Beach Vacation, 2008 - Part 1

Posted July 26th, 2008 by Mom |

To begin, lets go back a few months. My parents (Nana and Pop) invited B, me, C and J for a beach vacation at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach Alabama. Nana and Pop were driving down to the beach on Monday and they were planning on having the evening and next morning to rest and relax and we were to meet up with them on Tuesday afternoon. We happily accepted their generous invitation.

Let’s go back a few weeks. J had to go to the doctor for a really bad viral bronchitis infection. He had to use his at-home nebulizer several times a day and was on steroids and antibiotics as the virus deteriorated and the infection advanced to a bacterial infection. A week later, I was really sick with the bronchial infection - this was a week before we were scheduled to leave for vacation. I was hesitant to leave home, as I expected B or C to get sick. (C did develop the fluid cough and an intermittent shortness of breath the third day of vacation, but didn’t show any other signs of illness - no high fever, etc. Hopefully his body can easily fight the virus, as he doesn’t have asthma like J and I do.)

On Sunday afternoon I packed the boys’ suitcases and sat on the couch with the boys as I unwrapped new DVD’s for the boys to watch in the car on the way to the beach. C was thrilled with the cartoon Fantastic 4 DVD and the Arthur season 10 DVDs. J was quite pleased with the new Diego DVDs and the new Clifford - the Big Red Dog - Fire Truck DVD. The boys take turns choosing DVDs in the car.

Sunday evening I sat out on our bedroom floor our clothes, etc. for me and B to pack on Monday morning after we got our showers, in addition to the toiletries I had set on the bathroom counter in the bathroom that we were to pack in our smaller travel suitcase. It was B’s intention for us to be on the road on Monday morning by 9 am. We were to drive to Pensacola, FL on Monday and spend the night. Tuesday morning the Blue Angel airplanes were to be putting on a show at the Pensacola Naval Base and we wanted to be there. We wanted to see them last summer when we were in Pensacola, but they didn’t have a show scheduled that worked with our time table. This was the year… YEAH!

Or not…

We got into the car - all packed by B, including my bicycle and B’s on the bike trailer on the back of B’s car, and we are ready to leave for the beach. I went back inside for one last check of the house and B requested that I move my car back into the garage, as he had put it in the driveway so he could back into the garage to pack the car. I went to move his car and when I put the key into the ignition and turned, all I heard was “click-click-click-click…” I tried again, with the same results. I went to tell B that his car wouldn’t start (he was getting a glass of water) and B tried it - same results for B. B was most unhappy as he had spent yesterday evening changing the air filter, cabin filter, vacuuming the car, etc. in preparation for our adventure.

I took the kids inside and went ahead and fed them breakfast - we were planning on stopping at McDonald’s on the way out of town, but I knew the kids were hungry now. B jumped his car off of mine and we quickly put my car in the garage and headed to a leading auto parts chain store for them to test the car battery.

The guy tests the car battery and tells us that it is fine (we are baffled, unsure about how to proceed, but take his advice and hope for the best). We drive on to get the car filled up with gas, get a McDonald’s bacon biscuit for me and a sausage biscuit for B and we are on our way. Not 2 miles down the road and J announces that he has to go potty. (Ugh! Traveling with two extra bladders can add hours onto a trip!) We find the next McDonald’s and I make BOTH boys go potty. This time we don’t stop until we get to a Sonic for lunch - eat in the car - and start to make some good driving time. Pensacola here we come!

For dinner, B chose a Cracker Barrel restaurant - just for me! I didn’t even have to request it. Yummy!!! Also this was a good time for a potty break for the boys and then we get back on the road.

We get to the hotel in Pensacola and I take my bicycle to the room and a load from the car and get the boys settled while B get the rest of the car unloaded. On one trip to the room from the car, B accidentally tripped and his bicycle fell over. B wasn’t hurt, but a spoke on his back bike tire broke and he rear derailleur bent.

Another unfortunately event was a little more problematic. We got the car all unloaded and we are in the hotel room assessing the evening activities. Oh, no, we realize that we forgot to pack B’s CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine that has the mask that B wears during the night as he sleeps. The air mask helps B as he sleeps so he rests better, as B has sleep apnea.

While I watched the boys swim/play in the indoor swimming pool, B calmed down from this yucky realization and came up with a plan. B contacted his parents. (Thanks, K - B’s dad, - for using FedEx to overnight the machine, etc. to us!) B didn’t sleep very well without his mask that evening. At this point in the evening, we are tired and frustrated with our situation and question if we should just head home as getting to FL has been quite complicated. Surely nothing else will go wrong.

[Note: We retrieved the FedEx box with the CPAP machine, etc. from the front desk on Tuesday afternoon at the hotel, where we met up with my parents. All resolved. Well, the important issue is resolved - we still had forgotten B's razor and shaving cream, but he wasn't broken hearted about not shaving for the week... ]

Tuesday morning we wake up in Pensacola, FL and get dressed and ready to go see the Blue Angels at the Pensacola NAS. We get into the car and “click-click-click-click.” Again. B is ready to scream. B is very tired after not sleeping well and is quite disappointed. Seeing the Blue Angels is all that B really wanted to do on this trip and now we will be late, or miss them in the entirety.

We got the he-she-it person from the front desk (B later told me that the person appeared to be in the transition to going from a man to a woman - as “it” had breasts, long fingernails and a full beard. Or, as B said, “It could have been a woman with a really bad facial hair problem.”) to jump B’s car and we drive off to locate a local location of that same auto parts store. Turns out that the guy yesterday tested the battery while the car was running - evidently a no-no. This guy in FL tells us that the battery is bad and we get a new battery for B’s car. At this time, we realize that it is too late to see the Blue Angels. (I’m sure that B will let the guy in our home town know about this unfortunate fact, in addition to seeing that this guy knows how to correctly test a battery…)

We returned to the hotel to pack up the car. Just as we were getting out of the car we hear a loud noise and look up - it is the Blue Angels flying in a diamond formation past us and going on to their final landing destination. Awesome! At least we got a glimpse of them. (Just enough to whet our appetites for the next time we can see their show.)

We went ahead to the Pensacola Navy Base and enjoyed the air conditioning as we browsed through the Navy Air Museum. I had J with me and B took care of C. I mainly just followed J around as he looked at the airplanes as he kept calling them “awesome!” We looked and never came across B or C. B finally called me on my cell phone and we hooked up with each other at the car.

Onward west to Perdido Beach!

We met my parents at the hotel and got settled into our room - it was their room last night, as it had a king size bed and my parents took the attached room (there was a door that could be opened between the rooms) that had 2 queen size beds since the kids wanted to sleep with Nana and Pop. Throughout the week, J called our room “the living room” and the room that he slept in “the bedroom.” Wow - C and J are certainly privileged children!

B and I ate lunch at the restaurant while Nana and Pop played with the kids. Then we got a pizza from the hotel pizzeria and fed the kids their lunch. The kids then had rest time and after rest time - Pool time followed by dinner at the hotel. I will pick up later on the next post about going crabbing that evening on the beach.

Thus ended the first and second day of our vacation. And it was good.