We made it!
We left mid-day — C had his science fair (comparison between simulated and real-life physics using TinkerCad and 3D printed ramps, pretty cool!), and we didn’t want him to miss that. They did miss 3 hours of school, but that’s it (A has been off this whole week).
We announced to the kids that we were going to have them leave their iPads at home. Certain kids were like “meh, okay!” and grabbed a book; others were . . . less enthusiastic. But the drive was fine and honestly I think it was much better for everyone. A did use her phone (and headphones) to listen to an audiobook she has to read for school and the other two napped and read.
I drove ~2 hours (Josh had to finish some notes . . .) and he finished up (another 1.5). And the Apple Music Road Trip Playlist was awesome!
Arrived –> Dinner
We arrived at 5:30 pm and had dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant at 6! With check-in we basically had zero minutes to spare but it worked out perfectly.
I don’t KNOW if it’s because of not playing video games in the car, but usually when we arrive somewhere the kids are somewhat insane, and they were not really too bad this time.
(Yes, we do have another kid but she prefers to stay out of most pix! I’ll see if there are any that meet her specs.)
Dinner was excellent (calamari, antipasto, lamb, gnocchi, spaghetti, etc) and they had roving opera singers! Then there is a totally 100% fake “piazza” to hang out on afterwards, and it was cute.
Just like Italy, except definitely not. But still nice.
And then the kids found an arcade and we let the blow some $ on games. It was kind of worth it to see the glee when A/C helped G win this:
ANNNNND we are off to Volcano Bay (well, breakfast first). Will report back!! I needed this trip I think. The change of scenery has been helpful already; I wish it was an even longer excursion but hopefully this will be enough to shake me out of my funk a little bit. (Though it was super bittersweet to see departure pix from our friends who embarked on the cruise we were supposed to go on with them yesterday! I don’t care as much about the cruise itself but it would have been really fun to travel together again.)
Oh, and I survived packing.
It was actually one of the easiest packing assignments. HOWEVER, I managed to pack some of the wrong contacts (I think they are Josh’s?!). I wear dailies and have a pair for today and tomorrow but none for Sunday. My plan is to get a case and solution and just rewear them on Sunday (or worst case I can wear glasses, but I’m not even sure I trust myself to drive with those — technically they are still a fine prescription for me, but I really only wear them to read in bed). OF COURSE I managed to pick an item to leave behind that is really hard to replace! But, super happy I at least had those 2 pairs. Could have been way worse!
11 Comments
Looks so fun! Disney and Universal are always pure FUN at its best so I think this will be a perfect distraction! Have the best time!! 😘
These are great pics! Glad you are having fun.
I live in fear of packing the wrong number of contacts; I also wear dailies. I have addressed this fear by overpacking contacts and keeping a pair in my purse and extras in both my makeup bag and Dopp kit. I have never once needed the backup pairs. Your solution to re-wear your contacts sounds like an excellent plan. I drive in my glasses very very rarely and it always feels so odd!
My Maryland girl heart loves seeing C in that Lamar jersey – is he a fan because of Lamar’s S. Florida roots? Have a great trip!!
I can feel through your words your upbeat mood! I am so happy for you and love alll the pics of the kids smiling. The fake Italian piaza looks lovely and Italian food menu sounds delicious too. Have fun Sarah!
Looks like so much fun! I hope it’s maximally rejuvenating. 🙂 Husband is taking me to the Holland tulip festival for my birthday which I am sooooooo excited about! Such a good reminder to plan mini breaks, as difficult as it can be to do at times.
I’m really glad you are taking that trip – it sounds amazing and you deserve a nice break!
I hope you have the best time. A change can be as good as a rest, and I hope you get both the change AND the rest.
Wait. Did I know you wore contacts? I feel like I didn’t!
I do not miss glasses at all. I would have loved to wear contacts but they bothered my eyes so much and I just hated, hated, hated glasses. It was rough for a while (I had PRK instead of Lasik, but two years later I am THRILLED that I went the surgery route. Like…I can see in the shower and when I wake up in the morning and when I go swimming. Life changing)
G looks SO old <3
My eyes are “too bad” for lasik according to my eye dr (I’m -11 to -12!)
FWIW I always wear my dailies for 2 days just put in contact solution in-between, I bet you’ll be fine. Have fun!
Ha, I’m laughing about the contacts- yes, it could be way worse! Let me tell you how. We went on a four-day trip to Tampa last year, and my son forgot to bring any contacts with him, and he doesn’t have glasses. He and I both wear dailies, and my prescription is kind of, sort of close to his, so we had to somehow “share” the contacts I brought along. He had a headache the whole time, and we both had to conserve lenses by re-using them (it does work- although putting them in the second day doesn’t feel great.) Ah, good times- I don’t think he’ll forget contacts again.
Anyway I hope you had a fun day today!
my re-wear plan worked!!! whew!!