Chapter 1. Every Trip has to Start with this part…
Saturday 12/22/12, 3am. Dum Dum Da Dum Dum BEEP BEEP BEEEEEP… As I always say, the first sound of every vacation is an insanely early alarm clock. (And I actually set two different ones, just in case.) We were flying out of Denver at 7am, and with over an hours’ drive to the airport, plus the usual holiday lines at check-in and security awaiting us, there was no choice but to get up and out.
We left the house only a few minutes behind schedule, and fortunately didn’t run into any problems with traffic, or with finding the off-site lot I had made parking reservations at. The shuttle bus met us at our car as we were unloading. While we were dealing with the massive amount of luggage, I got the kids settled inside. Owen was so cute – he immediately cuddled up in Lily’s lap and tried to go back to sleep. He was still in his PJs since I had just carried him straight from bed to the car. Once we started moving, he woke up and was super excited to look out the window at the other cars and busses we were passing.
Maybe I should back up a little and tell you about this trip before we get on our way with taking it. We live in Colorado, my whole side of the family lives in Florida. So our arrangement is that every year, we fly down there either for Thanksgiving or Christmas, in an alternating pattern. So this year was Christmas. Just the night before, at home, we had done our annual solstice celebration. This is when we actually exchange our presents between the 4 of us. Unfortunately, since we were leaving so early, the kids didn’t get much time to play with their new toys. But, their present from me was a little different, and it was something they could bring with them – tickets to Legoland!!!
Lily had been asking to go to Legoland for quite some time, and we just never seemed to have the chance. But finally, we were making time for it. I got our plane tickets into Orlando, which is less than an hour from the park. She didn’t think much of this before knowing about the tickets, since we sometimes fly into there instead of Ft. Myers anyway, if it’s a lot cheaper. And she knew that we were renting a car (instead of my parents driving up to get us), but she had assumed we would be driving straight to Naples once we arrived, instead of checking in to the Nickelodeon Suites hotel for a night and then meeting her cousins at Legoland the very next day! I’m not usually one for these types of surprises, and trying to pack and organize luggage on Friday without her knowing about the first 2 days of the trip was a challenge, to say the least! But now, we were all “in the know” and excited to start our mini-vacation before driving on down to Naples for Christmas.
Check-in and security were the usual hassle, but uneventful, and for once Owen did pretty well on the flight. Actually, he slept through most of it so I was able to relax and read. At the Orlando airport, we all looked a little wistfully at the signs for Disney’s Magical Express, but assured ourselves we would be headed that way next time. Wouldn’t want to be there this week anyway, as busy as it was sure to be.
We had never rented a car here before, and the guy at Avis really annoyed me. Tried to talk me into upgrading, buying insurance I didn’t need, adding unnecessary “extras”, etc. And then treated me like I was a moron for saying no. Anyway, we had the car before long, and somehow managed to fit all 7 suitcases in the trunk.
Time for the adventure to begin!!
Chapter 2.Nick Hotel, and a little Disney too!
We found our way to the Nick Hotel with no trouble. We had always seen it on the way to Disney from the airport and thought it looked neat, but were never willing to give up nights at Disney to stay there. So this was a unique opportunity to check it out! We got our stuff to our room, and the kids were excited to see they had their own area with bunk beds. Owen really wanted to sleep on top, and Lily actually wanted the bottom (she sleeps on a high-loft bed at home). It seemed a little odd, but we agreed to it. Hopefully Owen won’t fall out! The walls in their room were painted with a Fairly Odd Parents mural, which Lily really liked.
Overall, it was a neat resort. I don’t think I’d give up being on-site for a Disney vacation, but the layout, with multiple rooms, would be nice for sure if you were in Orlando for an extended time. The kids were wanting to swim, but we were hungry so we headed to the food court first. While we were there, several characters came through! (Definitely don’t see that at Disney, lol!) Lily was happy enough to meet them, though Owen was a bit scared. He seemed to warm up a little to them towards the end though. We are really hoping he does okay with the characters when we go to Disney later this year, and much of this mini-trip would feel like “practice” for that!
At the pool, we had the water to ourselves. It was unnaturally chilly, and most had decided it was not a swimming day. But it was our only chance, and one of the reasons I had picked the hotel was the awesome pool, so we braced for the cold and got in anyway. Owen really liked the kids area and slide, and Lily went up the big slide several times. I went with her once, but the rope ladder to get to the top was almost more than my arthritic joints could handle, so I didn’t try again. It was fun though. Finally, even our Colorado-blood was getting cold, so we went back to the room to relax, and gave the kids some time to play.
We wanted to go out somewhere for dinner, and Brian has gotten hooked on using Yelp every time we are somewhere unfamiliar, so that we can find some sort of local place instead of a boring chain. A few things looked interesting, but the one that caught his attention the most was a place called Olivia’s… that rang a bell for some reason. Oh yes! I had just been reading a thread about it on a Disney message board I frequent, it must be at Disney World!
It was just around the corner, practically, so no surprise it would have come up on Yelp. We hadn’t had any plans to set foot on Disney property, as we were saving that for our big trip later next year, but the menu looked too good to pass up, and it was at Old Key West Resort, not a place we were likely to end up on any normal Disney vacation. I was able to get a last minute reservation using the Disney app on my phone (restaurants there are notorious for booking up months in advance, but being a little more out-of-the-way, this one still had some availability.)
We got to Old Key West a little early and explored a bit. The kids loved playing by the playground and sand castle area, even though the lights were out for some reason and it was pretty dark. It was also a bit chilly, but not as cold as what we had left in Colorado. Owen really wanted to take a ride on one of the boats, but there wasn’t time.
Dinner was delicious, as the reviews had predicted it would be. Brian decided that this was the hidden gem of Disney World! Definitely amazing food, and I had never even heard of it until I stumbled upon that one thread. It’s doubtful that we will ever stay here, and getting here from the other resorts without a car is difficult, so I was glad we had a chance to try it out tonight. Again, it felt like practice. We of course weren’t on a dining plan this time, but I had been wondering if 2 adult meals and 1 child meal is going to be enough for the 4 of us when we go for real, since that’s the allotment we will have. Turned out that at least this time, it was plenty. So hopefully we won’t have to buy a bunch of extra meals out of pocket.
Owen had been a little squirmy through the whole meal, but mostly happy, and getting the light-up cups with Buzz Lightyear helped entertain him. Everyone was tired and getting grumpy though, so it was back to bed to get ready for our big day tomorrow!
Chapter 3. Starting the day with Dora and the Gang
Our morning started early – we had a character breakfast reservation! Owen had a hard time waking up, and wasn’t too sure about the characters still, but I was glad to see at least that Lily still liked it. I keep fearing she will be ‘too old’ soon, but she wasn’t showing any signs of it yet. Again, we almost had the place to ourselves. For this to be one of the busiest weeks of the year, the place sure felt empty! There were only two other families in the restaurant, and the characters kept coming around begging people to get up and dance with them, or at least give high fives. Much more interaction that we are used to at character meals, for sure.
Owen seemed to enjoy watching the characters, and would even wave at them, but wouldn’t get close enough for a picture. We saw Dora, Spongebob, Pablo, and a few others I didn’t know as well.
Breakfast was a fun diversion, but it was time to hit the road for Winter Haven and Legoland! (Although Lily refused to take her Nick Hotel wristband off, it stayed on her arm until we were back home in Colorado!)
Chapter 4. Legoland!
We arrived about 15 minutes before they were supposed to open, but they were already letting people in so we went to the Island in the Sky. it’s a rotating platform that goes up high where you can see the whole park. As usual, Owen freaked out when getting on, but also as usual, he calmed down and enjoyed it once we got going. I always feel like the ‘mean parent’ dragging him on rides, but I know from experience that he always ends up loving it. (Well, there would be one exception to that today, but at least now we know and will avoid those type rides at Disney for sure!)
My dad, brother, and his family were meeting us at Legoland, but they weren’t quite there yet, so we went on the carousel. Owen has just recently decided he is okay riding a horse, he used to always want to “sit on a bench”. he is slowly conquering these rides! While we were riding a Minifigure character came out, and Lily went over to meet him. Unfortunately, my phone rang right as I was trying to snap the picture, a combination which apparently locks up my phone for several minutes (and deletes the picture, boo!) Strangely enough, this would happen several times during our trip. So she was a little bummed about missing the pictures, but hopefully we could find him again later.
We headed towards the playground. It occurred to me that we were doing exactly what the guide-books said NOT to do – stopping at all the stuff in the front first, instead of heading straight to the coasters and rides that would get big lines. Oh well.
My family had arrived, so I left Brian, Lily and Owen on the Duplo village playground and went to meet them, since I had their tickets. We met back up a few minutes later, and Owen was a little unsure about all the strange people suddenly. He warmed up to them pretty quick, though.
Dad and I stayed with him on the playground while everyone else headed off to the Dragon. It was definitely getting busy already – during the first few minutes I was thinking the crowds didn’t look too bad, but that was before they were even officially open. Now everyone was arriving in droves. Well, we would do what we could and hope the kids had a good time anyway.
I took Owen on a few rides in Duplo Village, some of which my dad could join us on too. He was always a little nervous at first, but overall seemed to be getting the hang of this stuff a little more. After Mike, Tina, Brian, Lily, Cassie, and Cam were done with the Dragon, we all headed to Lost Kingdom together. This is where my Owen-always-likes-the-ride-once-it-starts philosophy failed. It was in the dark, and spooky, and he was terrified the whole time. Oops! Guess we’ll avoid Haunted Mansion and the like when we go to Disney.
The other kids wanted to do a bouncing ride after we came off, but Owen wasn’t in the mood to ride ANYTHING, so Tina and I took him to a different playground – this one had a big fort with balls you could shoot out of guns on various levels. The only melt-down here was when it was time to leave.
I had initially planned to have lunch at the pizza buffet, but it was at the front of the park, and we were in the back, and everyone was hungry. I had been hoping we would have worked our way back to the front by now, but with the large crowds, we weren’t getting things done quickly. So we settled on a stand that had BBQ and waffles. The kids seemed to be having fun together though.
Coastersaurus was up next. Owen was technically tall enough, but it looked a little wilder than I was comfortable with, so while everyone else went there, Dad and I took Owen to the safari ride. It had a long line, but so did everything at this point. The time waiting in line was good actually, Owen spent most of it playing with my Dad, and by the time we got to the front, they were buddies. So much so that Owen had no problem riding with Grandpa instead of me. (The cars only seated 2)
We met back up with the others, and seeing how things were going I figured we better prioritize, as we only had a couple of hours left. Lily said the one thing she REALLY wanted to do was Driving School, so her and I headed there. Everyone else went to Boating School, I believe. Driving School was pretty neat – they give the kids a briefing then they go drive around on “city-streets”, and have to obey traffic rules. Afterwards, I bought the Drivers License for her, that even had her picture on it. She wore it on a lanyard around her neck for the rest of the day 🙂
I hadn’t done any coasters yet, and the kids were wanting to do Flying School, so Brian took Owen this time, and the rest of us went flying. I am not a huge fan of thrill rides, actually, and I especially detest ones where my feet are hanging free. And that, of course, is what this one was. While we were waiting in line, my dad timed the ride and said it was exactly 1 min, 20 sec. As we were headed up the first hill, I asked him again how long it was. He assured me that at least 20 seconds had passed already and we weren’t even going fast yet. One minute. Surely I could remain calm for one tiny, little minute!
While we were flying, Brian had taken Owen to Technicycle. He was tall enough, but the Model Citizen (That’s what Legoland employees are called) was a little nervous about letting him on, for fear he would fall out! He did okay though, and wasn’t even nervous anymore about getting on rides.
We all went to the Rescue Academy next – Brian thought it looked like fun because it involved a physical challenge of making your fire truck go the fastest! The day was getting away from us though, and we only had time for one more ride. The kids had been seeing Test Track throughout the day and really wanted to go on it, so that was it.
Dad and I took Owen back to the Duplo Farm playground, since that had seemed to be his favorite part of the day. I actually left him there with my dad for a while so that I could go pick up the picture we had taken earlier, and got some Apple Fries while I was out too. They were okay, but didn’t quite live up to the stellar reviews I had read of them.
We also walked through mini-land – Owen was only somewhat interested, except for the part that had a racetrack with cars that moved! He saw it from a distance and took up full-speed ahead for it! I couldn’t even keep up with him, but had him in sight at least. And I was glad to see that several other guests noticed a running-away 2 year old passing them, and looked to make sure someone was at least “on the chase” before letting him go by.
Shortly after everyone returned, Max the Minifigure came out again, and Lily was finally able to get her picture with him. No phone calls to lock up the camera this time! But it was time to go, we needed to get dinner and make the 4-hour drive to Naples still. Overall, we hadn’t gotten to do nearly as much as I had been hoping. The short hours, large crowds, and failure to follow “the plan” for the first hour had all contributed to that. But, I think the kids all had fun together, and that’s what matters most. Maybe sometime we can come back when it isn’t so busy.
As I mentioned, so much of this part of the trip felt like practice for Disney World. A few things we learned – Owen doesn’t mind thrill rides once they get going, but he doesn’t like dark, scary rides at all. He also did just fine all day without the stroller (we brought it with us, but it had 2 flat tires so we left it in the car), and he didn’t even get a nap! I wouldn’t want to try to push this kind of schedule every day, but good to know we can make it if need be. He also isn’t crazy about characters 🙁 He is sort of interested in watching them from a distance, but won’t go up to them at all. Oh well. I’m glad we had a chance to figure some of this stuff out now, though.
For dinner, we ended up at Tianana Flats, a burrito place. It was about the only thing open in Winter Haven, apparently the place really closes up on Sunday nights. We drove on to Naples, and spent some time with my mom and sister at their house before checking in to our new hotel, the La Quinta. It was only a few minutes from their house, and would be our home for the rest of the week.
Chapter 5. Christmas Eve
We had a good night at our hotel, and slept in a tad the next morning. But we were still at my parents’ house before 9am. Christmas Eve is a big deal in my family. We do a big meal at night, and then everyone opens presents. (For the longest time growing up, I couldn’t figure out why calendars always listed Christmas as being Dec. 25. Didn’t they know it was the 24th??)
Most of the day would pass in a blur. People cooking, errands being run, last minute gifts being wrapped. It seemed there were never more than a couple of us in the same place at the same time. “Us” at this point included: myself, Brian, Lily, Owen, my parents, my sister Ashley and her husband Scott, and their 9-month old Aiden, my brother Mike, and his family Tina, Cassie and Cam.
We picked up some lunch at Taste of Chicago, and then Brian decided to take the kids to the pool. I went with Ashley to do some last minute errands, and while we were out, Brian texted me that the pool was closed, so they were going to the beach instead.
Back home, dinner preparations were in full swing! I wasn’t much help in the kitchen (they probably wouldn’t have liked anything I tried to make!) but I could at least entertain Aiden and keep him from being constantly underfoot.
All at once, the house seemed to go from a quiet bustle, to bursting with people. Uncle Ed and Darlene arrived, about the same time as Brian got back with the kids, and Tina got there with Cassie and Cam. And my parents got back from their errands as well.
We struggled a little to work out seating arrangements for so many people, but finally we were all eating. The night was growing late already though, and I had to rush everyone to start the presents. Afterall, Santa was nearing the east coast, according to the tracking information on NORAD!
The kids opened their presents, and then we all played the white elephant game, where each person takes a wrapped present from the pile, or steals someone else’s! Not too many people stole this year, but there were still some laughs and everyone seemed happy.
Owen fell asleep on the way back to the hotel (and didn’t even wake up when I changed him into his PJs) and we all anxiously awaited morning. Brian was so anxious that he woke up a few times in the middle of the night thinking it was time to go already!
Chapter 6. Santa left his loot!
We had agreed to be back at my parents’ house by about 7am, but were a few minutes late getting going. It turned out that Aiden wasn’t up yet anyways, worn out from the festivities last night. But we came on in, and the kids discovered what Santa had left! Lily got mostly American Girl stuff – the dolls Molly and Emily, complete with Molly’s Camping tent and bicycle! And lots of clothes and accessories too. Owen got various types of blocks and trucks, and some more Jake & the Pirates stuff.
A little while later, Aiden woke up and his parents helped him open his first gifts from Santa. The kids were all busy playing with their toys, and then suddenly it was time to get lunch preparations underway. Just like last night, the time seemed to get away from us. The cousins arrive soon, and there is more chaos and playing.
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Owen finally agrees to take a nap with Brian, but he ends up missing the lunch feast and is grumpy when he wakes up. Lily really wanted to swim, and even though their pool was cold (unheated) she decided to get in and try it out anyway. Her grandpa watched her show off some of her favorite strokes, and she even practiced her entries a little from the deep end.
Brian took the kids (Lily, Owen, Cassie and Cam) out into the woods near my parent’s house, and they discovered a vine hanging from one of the trees that you could swing from! This would become a source of much entertainment the rest of the week. There was also a big tree nearby that they could all climb up into, and this became known as”The Fort”.
We snacked on leftovers for dinner and got back to the room fairly early. Hopefully the busier, more chaotic part of the trip was over at least, we were already getting worn out!
Chapter 7. Waterpark Day!
it’s now the day after Christmas, so life is getting back to normal for everyone else, but we needed something to do for the day while everyone else was at work. So we decided to take all the kids to the waterpark! We had breakfast at a little cafe not far from our hotel, then started the adventure.
Unfortunately, we were one seat short in our rental car, and the only way we could transport all 4 kids was to borrow Tina’s truck. So first we had to drive up to her work, and then drive out to their house with it to get the kids, before heading to the waterpark. Nothing was close, and the whole ordeal took almost 2 hours. But finally we were there and ready to swim!
Lily, Cassie and Cam immediately took off for the big waterslides (and later the lazy river) while Brian and I took Owen to the big family pool. They seemed to enjoy having a bit of freedom together, but would occasionally check in to let us know where they were. I knew we should have brought some sunscreen, and was hoping they would be selling some there, but they weren’t. That was a mistake we would pay for later. (And after we got home, I realized I had a tiny tube of sunscreen in my purse the whole time, DOH!)
It was a little cool, but not bad especially when the sun was out. Owen played in the little kid area for a while, he really liked one of the bucket swings in there! And the older kids spent a lot of time in the Lily Pad Pool, trying to make it across the ropes course without falling!
We all ate lunch together at the snack bar, then the older kids took off again while I took Owen back to the big pool. He had a lot of fun jumping off the underwater bench into my arms. But then he laid his head on my shoulder and I knew he was tired. So I sat with him on one of the lounge chairs while he slept, for well over an hour. I tried to cover him as best as I could with towels, so he didn’t get burned too bad while we sat in the sun. it was actually very peaceful watching him sleep there in my arms.
We were later getting back than we had meant to be, mostly because I didn’t want to disturb Owen’s nap. Brian had to take Tina’s truck back to her while I stayed at the house with the kids, and later Tina came by and picked her two up to go home. (After they spent some more time at the fort, of course!)
Brian had also picked up some groceries while he was out, so we cooked dinner and then headed back to our room for the night.
Chapter 8. A Day of Sitting Around
We decided to get breakfast at the hotel, since it was free and easy. But it was also crowded, and we had to sit outside where it was cold. So we were all in a bit of a grumpy mood by the time we got to my parents’ house. This would feel like a day of sitting around, which no one in my family handles very well.
Brian went with the kids to the fort several times, but there wasn’t much else to do. My dad was working, but had hoped to come home a little early, and we were thinking about maybe going to the children’s museum after that.
Brian left at lunch time to go get tacos to bring back for us, but was gone for a very long time. Apparently the little taco shop he found was quite popular. We ended up not having time for the museum, but my dad came out to the fort with the kids and they all had fun swinging and climbing. On the way, the kids had all run ahead of us (it was my dad and I’s fist time out there) and were already hiding in the tree when we got there.
We ordered pizza for dinner, and spent a few hours just hanging out with my dad at the house. (My mom hadn’t been feeling well much of the time, so we tried to give her plenty of time to rest in her room) Owen wanted his Grandpa to read his Lightning McQueen book over and over to him! We were late getting back, even though we hadn’t had a particularly eventful day.
Chapter 9. A Day at the Park
The morning started off with an argument about breakfast, but we finally ended up at Subway. Then we waited at my parents’ house, trying to figure out how Cassie and Cam were going to get there. We wanted to try out a nearby park, and finally my dad was on his way to go get them, saying he would meet us there.
Ashley was also coming to meet us later, after doing some errands. We were there for a rather long time before anyone else. At some point, Brian’s mom called, having decided she wanted to join us on our ski trip in a few weeks, so I spent a while on my phone, getting our plans changed appropriately.
My dad ended up having some work to do and couldn’t join us, but eventually, Ashley and the other kids got there. It was kind of muggy-hot and Lily really wanted to go to the swimming beach (just a small lake, not the ocean). The other kids hadn’t brought their swimsuits, but Cam swam with her and Brian in his shorts, while Ashley, Cassie, Aiden, and I hung out on the beach.
Owen loved a sand table there on the beach, and played at it for a long time, pretending to be cooking. The other kids became obsessed with trying to get some coconuts down from a tree, but to no avail. Brian even tried to climb it!
We were long overdue for lunch, and both kids were getting grumpy. Ashley went on home with Cassie and Cam, but we stopped by Pollo Tropical and picked up some food. Owen was asleep in the car by then, so I stayed with him and sent Brian in to get something I would like. It was definitely different, but pretty tasty.
Owen continued to sleep for a while on the couch, and my dad got home not too long after that. Ashley and Scott were leaving for a night out, so we were in charge of Aiden for the night.
Chapter 10. Mom goes to the Hospital
Not long after my dad got home, it became apparent that my mom was not doing well at all. She had been feeling bad most of the week, but was in an unusually bad state this evening. After struggling with her for a while, my dad decided she needed to go to the ER to be checked out. We had been thinking about going to the Botanical Gardens for a special lights display they were having, but it looked like that would have to wait.
Tina had just gotten there to pick up the kids, so she stayed to help us, and Mike rushed over to help my dad get my mom to the hospital.
Brian went to the store to get some stuff to cook spaghetti while Tina and I stayed with the 5 kids. Later we made another emergency run to the store to get Aiden some formula when we couldn’t find anymore at the house.
We had received a few updates from the hospital, but it didn’t look like they were going to know much soon. So we finally headed back to our room around 10pm, and Tina stayed at my parents’ house with Aiden. (Ashley and Scott wouldn’t be back until late, and didn’t even know anything was going on yet).
After we were back at our room, I got a text that she was being admitted for the night, and everyone else was going home. So we would be heading there to see her first thing in the morning.
Chapter 11.Visiting at the Hospital and some Swimming
We headed to another little diner for breakfast (First Watch, turned out it was one of my sister’s favorites, and we had discovered it on our own!) Then arranged to meet my dad at the hospital.
Mom was awake and alert, but confused and not making much sense. One of her Drs came in while we were there and seemed a little puzzled by her condition too. After a while the kids were getting restless so we went on back to the house, planning to visit again later in the day.
Brian went for a short run, then we decided to take the kids back to the hotel. There was a pretty nice looking (and heated) pool there that we hadn’t had a chance to try out yet. Ashley and Dad agreed to come over with us, and we picked up some Olive Garden for lunch to eat by the pool. (Olive Garden was right in the same parking lot as our hotel, very handy!) For some reason I had never gotten the Eggplant Parmesan there, but now I have a new favorite – yum!
We hung out and watched Brian swim with the kids for a while, then Dad had to go in to the office to see a patient, and was going to drop Ashley and Aiden off at the hospital. Owen fell asleep in the bed for his first “real” nap of the trip. Ashley called and said they wouldn’t let her go into the room with Aiden, so now she was stuck waiting in the hospital lobby until my dad could come back. Oh well.
Finally we all met back up at the hospital. They were being much pickier about letting people in now, and wanting everyone to wear masks. The whole thing freaked Owen out, so he spent much of the time in the waiting room with Brian.
Mom was doing a little better now, more coherent but still very weak. We managed to get her to eat at least a few bites of her dinner, with some help. Unfortunately, our trip was nearing its end and we had to leave the next morning. So we said our goodbyes, then made the long drive out to Mike’s house. (We had left our no-good stroller in their truck at one point, and had no choice since we needed to take it home!) My dad came with us.
We visited there for a while, then stopped at a little diner for one last dinner with my dad. We had planned to pack before bed, but it was too late so we crashed as soon as we were back.
Chapter 12. Back to Orlando
We woke up early to get our room packed, then over to my parents’ house where the kids still had all their new toys. Packing up actually went a little smoother than I had expected, and after our goodbyes we were on the road back to Orlando. Our flight wasn’t until later that evening, but with such a long drive I didn’t want to chance getting caught in a traffic jam. And my dad had to work anyway, so not much harm in heading out early. We were hoping to have time to go to the Ripley’s Museum on the way to the airport.
After a couple of hours, though, I heard it. The tell-tale cough from the backseat. Not just any cough. The I’m-about-to-puke-my-guts-out cough. We’ve heard it several times before. Sure enough, Owen was covered in vomit and screaming his head off within seconds. The good news is, having dealt with a car-sick Owen before, we had our system down pretty well. We pulled off at a Walgreens, Brian went in for cleaning supplies while I did some initial clean-up with wipes and got Owen stripped out of his clothes. Yes, right there in the parking lot. Sorry to any innocent bystanders who happen to be nearby on these unfortunate incidents.
We traded off when Brian got back, and I dug through the trunk for some extra clothes. Nothing was technically “clean” at this point, but it would have to do! Eventually, we were on our way again. The carseat still smelled pretty bad though. Hopefully we could wash it out better at the airport.
We stopped at Fred’s for lunch. My dad had wanted to eat dinner here on the way back from Legloland, but like everything else in that part of the state, they were closed on Sunday nights. Brian doesn’t typically like buffets, but this one satisfied even him!
In Orlando, the traffic was typical of a holiday week. We saw the Wonderworks Museum, and even parked to go in, before realizing the line was much too long, and it was unlikely that we would have any time inside once we got in.
So we wandered down the street on foot instead, and almost immediately came to a mini-golf place! They weren’t busy at all, so we played a quick round. Owen mostly just liked exploring the course and swinging his club in the air. Afterwards, Lily wanted to get a souvenir from the shop, as usual. I hate that I feel like I can’t take her in anywhere that sells something, without her getting a terrible case of the “I-wants”. And of course the trinket she always wastes her allowance on is usually forgotten with a few hours. Oh well.
Chapter 13. Getting Home is Never Much Fun
We got to the airport and turned in the car. After checking our luggage, Brian took the carseat into the bathroom to try to clean it better. When he finally emerged, we realized this had NOT been a good solution. Now it was soaking wet. Really, REALLY wet. It made a large puddle on the ground while we stood outside security staring at it.
Well, what to do now??? We couldn’t possible take that drippy mess on the plane and expect Owen to sit in it. So Brian took it back to the counter to see if they would check it, while I took the kids in the Disney Store. Already getting ideas for the next trip 🙂 But we narrowly avoided a meltdown leaving, from the I-Must-Buy-Something-in-Every-Store-I-Set-Foot-In drama queen.
We made it through security, and grabbed a hectic dinner before boarding. The stroller was really getting on my nerves. The tires were still flat so it didn’t push well, and Owen never wanted to ride in it anyway. We should have left it at home. Next time, we are at least going to check it at the counter and not have to deal with it in the airport!
Owen made it fine on board with no carseat, he sat like a big boy and only got fussy a couple of times. I probably let him watch more shows on the iPod than I should, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
I was LATE when we got back, and cold. It took a while for a parking shuttle to come, and then the part I had dreaded, getting the luggage loaded up in the dark, cold lot. It had snowed quite a bit while we were gone, but much of it had melted already fortunately. It actually went quicker than I had feared, and soon we were bundled up in our warming car and headed for the Springs.
Even though we had a long drive ahead of us, and it was almost 11pm, it felt like the hard part was all behind us now. Except that when we got home the house was COLD! We had left the heat turned way down, and since it had been such a cold week it was not even quite 50 degrees inside. It would take a while for the heat to get it warm again, so we spent much of the night huddled under many layers of blankets.
The next few days were busy with de-Christmasifying the house, and Lily had to jump right back into the swing of things to get ready for her upcoming meet the next weekend.
(Update on my mom – she remained in the hospital for quite a while after we left. She is home now, but having to go in for out-patient IV antibiotic treatment every day. )
All in all, a successful trip. A lot that we didn’t get to do, but there is always a next time!
