As I write, I am downloading 600 vacation photos to my hard drive.  Soon I will deluge my blog with smiling happy faces enjoying the warm Florida sunshine as we relax and have the best time of our lives.

Right.

But first, I want to start off with some vacation tips.  Certain aspects of our vacation were fabulous, nearly perfect.  Planning in advance makes things less stressful and everything flows a bit more smoothly.

Vacation Tip #1:  Save more than enough money for the trip.  Vacations are expensive, especially when you go to a place like Disney.  It is much better to not spend all the money you have saved than to not save enough and be upset that you don’t have enough to pay the bills.  That way, when you splurge and go out for just ice cream and the bill is $68 (seriously), you will be annoyed, but not panicky.

Vacation Tip #2: Shop around for a great deal on everything.  There are deals all around, but if you are military, the deals are really easy to find.  Four day park hopper passes to Disney are available right now for $138.  I think they are good through the end of October.  You can buy them in Orlando at Shades of Green, or you can get them on post at the MWR facility that sells tickets to all sorts of things.

If you are a current or retired member of the Uniformed Services, a DoD civilian, or a Disabled Veteran (100%), or an adult dependant, you are eligible to book a hotel through the Armed Forces Vacation Club.  They have deals that can not be beat.  Space-A openings change frequently, so I checked monthly for 6 months before finally booking our place.  Each facility is different, so you have to read the details, but twice we’ve used them and been more than happy.  The place in Kissimmee, Florida, had 2 bedrooms and a pull-out sofa bed, a full kitchen and a washer and dryer.  It cost us $349 (plus tax) for seven nights.  Not $349 per night…it was $349 for the entire week. 

Having a full kitchen helped to save money and time, and having a washer and dryer meant not needing to pack as many clothes and not having a mountain of laundry on our return.  And staying in a condo meant we weren’t cramped.

Note for non-military: finding a place to stay that fits a large family is difficult.  Several years ago when we went to Williamsburg, VA, I checked the club site and they had nothing available.  However, I at least knew the name of several facilities in the area and made my own reservation without using the club.  We had another 2 bedroom condo with kitchen and washer/dryer.  It was more than the club price, but cheaper and roomier than a hotel room (2 hotel rooms).  So the club site is an excellent resource for vacation condo names.

Vacation Tip #3: Make a packing list.  And make a to-do list.  I finally, finally, finally made an Excel spreadsheet that has generic lists for each person, plus reminders for things like cell phone chargers or Pepto Bismal.  I also made to-do lists from things to do in advance like hold mail or last minute things like turning off the computer or taking out the garbage.  To make things easier for us, I put all three boys’ lists on one page with a to-do reminder for their room (lock windows, close blinds, make beds), and I did a similar page for the girls.  The older kids helped the younger kids get their things together, and they all knew what I expected their room to look like when they were done.  Since the lists were generic, I crossed off things they did not need to pack.  This was easier than making different lists for different types of vacations (winter boots vs. sandals).  Note: check out the weather forecast for your location and pack for 10 degrees up and down.  Trust me on this one.

The to-do list was extremely helpful to me, since I am often the one with a long list of things that need to get done in my head, while everybody else sits around and wonders why we haven’t left yet.  Children who are motivated to get out the door can look at the list, see what needs to be done and pitch in.  And I don’t have to assign jobs to my husband making me feel like a nag or get mad at him for doing nothing when he doesn’t have the slightest idea what needs doing.  It just worked.

Vacation Tip #4: Each child packs their own backpack full of entertainment or comfort objects.  One backpack only.  If they are bored, it is their own fault.  And no, 25 stuffed animals will not likely fit in one backpack.

Vacation Tip #5: Give each child a set amount of spending money.  It might be $5 or it might be more, but it really keeps kids from whining about wanting snacks or souvenirs if they have to pay for it themselves.

Vacation Tip #6: Remember, if you are traveling with children, vacation does not mean “relaxing time” or “all fun all the time.”  Leave images of a perfect family behind.  It is enough that you are not going to the office or doing school or worrying about the cleanliness of the bathroom for a few days or a week.  It is enough that you are lowering your standards on what constitutes a healthy meal or a reasonable bedtime.  The point is to build your family relationships.  You will still be the same people with the same limitations and imperfections.  Little children will still get out of sorts with a different routine.  Bigger children will still have mood swings.  Parents will still have to discipline and may have less one-on-one time than they would at home with a proper bedtime and their own room.  Focus on the end goal which is to just be a family together without the usual stressors and demands of life.

Vacation Tip #7: No matter where you are, bigger kids will want to do more or different things than little kids.  Or boys will want to do different things than girls.  Or mom or dad will want to spend their time differently.  Be flexible and accommodating to as many people as possible.  For us, Bill took the big kids to Epcot one day while I stayed home with the little kids and read.  Everybody was happy.  Trying to be all together all the time just won’t work for a large family of different genders and/or ages.

Off to Mass.  Perhaps I’ll have time later to start posting photos.  I can’t wait to see them myself.

To fully appreciate Disney World, you need…

…the sense of wonder and marvel of a preschooler…

…the wild imagination of an elementary aged child…

…the love of adventure and thrills of a middle schooler…

…and the stamina of a 20 year old Marine.

(We were moderately successful.)

We took nearly 600 pictures.  I shall only subject you to half of them.

After downloading…

…and finishing Harry Potter Year 6.

Sadly, we had to end our vacation at some point.  Fritz had baseball practice that afternoon, so it was breakfast, pack out, check out, Mass in Fernandina and then on the road.

Sunrise.

Coffee at sunrise. I don’t know why he was standing – perhaps to get a better view of some bird or the dolphins we sometimes spotted.  Usually, we sat out there for 30 minutes or more for the spectacle.  Watching the sunrise is an undertaking requiring patience and time.

Katie wisely brought her blanket to fend off the car A/C.  Katie kindly shared her blanket with her equally chilled sisters.

Saturday was a typical vacation day for Bill and I.  I got up at my usual 530 AM and ran 7 miles.  Then we went to the zoo and walked around for 3 hours or so.  Then Bill and I went out to dinner – we walked to the restaurant and then walked along the beach until it was time to go back.  Not very relaxing, but we really don’t quite know how to do that.

Sunrise.  Yes, we did this every day. Bill took the pic as I was running on the beach at the time.

Under the penguins.

Seven little gorillas.

Riding an alligator.

Sunset.

Pretty much how it looked every day.

Mary digging.

Peter smiling.

Jenny jumping.

The big kids waiting.

Peter posing.  I have no idea what “look” he was going for.

Sandy toes.

Little boy art.

A lotta crocs.

On Friday we went to Fort Clinch on the northern end of Amelia Island.  We saw the mid-18th century fort there, which looks just like the mid-18th century forts located closer to our home in Georgia.  Like those forts, this fort was obsolete before it was completed.  Unlike the other forts, they actually stopped building this one.  However, our tax dollars continue to go into it, making it a testament to government waste more than anything else.  Don’t get me wrong, I like museums and think they are a good way to spend money.  I just find it amusing that the government wasted our money to begin building it, and then compounds the error by continuing to funnel money into it as a museum.

Sunrise.

Obligatory picture in front of the sign.

Fort Clinch, which looks unremarkably similar to Fort Pulaski and Fort McAlister in Georgia.

If you have seen one mid-18th century fort, you have seen them all.  But we’ll take photos anyway.



Not just this fort, but lots of places in the Southeast use seashells as aggregate in the concrete. The engineer in me thinks this is so very cool.



Hi, I’m Mary.  I’m very hot and very cranky. No, I do not want my picture taken. I want to go home – not back to that villa place.  No, HOME.  And I want to be magically transported there, since the car is evil.

After Fort Clinch, we went to downtown Fernandina, which is proud that it has flown eight flags (from eight different governments) in its history.  The local history museum seemed a decent size for such a small town.  I was only in there briefly, since I stayed with a napping child in the car for the majority of the visit (I had a book).

The Nassau County Jailhouse.

A portrait of unrepentance.

The date stamp on my camera must be off.  These say the 8th, but we weren’t there until the evening of the 8th.  This is the view from our 3rd floor “villa.”  Our day consisted of going to the beach and going to the pool and taking a bike ride.

Sunrise



The pool behind our villa.  We were in Florida, but not Orlando, despite the mouse head shape of the pool.

Too hot!

Just right!



Post-vacation weeks tend to be a little crazy. Almost makes me wonder if going away is worth it. But it definitely was. “Stay-cations” are nice for their low cost and if you have catch up work to do around the house. But that’s work. If you need a break, and we all needed a break, nothing beats getting away from visual reminders of your to-do list, having your place mysteriously tidied up while you are out at the beach, and eating out or preparing extremely simple meals.

So, it was not intentional that I have left the vacation quiz unanswered for so long. I’m sure everybody is wondering how they scored. In a word: pathetic. Don’t feel badly, though. Some of the questions were tricky!

Here are the answers:

#1 The car is packed, the kids are loaded up, everybody is ready to go. What last chore is Michelle doing before leaving on vacation?

a. Hand washing all the dishes because you can’t leave the house with the dishwasher running.
b. Folding a last load of laundry so the clothes in the dryer aren’t wrinkled when we get back.
c. Cleaning out the cat’s litter box.
d. Shampooing the living room rug because it will have plenty of time to dry while we’re gone.
e. Scrubbing out the kitchen garbage can.
f. Au contraire! I’m the one honking the car horn impatiently waiting for everybody else.

{Notes: I always walk out the door with appliances running and would only worry about clothing in the dryer if it belonged to Bill and I – not the kids. We don’t own a cat. I might have been scrubbing the garbage can, but not this time. Often I am ready to go and impatiently waiting – but usually for day trips, not getaways. And the rug was in a deplorable condition. I’d been wanting to scrub it for weeks.}

#2 What important item did Michelle forget to pack?

a. Sunscreen
b. Cell phone charger
c. Kids’ toothbrushes
d. Her pajamas
e. The blender
f. Camera

{Notes: except for the blender, all of these items have been forgotten at some point by me, so very tricky question.}

#3 What non-essential did Michelle not pack that she was delighted to see at the hotel?

a. Cast-iron skillet
b. DVD player
c. Foot massager
d. Bathrobe
e. Feather pillow
f. Mini-reading light

{Notes: I couldn’t care less about a skillet or a DVD player. A bathrobe would have been nice, same with a mini-light. But I really really like feather pillows and the king bed had one – the rest were polyester filled. It made my sleeping experience so much better.}

#4 What item did Michelle pack that was pure wishful thinking and likely won’t be touched?

a. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
b. How to Paint Like Monet dvd (and canvas and paint, too)
c. Waterproof hand weights for stepping up your pool workout
d. Fishing poles
e. Writer’s notebook
f. Contact lenses

{Notes: I always feel obliged to take some sort of self-improvement item. I’ve been trying to get through a reading list, and Pilgrim’s Progress is the second book on it. I even lowered my standards to the first half of that book, but it’s still slow going. Not an exciting read. I’d rather read Melville. Oh, wait, he’s #8 on the list. Joy.}

#5 Lastly, if Bill and I can get a babysitter today, what activity do we have planned?

a. Horseback riding on the beach
b. Sunset kayak tour
c. Bike riding
d. Dinner and a quiet stroll
e. Horse-drawn carriage ride in historic Fernandina
f. Lounging by the pool drinking frou-frou drinks brought to us by the wait staff

{Notes: a very tricky question, since we discussed all the options with much seriousness. However, the expense of doing a, b and e was excessive…and I won’t even tell you how much we paid for the babysitter (I am much too embarrassed). The evening we went out followed a day wherein I ran 7 miles and walked around a zoo for 3 hours, so I was not eager to go for a bike ride. And it was so hot, that we were very happy to sit in a cold restaurant, drink frou-frou drinks there, and slowly stroll along the beach back to our room.}

Denise, the last one to comment, got TWO right. Some of you got one right, and some of you got none right. I said a Hail Mary for each person who participated and one more for each right answer and then a decade for everybody just because I was running 7 miles and had to do something to keep my mind off looking at my watch and calculating just how much longer I’d be shuffling around out there. And now, I have to go do 8 miles, and I have very little motivation to do so. I’m sure I’ll pray for you all again, because that’s what I do.

Have a great weekend.