First Stop: Trepidation!
I wanted to add a quick update before the Thanksgiving stupor overcomes us all, and take the advice of Mr. Henry David T. and Simplify, Simplify, Simp.
Of course it turns out - Quick? Not so much.
We have decided to take the trip. or, more accurately, the clock has run out and we are gleeful yet worried.
After all, it is a long drive from New York to Florida, and flying isn’t the best call since we’re going to visit both Miami and Orlando, and renting a car + flying = mo’ money. Thankfully, I likes me a good road trip, and our kids are very good travellers (most of the time.)
Also, last year at Disney we had obtained their old helpful Guest Assistance card for my wife, as she was only a bit post radiation treatment et al, and the long term meds she is on really takes the sails out of her jib. (I am not a sailor. Did I just insult her? Hope not.) The GA card was HUGE in helping us cut the time down for her waiting etc, and we really appreciated it.
On the downside, it was our kids’ first trip and we felt they didn’t fully comprehend how LITTLE they had to wait for most things. With the change from the GA card to the new incarnation, we weren’t sure what the future was to bring for her. That question came to naught, however. While the meds effects still are a strong issue, she did not opt to try the new system and ended up powering through. Which wasn’t necessarily the right call, as I’ll mention later. But, she’s an awesome trooper. No doubt.
Also, my wife was a bit worried about taking the kids out of school, and told me I had to deal with informing the teachers and asking for work to keep the kids on the straight and narrow during the trip. That ended up being a non-issue - in fact, post-trip we both agreed they should have given them more work to do!
So, how to tell the kids? Blank stare. We’re both creative types. But, nothing. Last year, I doctored up a Garfield Comic and inserted it into the Sunday funnies.
Scavengers All
After a few weeks, I decided a scavenger hunt was in order. First, before lunch one day I placed a pirate map-looking word jumble and mysterious-o poem thing under their placemats. When we cleaned up, I told them there was a game afoot and handed them pencils. You can reference much of the materials mentioned herein in my previous post.
Once they un-jumbled the words, they were all clues that were supposed to lead them to the goldfish bowls in each of their rooms. Taped to the back of each, so as to be magnified, was half of a web address. When they found those and figured out they went together, they found a laptop was waiting on the table.
(This all took awhile for them to sort out.)
(Aside regarding the web URL: “Que Barato!” is a family joke. There is a store in Miami called that, and the sign has a long “Nooooooooooo!” on it. We’re told it means something like, “THAT cheap?! NOoooooo!” but in a rude way. When surprised, one of us now yells Que Barato! and the rest of us respond with, NOoooooooo!)
The web URL leads to a page on my genealogy blog. But it is password protected and they had to guess what it was. When they figured it out (took a few minutes, but well done), the page opened to show a US map with a single pin. What to do? Zooooom zooom zooming in, the pin was on the exact location of… our mailbox.
A sprint from the table to the mailbox and they came back with an envelope from the Dept of State. (Here’s hoping I don’t get sent to the hoosegow for creating fraudulent official correspondence.) In said envelope: Home made passports for each of the kids, with official “Upcoming Trips” stamps on the inner pages.
Fun was had by all.
The Drive
I set our alarm clock for 2:15AM on Election Day, but voting was not the point of order. Destination: Miami, or some waypoint in between. Truck loaded, kids bolted down, out in good time, I was a bit worried about hitting commute traffic in Washington DC, but just some slowness thereabouts were experienced.
Our typical plan is make the trip with an overnight on the way, and we book two different hotel rooms: a far goal, and a reasonable one, then cancel the one we don’t use. (AAA tends to get us the best rates, by the way. My government employee discount seems to increase rates. grumble.)
As those with kids will understand, any stop at all is an immediate 30 minute arrival extension. But, again, I’m proud of our kids, and - Woohoo! we made it all the way from Long Island to just outside Savannah, GA that night.
Our kids have severe nut allergies, so we lived on Sun Butter (sunflower seeds) and jelly, and focused on McDonald’s bathrooms, which tend to be the most consistently clean ones. Hampton Inn has been our hotel choice of late, since the free breakfasts are pretty nice, the rates are good, and we have already vetted the make-your-own waffles et al for allergy issues.
Boomerang
We arrived in Miami, and great to just hang around with family. The 25 cent tour of that leg of our journey can be seen in the photos below, mostly from the wonderful (though, woefully expensive) Butterfly World, north of Fort Lauderdale. We took my Mom there, which turned out to be an excellent day - so many beautiful butterflies, surprisingly large hummingbirds (I suspect they are tiny flying dinosaurs), and weirdly evil-scientist-like cross-created flowers. I highly recommend it, even with the price point of about $120 for 5 of us. (TIP: There are $5 off per person coupons in the Florida guide they have at rest stops on the Florida Turnpike.) Also, had many benches for my Mom to sit and rest on as we worked our way through.
Up Next: “Finally!”, the Readers Say, "This Dude Got His Family To Something That is Actually A Disney Property For this Trip Report!
Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I’m off to make some apple pie. May all your pie be warm.
