IloveJack
08-24-2012, 04:41 PM
(This trip took place the first week of June, but I was without a computer til school started back).
Cast: Myself, 31, 7th trip
DH, turning 27, 5th trip
DD, 3, 3rd trip
DD, turning 1, 1st trip
Pre-trip is here, if you want to read: http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=190773
Travel and Panama City (Thursday-Friday, June 1)
I went to the bank and got gas earlier, so when DH got home from work, we could pack the car. Let me rephrase, so I could pack the car, while he showered, which is what ended up happening. While doing so, I realized that I'd forgotten to print the Islands of Adventure tickets (purchased online). We don't have internet at home, just on our phones, so we headed to the library. We stopped for dinner at Don Panchos after running a couple of last minute errands, and then headed home.
The plan was to go to bed at 7:00, then get up at 11:00 and drive through the night. However, it was storming badly by the time we got home, so we sat for quite a while watching the radar. At 9:00, we all headed to take a "nap."
The DDs and I couldn't seem to sleep, though, so we got up and left DH to sleep. The DDs played and watched tv while I packed up my insulin and the other refrigerated things. I woke DH at 10:45 and got the girls dressed for the beach, so as to not have to change them upon arrival. We were out of the house by 11:00.
I started out driving and the DDs were asleep within five minutes. Amazing what a car ride will do for you. DH stayed awake until 2:30, then slept for an hour until I needed help navigating. At 5:00, I'd had all I could take and he took over the driving. I slept for an hour myself, until he yelled, "Which way do I go?" (He's not a big fan of the interstate, having grown up in the back of the backwoods).
We got to Panama City at 7:20, and headed to St. Andrew's State Park. Alas, it didn't open until 8:00. We were wanting to gain beach access here, but decided to try elsewhere. We drive down to Thomas Drive and parked. We weren't sure we'd stay here, so we took just ourselves, with DD1 wrapped to me, and our phones.
As soon as we crested the rise to the beach, we could tell a major storm was coming. We walked for maybe 10 minutes, then decided it was time to get under cover. He raced back to the car, but not fast enough, and got pelted by rain and sand the entire way. We made it without getting drenched, but were covered in sand. After looking at the radar, we made the decision to head back down the road to a Waffle House and wait out the storm during breakfast.
When we headed back out again, St. Andrew's was open. We asked the gate attendant where the best place for kids was, and he directed us to the "kiddie pool." It's actually an area where they've built jettys, and there are no waves. My DD3, who's only 38 inches tall, could wade out 200 or so feet, and the water merely came to her chest.
We parked our stuff near the rocks and waded in. The non-wave water was so calm that DD1 sat about two feet in, and played as if in a pool. She had a lot of fun splashing and playing with her shovel and bucket. I sat right beside her and looked for shells. DH and DD3 waded out and looked at the sea life.
All was calm, until I stood up. In the moment it took me to gain my balance, DD1 fell over and was under the water. I grabbed her, but it scared her enough that she didn't want back in the water. Can't blame her; it scared me, too. We all decided it was a good time for playing in the sand.
A little while later, DD3 and DH wanted to wade back out, and I wanted to go also. I'd made a new water wrap for DD1 (I've wrapped her to me since birth, so she's incredibly used to it), so I wrapped her up, and we waded out as well. We waded for a while, watching the fish and catching sand crabs. DD1 got a little fussy when the water got up to her chest, but she was happier to be "carried."
I was ready to dry out some, so the DDs played in the sand while I lay on the blanket. DH went exploring, and found some surfers on the other side of the jetty.
I'd been keeping sunscreen on us girls all morning, knowing how quickly we'd gotten burned in March at the beach, and not wanting to ruin our vacation. But by 1:00, it was getting difficult to stay covered without being completely sandy, which DD3 didn't like. We decided that would be a fine time to head out, knowing that we had a three hour drive ahead of us to Lake City.
We hadn't made it back to the interstate before both of us were nodding off. Neither of us could stay awake. We tried eating, switching drivers, drinking caffeine; nothing was working. I was afraid we were going to wreck, as we were all over the road, so we pulled over at a rest stop. I set the alarm on my phone for 40 minutes later, and we slept. Of course, the girls had been asleep, so they woke up three times during that 40 minutes, but I was able to quickly quiet them and doze off again.
DD3 woke me up just before the alarm, and we were back on the road. The quick nap worked, and I didn't doze off anymore. DH did, but he wasn't driving. DD3 stayed awake and played with DD1. I was glad we had slept, as we passed no less than six wrecks on the rest of the drive.
We arrived at the Red Roof Inn at Lake City at 6:05, with plans for dinner with friends at 7:00. I'd used Expedia to get the room, and we were not disappointed. It wasn't 4-star, of course, but it was clean and newly refurbished, and was only $70 for the night.
We had to rush to get showers for all and be at the restaurant by 7:00, but we made it. We met our friends, whom we haven't seen in... well, they've never met our DDs, so at least four years. We ate at Cedar River, a really good seafood place. DD3 gobbled up the calamari (who knew?) that our friends ordered. The DDs and I shared cod and shrimp, and DH had Alaskan snow crab. It was good food and better company. We enjoyed sitting and talking, but we didn't have a long goodbye, as we planned to stay with them on the trip home.
We were out as soon as our heads hit the pillows, all asleep by 10:15.
Cast: Myself, 31, 7th trip
DH, turning 27, 5th trip
DD, 3, 3rd trip
DD, turning 1, 1st trip
Pre-trip is here, if you want to read: http://intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=190773
Travel and Panama City (Thursday-Friday, June 1)
I went to the bank and got gas earlier, so when DH got home from work, we could pack the car. Let me rephrase, so I could pack the car, while he showered, which is what ended up happening. While doing so, I realized that I'd forgotten to print the Islands of Adventure tickets (purchased online). We don't have internet at home, just on our phones, so we headed to the library. We stopped for dinner at Don Panchos after running a couple of last minute errands, and then headed home.
The plan was to go to bed at 7:00, then get up at 11:00 and drive through the night. However, it was storming badly by the time we got home, so we sat for quite a while watching the radar. At 9:00, we all headed to take a "nap."
The DDs and I couldn't seem to sleep, though, so we got up and left DH to sleep. The DDs played and watched tv while I packed up my insulin and the other refrigerated things. I woke DH at 10:45 and got the girls dressed for the beach, so as to not have to change them upon arrival. We were out of the house by 11:00.
I started out driving and the DDs were asleep within five minutes. Amazing what a car ride will do for you. DH stayed awake until 2:30, then slept for an hour until I needed help navigating. At 5:00, I'd had all I could take and he took over the driving. I slept for an hour myself, until he yelled, "Which way do I go?" (He's not a big fan of the interstate, having grown up in the back of the backwoods).
We got to Panama City at 7:20, and headed to St. Andrew's State Park. Alas, it didn't open until 8:00. We were wanting to gain beach access here, but decided to try elsewhere. We drive down to Thomas Drive and parked. We weren't sure we'd stay here, so we took just ourselves, with DD1 wrapped to me, and our phones.
As soon as we crested the rise to the beach, we could tell a major storm was coming. We walked for maybe 10 minutes, then decided it was time to get under cover. He raced back to the car, but not fast enough, and got pelted by rain and sand the entire way. We made it without getting drenched, but were covered in sand. After looking at the radar, we made the decision to head back down the road to a Waffle House and wait out the storm during breakfast.
When we headed back out again, St. Andrew's was open. We asked the gate attendant where the best place for kids was, and he directed us to the "kiddie pool." It's actually an area where they've built jettys, and there are no waves. My DD3, who's only 38 inches tall, could wade out 200 or so feet, and the water merely came to her chest.
We parked our stuff near the rocks and waded in. The non-wave water was so calm that DD1 sat about two feet in, and played as if in a pool. She had a lot of fun splashing and playing with her shovel and bucket. I sat right beside her and looked for shells. DH and DD3 waded out and looked at the sea life.
All was calm, until I stood up. In the moment it took me to gain my balance, DD1 fell over and was under the water. I grabbed her, but it scared her enough that she didn't want back in the water. Can't blame her; it scared me, too. We all decided it was a good time for playing in the sand.
A little while later, DD3 and DH wanted to wade back out, and I wanted to go also. I'd made a new water wrap for DD1 (I've wrapped her to me since birth, so she's incredibly used to it), so I wrapped her up, and we waded out as well. We waded for a while, watching the fish and catching sand crabs. DD1 got a little fussy when the water got up to her chest, but she was happier to be "carried."
I was ready to dry out some, so the DDs played in the sand while I lay on the blanket. DH went exploring, and found some surfers on the other side of the jetty.
I'd been keeping sunscreen on us girls all morning, knowing how quickly we'd gotten burned in March at the beach, and not wanting to ruin our vacation. But by 1:00, it was getting difficult to stay covered without being completely sandy, which DD3 didn't like. We decided that would be a fine time to head out, knowing that we had a three hour drive ahead of us to Lake City.
We hadn't made it back to the interstate before both of us were nodding off. Neither of us could stay awake. We tried eating, switching drivers, drinking caffeine; nothing was working. I was afraid we were going to wreck, as we were all over the road, so we pulled over at a rest stop. I set the alarm on my phone for 40 minutes later, and we slept. Of course, the girls had been asleep, so they woke up three times during that 40 minutes, but I was able to quickly quiet them and doze off again.
DD3 woke me up just before the alarm, and we were back on the road. The quick nap worked, and I didn't doze off anymore. DH did, but he wasn't driving. DD3 stayed awake and played with DD1. I was glad we had slept, as we passed no less than six wrecks on the rest of the drive.
We arrived at the Red Roof Inn at Lake City at 6:05, with plans for dinner with friends at 7:00. I'd used Expedia to get the room, and we were not disappointed. It wasn't 4-star, of course, but it was clean and newly refurbished, and was only $70 for the night.
We had to rush to get showers for all and be at the restaurant by 7:00, but we made it. We met our friends, whom we haven't seen in... well, they've never met our DDs, so at least four years. We ate at Cedar River, a really good seafood place. DD3 gobbled up the calamari (who knew?) that our friends ordered. The DDs and I shared cod and shrimp, and DH had Alaskan snow crab. It was good food and better company. We enjoyed sitting and talking, but we didn't have a long goodbye, as we planned to stay with them on the trip home.
We were out as soon as our heads hit the pillows, all asleep by 10:15.