She’s baaaack…
Ah, back from vacation. Okay, we were back on Saturday, but you know
it takes a while to recover from vacation, right? A good kind
of recovery, but still.
So remember all that freaking out
about toys and traveling and eating and pooping and sleeping? It went something like this:
Toys: Packed a lot; played with a lot, but nothing (and I mean nothing) compared to the fun that was
crunching Fall leaves. Seriously, the
kid couldn’t get enough of it. Also, his
crawling went from second gear to fifth gear over a matter of two days. Did you know that the best way to measure the
level of fun an item contains is to taste it?
Evidence:
Leaves...delicious.
Mittens...flavorful. And pointless.
Mom...SUPERAWESOMEDELICIOUS.
Traveling: Oh. My. Gosh. I’ll
probably jinx myself by saying this, but Miles was born for road trips and
vacations. Through our first 7 hour
stretch, he kept his exact same napping and eating schedule. We stopped overnight in Alpharetta, and he slept
through in his pack ‘n play. This
awesomely awesome awesomeness continued through the entire trip. The key to keeping a happy traveler is to
stop and stretch; when it was mealtime, we’d find a nice rest area with a shady
picnic spot and throw down the quilt.
Let the kid crawl around, play with toys (you know, eat grass and leaves…)
and he was a happy camper and ready to nap when we got back on the road.
Eating: He finished his antibiotics on day two of our trip, and his
appetite (and poop) was back to normal.
Also, the adult appetites were like, super awesome…and I think Miles was
a little jealous he couldn’t have any barbecue, fried okra, biscuits ‘n gravy
or pumpkin beer. Maybe next year, kiddo…
Miles seriously loved being
outside, probably because Fall weather is so awesome once you’re north of the
Palm Tree Line. We hiked, and he hung
out in the Bjorn like the amazing mountain baby he is. He played on the deck of the cabin, in grassy
spots while we hiked, and next to beautiful creeks. If nap time rolled around during a hike, he
napped.
Mushy stuff: We have always loved our annual trip to western NC; it’s
a place that is very special to us for many reasons. But this year, it was totally different and
in an amazingly awesome way…because this year, we got to see everything with a
brand new set of eyes. To watch Miles
discover leaves and dirt and grass and cold, mountain water was such a
blessing. And to have a whole entire week of family time? Even bigger blessing. Getting to spend every day and night with my
favorite guys, doing nothing but enjoying life, my goodness…worth it a million
times over.
So we’re probably friends on
Facebook and you’ve seen the barrage of photos.
Now let’s talk about what Facebook doesn’t
tell you…
On the day we were leaving NC,
Evan came down with a wicked sinus and double ear infection (we didn’t know
that’s what it was at the time; we just knew he was feeling ROUGH). So, I did most of the packing and most
of the driving. People: this is
a big deal.
I drove from Bryson City , NC
We decided to stop in Lake City North Florida .
I chose a place that had a four
star review on Expedia, and was part of a chain. Making sure your hotel is part of a chain is
important, as we have learned through experience (again, in North
Florida ).
The hotel was awful.
It was a million years old. The hallways
were outdoors. The doors to the room
wouldn’t close properly. The air
conditioner sounded like Air Force One preparing for take off. I refused to take my socks off, and wrapped
myself in my own personal blanket to sleep.
Also, I only peed once.
ONCE! No, it was not the chain
hotel I thought we’d be getting…it was a
motel with a new sign. Oh, and a
traveling girl’s softball team staying overnight.
When I booked, I chose “two
adults, one child” because I’m an honest person. But, when you tell the hotel you have a
child, they do one thing: put you on the same floor as the entire traveling
girl’s softball team. So, at 10:30p,
when you’re desperately trying to sleep and not think about an axe murderer
crashing through your hotel room window, your neighbor can be heard (through
the paper thin walls) running up and down the hallway. Up and down, up and down, up and down. For 45 minutes. Yelling.
I finally lost what little bit of
sanity I had left (remember, I drove through Atlanta ) and went next door. The hotel room door was open, and mom and dad
were sitting on the bed with a 24 pack of Keystone Light. Ah, North Florida …
Me: “Excuse me, would you mind
asking your girls to keep it down? We
have a six month old trying to sleep.”
Dad: “YEAH, SURE.” :::takes
swig of beer and continues watching World Series:::
No eye contact, no apology,
nothing. I am certain that, had the
rooms allowed smoking, I would have noticed half a pack of Salems stubbed out
in a cheap ashtray. I know, I’m
judgey.
The running and jumping and
yelling and roof construction continued until 3:30a. I was about to become the murderer. When it finally stopped, I spent the next
three hours in a cat nap state, waiting for murderers.
The hotel advertised a hot,
continental breakfast. I had already
decided against that, knowing that what qualified as “hot” and “continental” at
the awesome hotel we stayed at in Alpharetta would most certainly not make a
Lake City, FL menu. Peering into the
dining room/lobby/waiting area for homicide detectives, I saw the hoard of
teenagers eating bagels and fruit cups. Yes,
continental indeed.
We loaded up, fueled up, and with
a “Kiss My Grits, Lake
City
When deciding between an
overnight stay in Georgia or
Florida , choose Georgia . It’s worth the extra hour of driving time to
have a new, clean hotel with new, clean rooms and hot breakfast. And coffee.
Starbucks coffee. Mmmm.
Alright, off to work on the
Halloween edition of Round-Up, because there’s lots more to talk about.
Happy to be home,
Kristin
I'm so proud of you! (And glad you had a nice time.) (And glad you're back.) :)
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