I should have written this blog post series months ago. I admit, it was an overwhelming task, and I responded by procrastinating. Now, I'm sure I've forgotten key points and stories. On the upside, I guess that means this might be somewhat shorter (maybe).
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The last time all of Mark's family got together, Thane was six weeks old. We were way overdue for a reunion.
When we started planning over a year ago, we voted on destinations. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was the winner. That wasn't our top choice (getting 7 people completely across the continent is neither easy or inexpensive), but we decided to make an adventure of it. "When," we reasoned, "will we ever take our kids that close to Florida again? We should add a week and visit our old friends in Titusville."
And so began our rather epic trip. Our flight out of Washington left at 5:30 am, just two days after Aubree finished her school year. We had the kids sleep in their clothes so they could roll out of bed and straight into the van when we had to leave our house at 3 am. Of course, Mark and I had been up till midnight finishing the never-ending long-trip preparations.
I tried to keep my expectations low regarding kid behavior on our long cross country flights. Yet, I couldn't keep from hoping the kids would sleep after such an early wake-up call. I certainly couldn't keep my eyes open, but the kids had plenty of energy.
Our first flight took us to Houston, where we had a waaaaaayyyyy too long, 4-hour layover. We asked an airport employee, "are there any play areas in the airport for kids?" "Uhhh," she stammered, "you could ride the tram back and forth."
We found an area to camp out and tried to bribe the kids to take a nap. Haha! What a joke.
By the time we were loaded onto our second flight, everyone's patience was wearing thin. All things considered, the kids still managed to handle themselves reasonably well. As the plane descended into Orlando, I mentioned to Aubree and Bryce, "Now we're in alligator land, keep your eyes open and see if you can spot any." A few moments later, as the plane taxied to the gate, they both yelled, "An alligator, an alligator!" They had seen a gator sneak out of a pond adjacent to the runway, then hustle back as the plane roared near.
By the time we landed, got our luggage, trekked to the rental car (which included a maddeningly long wait for the shuttle bus), installed three car seats (in the incredibly humid parking garage), and drove to Titusville, it was past 10 pm and everyone was hungry, irritable, and grumpy. I was probably the worst of the bunch.
We went to the McDonald's drive-through, then to our hotel. A little back-story on the hotel. Not one hotel in Titusville could accommodate our family in one room. The Quality Inn, however, had two rooms with a connecting door. When I made our reservations, I spoke with the manager and he reserved those two rooms for us.
Of course, when we arrived they had no record of that stipulation. I was furious. "I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can do." Ugh!
That was just a portend of things to come - broken toilets, "forgetting" to send up a pack-and-play, cockroaches... By the end of our three-day stay, even the kids were referring to the place as the "LOW Quality Inn."
Sunday morning we hopped back in our rental van (the kids loved all the new-van features like automatic doors and a back-up camera) and drove familiar roads to attend church with our old Titusville ward.
Wow, had things changed! There were still a lot of familiar faces, but soooo many families had moved away (most, like us, as a result of the space shuttle program ending) and no one had really moved in to replace them. In fact, there was only ONE other family with children (18 or under) in sacrament meeting! Though it retains "ward" status, it's definitely much more of a "branch" in size.
Primary was an eye-opening experience for our kids. Our ward here in Washington has well over 100 kids in primary. In Titusville, there were 6 kids. Adding our 4 almost doubled their average attendance! Instead of Junior and Senior primary, Titusville had a junior primary class, and a senior primary class.
We happened to attend church on Father's Day. During the Sunday School hour, all the men (and the women as well) were invited to the cultural hall for pie and ice-cream. Besides being tasty, it provided the perfect opportunity to reconnect with old friends.
The primary kids came in and sang to the fathers. The primary leaders were happy to have a few more willing voices.
During the third hour, I took no-nap Nellie (this will be a running theme) to nursery to visit with my dear friend, Holly. She's one of the few young families that stayed and it was wonderful to catch up. She's remarkable!
When we went to pick up our kids, we found they'd been totally spoiled! The primary leaders had given the primary kids their own Father's Day treats - cookies and candy and goodies galore. They left thinking tiny primaries weren't so bad!
After church we quickly changed our clothes then went to visit the home of other dear friends - the Dokos'.
Aubree and Cheyenne were the best of friends before we moved to Washington.
Five years later, they picked up right where they left off! They spent the afternoon laughing and talking and painting.
The boys were a little slower to warm up. Dalton is nine months older than Thane. He had just turned one when we moved away, so the boys were all starting their relationship fresh.
Mark and I loved the chance to talk to Adam and Amy. There's a lot to cover when you've been apart for five years, but it felt like all the other countless times we'd gotten together at their home. It's nice to have friends who remain friends regardless of time or distance.
Monday was one of my favorite days of our entire vacation. We stopped by Walmart to stock up on needed supplies and beach-gear, then headed to Playalinda beach (the #1 place I miss most in Florida), with Amy and Holly and their kids.
Of all my kids, perhaps only Aubree remembers Florida beaches. The other kids only know Pacific Coast beaches, and there's really no comparison. It took almost no time for them to figure this fact out for themselves!
We'd grabbed a boogie board that morning, and Aubree quickly realized that boogie boarding is a lot of fun!
The weather was perfect. The views were stunning. The company was delightful.
Even no-nap Nellie succumbed to the calming ocean sounds and crashed in my arms for an hour (she was not a fan of the waves).
The whole time we were there, I kept reminding myself to treasure the moment.
I tried to memorize the color of the sky, the warmth of the water, the joy of seeing my kids reconnect with their old friends.
Alas, even perfect outings eventually come to an end. After hours of play, we turned back inland and went to get ice-creams as a final hurrah with our friends. As we loaded ourselves in the van, it quickly became apparent that though we'd tried to be thorough in sunscreen application, we'd clearly underestimated what the hot Florida sun would do with our pale, Washington skin. Whoops!
Even worse, Mark realized he'd neglected to put sunscreen on his face. Double whoops! The cold ice-cream was a welcome respite.
As wonderful as it was to see our friends, sometimes it just makes it even harder to have to say good-bye again.
Look at all these cute kids!
After ice-cream, we made a quick stop back at the hotel to shower and change, before zooming back out to try our luck at seeing alligators at BlackPoint Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island. Alas, it was a hot afternoon, and all the gators had sought cooler haunts. We only saw a couple small alligators.
Our busy day wasn't quite over. We couldn't visit Titusville without stopping by Dixie Crossroads. Aubree was only five when we left Florida, but she insists she clearly remembers loving her visits to this restaurant. Their corn fritters had reached legendary status in her mind. She couldn't wait to introduce her brothers to this wondrous culinary delight.
They were not disappointed! Our waiter kept bringing out more, more, more fritters! Then they didn't eat much of their dinner, but ... that's vacation, I guess.
We had to get a traditional shrimp-bench picture before we left.
Tuesday morning marked the end of our time in our old city. We spent a little bit of time driving around and reminiscing. We showed the kids our old house, then spent a couple hours at our favorite park - Fox Lake Park. Despite being Florida at the end of June, the weather was remarkably tolerable.
Bryce and Thane spent their time decorating trees and playing imaginary games.
Aubree was a bit appalled at all the bugs, and hid in the car reading.
Our visit to Titusville was wonderful, but it was clear that it is no longer "home" for us. I am so glad our kids got to go back and make new memories there.
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