Rolling With It--Planes and Automobiles

Waiting for Dad...

So, where were we?

The kids couldn’t wait to see their dad on Sunday. They waited in tense anticipation for his plane to land in the tiny airport. They waited while the airport rolled out the steps. They waited until they finally saw Dad walking to the terminal and then tackled him.

They spilled ten days’ worth of stories with the auto train prominently featured. They wanted to show him the train SOOOOO much…but then, Monday afternoon, our train was cancelled.

We explained that storm had blown trees across the track, the power was out, and the train couldn’t go. We looked at them. And then Little A. said,

“It should be the Dinosaur Train, so one of the dinosaurs could get off, scoop up the trees in his mouth, and move them.”

We exchanged smiles, then told the kids that we could take another train another time. And then S. said,

“To Europe?”

You have to love them. But they just rolled with it!

As if to reward their positive attitude toward the change, the trip home was, if possible, even better. Grandpa and Mimi (thank you, thank you) rushed around and got us an early dinner so we could drive a few hours Monday night, and we set off down the lower shore that night. That mean we got to see sunset from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

Sunset at the Bay Bridge Tunnel

We didn’t know what to get most excited about—glorious natural beauty, really long bridge, underwater tunnel, watching a freight ship start going over the tunnel as we started going into it…. Fun, I tell you! After a while, the kids fell asleep (they swear they didn’t!) and we made it over the border, into North Carolina, before bed.

Tuesday was a taking-care-of-business day. We drove across three states in eight hours, with only one movie late in the day. The rest of the time we just hung out! To top off our excellent travel day, Big A. cashed in some hotel points, and we stayed at the harbor in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island--way cool.

Getting non-fried food on Amelia Island!

We could walk to dinner, get food other than the fried variety, walk to an ice cream shop, walk to the harbor and look at boats, and cap the evening with the traditionally awesome Swim After Road Trip.

Mammoth, anyone?

A good night’s sleep and we were ready to hit the road for the last five hours home. Of course, since we had to drive right through Gainesville, home of the Gators and the Florida Museum of Natural History, we stopped. Yes, we added butterflies, caves, native peoples, arrowheads, hands-on exhibits and DINOSAUR BONES to our trip of coolness.

We also got to see Daddy’s old apartment and Mommy’s old apartment, but somehow that just didn’t have the same cool factor.

A few hours later, we ambushed our house, spreading things out everywhere, reuniting with cherished toys, running the washer, flopping on the furniture, dodging the ecstatic, just-bathed dog and generally making ourselves at home.

Ahhhh….