Jarmon and I have been joking that we basically skipped summer this year. He got sick in June which kept us homebound into August, then I broke my foot… and oh, hey September! So, when the discussion of- “Well, what about Florida?”- came up shortly after a doctor confirmed that my foot was in fact broken- the immediate answer was decisive: “We’re going!” If I could haul my pregnant self up and down the countless stairs in my highly inaccessible house… and navigate the countless key card access only weighted doors in my highly inaccessible workplace… an accessible airport would be a breeze, right?
And it was! Truly. For some unknown reason we had booked a midday flight. (We never book midday flights.) Arabella was up early (as if she knew we were going on vacation). We called an Uber XL and a half later were on our way. I say a half hour later because that’s how long it took us to get everyone into said Uber. When we got to the airport, Jarmon asked, “What did we forget? That was too easy.” I on the other hand knew it would be easy because we (or at least, I) had planned ahead. Easy, however, does not mean quick or light. We had a lot of stuff and it took quite a while to get it all where it needed to be, but we made it.
We made it through security with ease— I literally hopped through the metal detector while Jarmon carried Arabella. We then made our way to the gate with plenty of time to spare. We notified the gate agent of our numerous gate checks- my scooter and Arabella’s stroller- then decided to divide and conquer. Jarmon broke down the stroller while I grabbed some overpriced airport sandwiches from a stand by the gate for us to eat on the plane- turkey for me, roast beef for Jarmon, a fruit cup and yogurt for Arabella. Paying $50+ for the pitiful spread of food made me physically ill, but we’ve been in a downward spiral of “do what works” for about a month now (including but not limited to Prime Now grocery delivery from Whole Foods) and this was just the latest of many cringeworthy moments.
We got to preboard because of my foot- an upgrade even from family boarding- and went straight to the back. We knew there were about 20 extra seats on the plane and wanted to make sure we got one between us for Arabella. The clumsy trip to the back of the plane- with my backpack on my back and Arabella’s diaper bag strapped to my front while I hopped on crutches- was worth every ridiculous step. (Jarmon had Arabella, his backpack and our overpriced lunch all weighing on his bad shoulder– so he was in a clumsy state as well).
Arabella was great on the flight. Dare I call it her best yet? (Thanks veggie straws and apple juice!) We did one diaper change on the seat (a charitable moment by me to keep my 6-ft husband from trying to change Arabella in a tiny airplane bathroom), but the flight was otherwise uneventful.
When we got to Florida we were last off the plane. We made our way to baggage claim and quickly claimed our bags. The plan was for Jarmon and Arabella to grab the rental car while I waited with the luggage, but we were more mobile than we expected and decided to make the trek as a family. (Mainly because it was going to make a great a photo and a great story later.) With our bags piled high on a rented airport cart, we each lended a hand to push the stroller while Jarmon pushed the luggage cart and I propelled myself around on the knee scooter. Three man circus?Perhaps. But mission accomplished.
We got the car no problem and were on our way. I couldn’t get my phone to work in the parking garage so we headed out sans GPS. I was pretty proud when we arrived at the hotel ten minutes later. It’s a familiarity only found by vacationing in the same place for 35 years.
We had a little drama when we got to the hotel and none of the requests we so carefully made in advance had been accommodated. (Beach building, crib, chair for the shower). We waited in our non beach building room for about an hour for our luggage to arrive. By the time it did, we decided to just forego the pool and get ready for dinner. It was a big room and Arabella was enjoying walking around. We waited even longer for the crib and shower chair… meaning no nap for Arabella and no shower for me.
We met my parents in the lobby and they were of course thrilled to see Arabella. Since Bahia Cabana- our first night of vacation tradition- no longer exists (it got leveled in favor of a high end condo development that never came to fruition), we went to Coconuts. We had a great dinner topped off by the most ridiculous chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich you’ve seen. It was a dessert I’d been looking forward to all year long and it didn’t disappoint.
We were supposed to move rooms when we got back, but decided to just stay put since we were all so exhausted… or so we thought at the moment. The hallway leading up to our room was HOT– and when we finally got back into our room, it was 74 degrees. The thermostat was set at 66. The air conditioner was obviously not working. So, dripping with sweat, we decided to suck it up and move after all. (Annoyed? I guess that would be the blog appropriate word for it.)
At about midnight, we finally settled into our new room in the beach building. It was smaller, but cooler and we turned in for the night. Arabella wasn’t having it though. She screamed bloody murder when we put her in the hotel provided crib. To be fair, she’s used to Pottery Barn Kids— and this metal cage looked more like something that would be put in a jail cell if mom’s were allowed to have babies there. But still. Jarmon and I had no energy or patience left for parenting at this point, so there was only one thing to do. We put her in between us in the king size hotel bed… and opened the biggest can of worms known to parents. But you know what else? We all got a great night of sleep.
Trina Orlando 