Final Day in Florida, the Long Drive Home & Final Thoughts

Friday was our last vacation day. Thomas and I had tickets to see another Tigers game. First, we went to my dad's house to spend a few more hours with him and to say goodbye to him and Maggie. Then, it was off to the game. It was Thomas' third game of the week and my second. My sister graciously offered to watch the kids so we were able to get good seats and planned to enjoy an entire game. When we got to our seats, who did we see signing autographs but Alan Trammell, Thomas' all-time favorite player! We didn't have anything to get an autograph with and Thomas wasn't quick enough to get a picture with him, but it was cool to be just a few feet away from his baseball idol.

Alan Trammell signing autographs pregame.

The seats were great, we were in the second row along the first base line. Most of the players were big! We saw the coolest play ever--a triple play! It is amazingly rare to see 3 outs on a single play and it happened right in front of us! Bases were loaded and the batter hit an infield liner, the shortstop (Inglesias) let it drop and threw it to the second baseman (Kinsler). The runner on second didn't move, but another runner had moved from first to second, so there were two players at second base (you don't see that everyday!). Kinsler tagged the runner, then the bag and then threw the ball to first base to get the batter out. The crowd went wild. It was pretty cool. I have to admit that I didn't actually understand what was happening until Thomas explained it. It even took a second to sort it out on the field, Thomas was definitely the first in our section to understand what had happened. Unfortunately, it started to rain after the 4th inning and the game was cancelled. And, the Tigers lost. But, still, we had fun!

And, that's Miguel Cabrera, two time MVP

From there, we got the kids. Kara had thrown a royal fit at my sister's house.  It was over nothing, my sister simply asked her to switch chairs so my sister could rock Luke to sleep. It was her second major fit of the vacation. Although she enjoyed her time in Florida, the change in routine was really hard on her and she got pretty difficult. Kim and Marta definitely got to see her at her very worst.

We went back to Marta's to pack up. First, we stopped and bought a ton of junk food to sustain us on our drive home. Marta made dinner and we called it an early night. Everyone was in bed by 8, and the kids fell asleep fairly easily. I had an upset stomach and actually threw up a couple of times. Thomas woke up at midnight and he loaded up the last few things, then we got the kids ready. When Anna woke, she said her stomach hurt and she threw up! We were afraid we were in for a long drive. But, after a couple more bouts of sickness and some sleep she reported she felt fine. I had felt fine after I got whatever it was out of my stomach, so I was confident it would be the same for her. Thank goodness it was, can you imagine riding in a car for 13 hours with an upset stomach?

The drive itself was great! It absolutely could not have gone better. We hit almost no traffic, the kids were in a good mood and there were no accidents or construction. The kids slept for the first 6 hours of the drive, which made time go by quickly. Thomas took the night shift and I dozed off too. We stopped around 4 for gas and everyone went to the bathroom, then back to sleep. We didn't stop again until 9:30 and only then because we needed gas. No one complained, everyone was happy with their surprises from "the Big Green Bag of Mysteries," as named by Anna and Kara. They played Kindles, listened to music and had fun conversations. I don't know why no one needed to use the bathroom, everyone had a water bottle, but it just worked out that way. We seriously drove 12.5 hours and only stopped twice! That has to be some sort of record. We were willing to stop for a picnic lunch, we had all the supplies, but everyone just wanted to push through. We made it home by 1:15 and ate lunch at our own kitchen table. Everyone was so happy to get home! Thomas and I even unpacked, something that I normally procrastinate for days (maybe even weeks).

Final vacation thoughts: overall, it was an excellent vacation. We thought we would have so much more down time, but somehow we managed to fill virtually every minute. We got to spend a lot time with our family and it was sweet to see the kids with (some of) their cousins. Being far away makes me grateful for time I do get to spend with my Florida peeps. However, even with almost 9 full days in Florida, we still didn't get to do everything or see everyone we wanted.

Marta, Frank and Elizabeth were great hosts. It is hard to find someone with the space (and temperament) to allow our family of 6 to invade their home and we were thankful they were willing to put up with us. The trip was hard on Luke and Kara, who thrive on routine. Both had moments of intense breakdowns and I am hoping that we will be able to get them back into the swing of things without much difficulty. Anna and Jack were great. They were easy-going, polite and well-behaved. When I asked everyone their favorite thing about being in Florida, most referenced seeing all our friends and family. So, then I asked favorite activity.  Jack, Anna and Kara all said Legoland. Thomas loved all the baseball. My favorite activity was the walk through Circle B and seeing all those alligators. Luke most enjoyed hanging with his cousin, JD, who may be his new favorite person. It was definitely a success! But, it is still nice to be writing this final blog from the comfort of my couch in my own living room.