at the same Denny's in Tuscola. Oliver was getting REALLY crabby in the car - ready to get out. Which also made me start to have cold sweats about the rest of the drive. We went across the street to the same gas station and Eleanor and I changed into pajamas/comfy clothes and then I changed Oliver in the car. I just can't resist putting the kids in matching jammies! Look - you can't tell where one kid starts and the other kid ends! I could just eat them up!!
By 6:58 PM we were back on the road. Eleanor wanted to read until it got to dark, but Oliver fell asleep right away. And I tried. But it's pretty hard to fall asleep at 7:30 at night - even when you know you will be driving all night. And this is how we progressed until 10:52 PM. That's right - from 7:30 until 10:52 we had an uneventful drive. And then...Eleanor sneezed. The most involuntary action a person can have. And who sneezes in their sleep?? Eleanor woke up - Oliver started crying - Andy and I both jumped out of our seats! All while we crossed the border into Tennessee. (I'm super sad because I guess I didn't record when we entered Kentucky!) We kept driving, hoping both kids would fall back asleep - but by 11:58 we realized that was most likely not going to happen. We were going to need gas soon, so we decided to just stop.
Finally they both fell back asleep - I was in and out of sleep - and around 12:51 we entered into Alabama. Andy was loosing steam fast and at 2:48 AM we pulled off the expressway, switched drivers at the stop sign and pulled right back on. Neither kid woke up - SCORE. I was tired, but Andy hadn't slept at all yet. We learned that next time we drive to Florida Andy should try to sleep first because he can sleep easily in cars - and I'll drive until I can't stand it. This leaves me more of the possibility of falling asleep. I pushed through for about 2 hours, but we needed gas and I couldn't keep my eyes open. Alabama sucks.
We pulled off the expressway at 4:45 AM, filled up and switched drivers. Eleanor decided that 5 AM is close to 6 AM, which is close the 7 AM, so she just wasn't going to go back to sleep. Awesome decision. At 5:08 we crossed into Florida.
Around 6 AM, we were turning onto Perdido Key Drive. Our drive down was over. We killed it! It was uneventful - very wakeful - and we made it in 16 hours - 1091.6 miles. Holy crap! We didn't even think Grandma and Grandpa would be up yet, so we made Eleanor's vacation complete and stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. Oliver had actually fallen back asleep, so we all tried to close our eyes in the parking lot for about 20 minutes, before Oliver realized the car wasn't moving anymore and woke up. Oh matching jammies in McDonald's. How awesome!
We decided it was time to wake up Grandma and Grandpa - but we couldn't get into our condo yet, so we decided to take a morning walk on the beach. It was CHILLY out, but the ocean was calm and you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.
The first few days followed the same weather pattern - cool and breezy. But sunny. And the sun felt oh so good. And the kids - well - they couldn't spend all day at the pool - especially since the pool isn't heated and it just was too cold to swim in for any period of time. So this year, we broke up the days and did lunch, dyed Easter eggs, went shopping, went to state parks, played some tennis, went to the bayou, saw some dolphins and threw some rocks.
This year Eleanor also had more interest in taking pictures, so occasionally I would hand over my big camera - and thus...there are actually pictures of me from this vacation - AND pictures of Andy and I alone!
But don't despair - there was still plenty of time for the pool and the beach!
We followed a very simple formula on vacation - we did what we want - when we wanted. A few of my favorites from vacation:
A little before 5 PM - we were home!! 1040.5 miles! Incident free! Thank God! We unpacked the car and even did the first load of laundry. Oliver moved from room to room playing with this toys. I think it's safe to say, he was happy to be home!
Sigh. Here were go. (for what it's worth - I typed that sentence and then stared at my computer screen for almost 4 minutes!)
On Friday, March 18 Andy and I left our house around 1:30 PM to start our trek south for a week of fun in the sun! Our first stop was to get Eleanor, then Oliver and by 1:51 we were on I-43 heading south. Our trip did not start out well and I started getting flashbacks to our trip last year. At 2:42 PM, Eleanor announced she needed to stop for the bathroom and at 4:16 PM, she asked for another stop. I told her she was bored and she needed to find something to do (and said a silent prayer that she really was just bored and didn't really have to go to the bathroom).
We pushed through until 5:45 (ish) and stopped at the same Denny's in Tuscola. Oliver was getting REALLY crabby in the car - ready to get out. Which also made me start to have cold sweats about the rest of the drive. We went across the street to the same gas station and Eleanor and I changed into pajamas/comfy clothes and then I changed Oliver in the car. I just can't resist putting the kids in matching jammies! Look - you can't tell where one kid starts and the other kid ends! I could just eat them up!!
By 6:58 PM we were back on the road. Eleanor wanted to read until it got to dark, but Oliver fell asleep right away. And I tried. But it's pretty hard to fall asleep at 7:30 at night - even when you know you will be driving all night. And this is how we progressed until 10:52 PM. That's right - from 7:30 until 10:52 we had an uneventful drive. And then...Eleanor sneezed. The most involuntary action a person can have. And who sneezes in their sleep?? Eleanor woke up - Oliver started crying - Andy and I both jumped out of our seats! All while we crossed the border into Tennessee. (I'm super sad because I guess I didn't record when we entered Kentucky!) We kept driving, hoping both kids would fall back asleep - but by 11:58 we realized that was most likely not going to happen. We were going to need gas soon, so we decided to just stop.
Finally they both fell back asleep - I was in and out of sleep - and around 12:51 we entered into Alabama. Andy was loosing steam fast and at 2:48 AM we pulled off the expressway, switched drivers at the stop sign and pulled right back on. Neither kid woke up - SCORE. I was tired, but Andy hadn't slept at all yet. We learned that next time we drive to Florida Andy should try to sleep first because he can sleep easily in cars - and I'll drive until I can't stand it. This leaves me more of the possibility of falling asleep. I pushed through for about 2 hours, but we needed gas and I couldn't keep my eyes open. Alabama sucks.
We pulled off the expressway at 4:45 AM, filled up and switched drivers. Eleanor decided that 5 AM is close to 6 AM, which is close the 7 AM, so she just wasn't going to go back to sleep. Awesome decision. At 5:08 we crossed into Florida.
Around 6 AM, we were turning onto Perdido Key Drive. Our drive down was over. We killed it! It was uneventful - very wakeful - and we made it in 16 hours - 1091.6 miles. Holy crap! We didn't even think Grandma and Grandpa would be up yet, so we made Eleanor's vacation complete and stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. Oliver had actually fallen back asleep, so we all tried to close our eyes in the parking lot for about 20 minutes, before Oliver realized the car wasn't moving anymore and woke up. Oh matching jammies in McDonald's. How awesome!
And so although it was cold - although it was breezy - we hung out at the pool all afternoon. Because we were on vacation - vacation in Florida. And we were going to hang out by the pool.
This year Eleanor also had more interest in taking pictures, so occasionally I would hand over my big camera - and thus...there are actually pictures of me from this vacation - AND pictures of Andy and I alone!
 |
| We only look like we know what we are doing...it was a bad showing! |
But don't despair - there was still plenty of time for the pool and the beach!
 |
| Poor Oliver and his pink hand-me-down life jacket from his sister #bigsisterproblems #realmenwearpink #ilovehashtags! |
 |
| Eleanor's cousins buried her in the sand! It was hilarious! |
 |
| And shell collecting! Think my OCD is rubbing off on Eleanor? She needed to organize her shells! |
We followed a very simple formula on vacation - we did what we want - when we wanted. A few of my favorites from vacation:
 |
| She is so grown up in this picture - and so, so, so beautiful!! |
I love my kids - I love my family - but the Florida landscapes were equally as fun to photograph!
And in case you ever had any doubt....I'm rather obsessed with these two....
Together they are amazing. And independently...they are amazing! Even though they both were feeling a bit under the weather during the vacation.
So real quick...to spend some time on that topic. Of course, Oliver developed a double ear infection on vacation. Lucky we brought some ear drops with us and started them as soon as we noticed his ears. And the coughing! Oh my gosh the coughing! Oliver spent all night, several nights, coughing. One night Andy and I both lay in bed listening to the coughing and thinking FOR SURE we were going to find Urgent Care in the morning. But in true Oliver style, the next morning, he was his cheery ol self! And Eleanor came down with a cold, which is so unlike her. She was congested and sounded hoarse. She slept great at night, but you could tell she wasn't 100% during the day. But...she too bounced back quickly! And after a few cough drops myself...I was feeling better than I was on the drive down there.
One other point worth noting...Andy and I tip toe around the house at night, afraid to wake up Oliver...but on Sunday night, Andy and I were already in bed sleeping...and the most God awful, horrible, loud noise ripped us both out of bed. The fire alarm of the entire condo unit was going off. There was a loud buzzer directly outside of Eleanor and Oliver's room (oh!! side note...Eleanor and Oliver shared a room - just like two big kids!!) AND, directly outside of the window of their room was the hallway fire alarm, complete with flashing strobe light! Andy grabbed a towel and tried to muffle the inside alarm while I went outside to see if anyone was fleeing a smokey building. I noticed no such thing and ran over to his mom's condo to see if she knew what was going on. Scott was already out and about investigating...the alarm never went off in Melissa's condo! 30 minutes later it was determined the alarm was pulled on the 3rd floor and the police reset the alarm. Miraculously...neither child woke up!
But that's it. Those are really our only "adventures" from vacation. The rest was fairly uneventful...just the way vacation should be.
So...homeward bound. On Friday we were in the car by 9:22 - all packed up and ready to go! It was about 60, with a high of 72…cloudy and sprinkles. By 9:40 Oliver was already sleeping. My favorite quote of the day was around this time from Eleanor: Mom today is good Friday? Does that mean you are going to go shopping? Or do you only do that on Black Friday?
And in case you ever had any doubt....I'm rather obsessed with these two....
Together they are amazing. And independently...they are amazing! Even though they both were feeling a bit under the weather during the vacation.
One other point worth noting...Andy and I tip toe around the house at night, afraid to wake up Oliver...but on Sunday night, Andy and I were already in bed sleeping...and the most God awful, horrible, loud noise ripped us both out of bed. The fire alarm of the entire condo unit was going off. There was a loud buzzer directly outside of Eleanor and Oliver's room (oh!! side note...Eleanor and Oliver shared a room - just like two big kids!!) AND, directly outside of the window of their room was the hallway fire alarm, complete with flashing strobe light! Andy grabbed a towel and tried to muffle the inside alarm while I went outside to see if anyone was fleeing a smokey building. I noticed no such thing and ran over to his mom's condo to see if she knew what was going on. Scott was already out and about investigating...the alarm never went off in Melissa's condo! 30 minutes later it was determined the alarm was pulled on the 3rd floor and the police reset the alarm. Miraculously...neither child woke up!
But that's it. Those are really our only "adventures" from vacation. The rest was fairly uneventful...just the way vacation should be.
By 10:37 we were in Alabama and stopped around 12 ish stop for lunch outside of Montgomery – McDonald's. We wanted to be quick and you don't get many quick options on the expressway. Ew. Too much McDonalds and now we can go another year without eating it! It was beautiful outside and I just wanted to stay out there - knowing my time in the sun was limited. We ate quickly and got back on the road right away but by 1:44 PM we were parked on expressway for not the first time that day. Traffic was pretty bad and getting worse. At 2:30 (ish) we stop by request from Eleanor.
3:44 PM we were parked...again. I was getting really antsy at this point. We weren't scheduled to get to Bowling Green until well after 7 PM. I knew how badly Eleanor wanted to go swimming. If we weren't going to allow the kids time to swim...why not just stay on the road and keep driving? I checked the directions which indicated there was a quicker route. So at 4:00 we exited the freeway, after driving on the shoulder to the off-ramp and were weaving through back roads of Alabama. 4:22, we were back on I65...finally making good progress. I was on a mission. I was going to get us to Bowling Green by 6:30. At 4:26 we crossed another state line, into Tennessee. At 6:10 we entered Kentucky and at 6:33 PM we got off the expressway at Bowling Green. We made a quick stop at Qdoba for dinner - checked into the hotel, ate while changing, and went to the pool. Eleanor and Oliver enjoyed swimming in a heated pool!
Eleanor and Oliver shared a room again (crazy!!) and both slept pretty well. Of course - Andy and I both started fall asleep on the pull-out couch and transferred to bed!
The next morning we were back on the road by 8:49 AM. 10:28 AM we crossed the state line into Indiana and stopped for lunch around 12. We filled up with gas one last time and switched drivers. Oliver was staring at the DVD player, just watching Bubble Guppies on repeat...They were doing so good, but there was no way we could turn off Bubble Guppies!
At 3:02 we crossed into Illinois...and at 4:06 we entered WISCONSIN!!
I think it's safe to say we had an amazing vacation! And it's taken me about as long to type and compose this entry as it did to drive to Florida...now it's time to work on the photo album.
Comments
Post a Comment