Today was our last full day of vacation. I HATE the last day of vacation. It’s like Christmas Day when all the presents have been opened and there is nothing left to look forward to. Add on top of that having to pack up the room we’ve been living in for a week (or in this case a few days since we’ve had to move rooms so many times) and a looming return to reality and it’s just a big downer of a day. But we made the best of it.
There was a buffet for breakfast today, presumably because it was the weekend. Jarmon and I had some pancakes while Arabella devoured some strawberries. Our server John saved Arabella some hash browns in the back since he knows how much she likes them. John doesn’t work weekends, so it was time for another goodbye.
My dad’s college buddy Charlie and his wife Joan who live in Ft Lauderdale, came over to visit today. I immediately recruited Charlie to take our annual family photo in the pool- it turned out great. Charlie and DD hung out in the pool, while MJ and Joan hung out poolside. They eventually took AB inside to get a snack— where she eventually fell asleep.
Today’s forecast didn’t look promising, but it only ended up raining once for a few minutes. We rode it out in the bar to protect our cell phones and then got back in the pool.
After Charlie and Joan left we went down to the beach to take some pictures and “put our toes in the sand.” I read a book a while back that says putting your toes in sand makes life better, so I make a point of never leaving the beach without doing so. Of course putting your toes in the sand while walking with crutches and/or a scooter isn’t really feasible— so we used the beach wheelchair that the hotel keeps on hand. I’ve seen it around for years and have always thought it was great that the hotel had it (even though I never actually saw anyone use it)— this year, I thought it was even more great. Jarmon got a workout pushing me in it (no really, a great workout!!) and Arabella loved the ride. We took our family photos and even let Arabella play in the sand a bit.
Next, it was up to the main lobby so DD, Jarmon and I could take our annual wreck bar window photos. DD and I have been taking these photos for as long as I can remember (maybe longer). DD sat last year out because his back was bothering him, so we were glad to have him back this year. I think he was (not so) secretly hoping that I would give everyone a pass this year because of my foot and Jarmon’s should Orr— but I’m a stubborn one. I decided the photos were happening even if it was literally our feet hanging in the window. We did a very abbreviated shoot this year because I couldn’t kick, Jarmon couldn’t use his arm and DD didn’t want to throw out his back again— but I’m happy to say we did it. Once Jarmon and I realized that I could pull myself down without using my foot at all, we decided to stage one fun photo to document baby B2’s first window photo.
We had our final dinner of the trip at Shooter’s. DD and Jarmon had been looking forward to the seafood tower since literally last August— and it didn’t disappoint. We also splurged on some bubbly and a huge slice of chocolate cake I spotted while there with DD and MJ earlier in the week to celebrate their birthdays 😉
We had a small emergency on the way home when it was 1130pm and we realized we were flat out of diapers. We had planned to buy some earlier in the week, but never did. So we had to find a place that was open late. Luckily we found a CVS that was open until midnight. They didn’t have Arabella’s normal style or size of diaper— but they had one that would work. Beggars can’t be choosers, right?
When we got back to the hotel we were all spent. Jarmon had one more drink in the lobby— I had a soda water with lemon. We swapped photos from the night with DD while MJ pushed AB around the lobby in her stroller. Every time they walked past the refrigerator with the ice cream, AB would reach for it. Can you say adorable?
Jarmon crashed hard when we got to our room, but Arabella was wired. She was NOT happy when I turned out the lights and declared it bedtime… but she eventually surrendered to sleep.
Trina Orlando 