Florida - New Year and the Keys
Our first destination, Florida, was planned long before we decided to extend the trip to South America. Seven days split evenly between Vero Beach, where Janette’s sister Nicole lives and Hawks Cay Resort, where Janette’s parents had rented a four bedroom villa for 11 of us to spend a few days enjoying the Florida Keys.
Vero Beach is conveniently close to LEGOLAND, the beach, and a great New Years party hosted by Nicole. Three days flew by fast with the boyz spending 99% of their time within two feet of their older cousin Eli, who they worship. Playing with Legos, swimming in the pool, or running around on the beach, the three boys moved as a single unit. Before we knew it, we were packing the car for the drive to the Keys.
Although the resort was only 4 1/2 hours away, we designed the trip with a series of stops to break up the driving. We wanted to visit Janette’s Abuela in Miami so we stopped at my favorite fast food restaurant in the whole world, Pollo Tropical, to bring lunch to Abuela Zeligman.
By now we were receiving messages from the rest of our crew that they were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the one-lane road out to the Keys. We still had one more planned stop to buy groceries, so we drove another hour. I took the boys to run around while JZ shopped for groceries. The 25 mins that she had to wait for a rotisserie chicken actually worked to our advantage. We hit zero traffic out to the Keys and ended up arriving right when our room was ready. First big travel day - survived - with only needing to pull the car over once! Success.
Beside some quality time with the Family, the Florida trip gave us an opportunity to test our travel skills and equipment. Overall we packed well. We didn’t forget anything critical (unless you count nail clippers as critical). Plus, the bags are small enough that even one adult can haul all the big stuff. This is key because there will be times when someone needs to stay put with the boyz while the other hauls gear. We also had some time to play with our cameras and iPad. After some indecision, we decided to go with the SLR + 2 lens. Yes, it is big, but the photo quality and versatility is worth it. For video we went the GoPro so we had something water resistant that could also take photos. Check out the video below for some early results.
With a week under our belt it is clear that the trip is going to have its highs and lows. The boys are loving the activities and are handling the travel well (Kindle assisted). The challenge is figuring out how to keep everyone rested and nourished at all times. The boys don’t communicate these needs well enough yet. When hunger and fatigue kick in everyone gets irritable. It’s up to us to fend off the HANGER with a snack or meal. As for rest... hopefully getting them to bed at a decent hour will get easier as the trip progresses and they get used to the different sleeping environments.
We adults have had our own challenges to deal with too. As we move around everyday there is this constant need to keep everything organized and functioning. Humans and possessions. In the exotic wilds of Florida I have already cut my foot on some glass and JZ has a strange blister. I lost a credit card and the keyboard for my iPad stops working intermittently. Luckily, these early trip issues are nothing more then irritating and good reminders that no matter how well you pack or plan you have to remain flexible.
Next destination, Panama City. The training wheels, however, won’t be fully removed because JZ has family in the city already asking for ways to help us. We were even invited to a wedding! Nevertheless, Panama begins a new stage of our trip as we begin to explore new places on our own. We’ll post more updates when we have them.
By now we were receiving messages from the rest of our crew that they were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the one-lane road out to the Keys. We still had one more planned stop to buy groceries, so we drove another hour. I took the boys to run around while JZ shopped for groceries. The 25 mins that she had to wait for a rotisserie chicken actually worked to our advantage. We hit zero traffic out to the Keys and ended up arriving right when our room was ready. First big travel day - survived - with only needing to pull the car over once! Success.
Beside some quality time with the Family, the Florida trip gave us an opportunity to test our travel skills and equipment. Overall we packed well. We didn’t forget anything critical (unless you count nail clippers as critical). Plus, the bags are small enough that even one adult can haul all the big stuff. This is key because there will be times when someone needs to stay put with the boyz while the other hauls gear. We also had some time to play with our cameras and iPad. After some indecision, we decided to go with the SLR + 2 lens. Yes, it is big, but the photo quality and versatility is worth it. For video we went the GoPro so we had something water resistant that could also take photos. Check out the video below for some early results.
We adults have had our own challenges to deal with too. As we move around everyday there is this constant need to keep everything organized and functioning. Humans and possessions. In the exotic wilds of Florida I have already cut my foot on some glass and JZ has a strange blister. I lost a credit card and the keyboard for my iPad stops working intermittently. Luckily, these early trip issues are nothing more then irritating and good reminders that no matter how well you pack or plan you have to remain flexible.
Next destination, Panama City. The training wheels, however, won’t be fully removed because JZ has family in the city already asking for ways to help us. We were even invited to a wedding! Nevertheless, Panama begins a new stage of our trip as we begin to explore new places on our own. We’ll post more updates when we have them.
Comments
Sending love and hugst