Po Folks Whirl Wind Spring Break 2009

Sunday, March something (I think the 29th), 20097:30am (Not sure what time zone) Looks like we made it! Look how far we've come now baby...Well, what can I say? I should have written what would have been a COLORFUL depiction of our travel story yesterday when I had about 1 hour of sleep and liquid courage. It is now the morning after, I slept 11.5 hours last night and I am typing on our balcony overlooking lush grounds complete with a lazy river, baby pool, water slide, heated swimming pool, beautiful seascape of the bay with all of the resting water vessels lined up along the dock... The sun will begin to peak over the horizon soon and I await with much anticipation. The children lie nestled peacefully scattered around the condo. THIS IS THE LIFE!!!!!! Now, I must snap out of it and channel the part of my brain that is attempting to block out the previous 15 hours...THE DRIVE DOWN (dum, dum, dum dum....)Actually, the anticipation of the drive was much scarier than it turned out to be. We did have some laughs that had us wondering if we needed to stop and find a pharmacy that carried adult depends. None-the-less, we made it. Cathy (my new sister) began the adventure behind the wheel. The packing astounded Tim (my husband) because we managed to pack enough for a small country to live for about a month. Now keep in mind, I am the master organizer (self-proclaimed, of course) and I put much thought and consideration into my packing. I made lists (yes several), I laid it out way in advanced (OK, we just booked the place on Wed so I had 1.5 days-part of the problem), I went over many scenarios, weather forecasts, money saving ideas, etc... I'm sure that Cathy and my Mother (the poor woman that we convinced we were taking on a relaxing, wonderful vacation -A.K.A babysitter, cooker, cleaner, driver... you get the picture :) (Just kidding mom! )planned equally as well as I did! However, when all of the "gear" was laid out behind the Slater Mobile it was clear that we would need a plan "B". We crammed, stashed, squished and crowded as much as we humanly could into the van (around the 7 passengers mind you) and ended up with everything but a few grocery items, a 20 pack of Mic Ultra, a beach chair, a seat messager, and a case of water. Not bad, if I do say so myself. The end result though, was a 10 year old, a 9 year old and an 11 year old (taller than me) in the back bench seat with items stacked to the ceiling behind them (including 3 boogie boards), their pillows & blankets on their laps, a travel entertainment bag at their feet (3 of them), a box with the wii system, a bag of DVD's, a large adult travel bag, a 12 pack of beer, a small cooler, a very large purse (my mother's), a large bag of car snacks, a DVD holder, a music holder, and what we thought might be a decaying animal buried in the rubble (turned out to be Keefer's feet) stacked in the middle isle!!!!! I'll let you sit with this vision for a moment, and will spare you the description of the middle (MeMaw & 4 year old) and front (Cathy & Lori) of the van which was packed equal to the back! We were off... I'm almost sad (not at the time) that I won't have an opportunity to tell you some dramatic, horror story of the next 14.5 hours because I do love to tell a good story (and might make one up about it by the time we get home, just for fun) but really it was uneventful. The kids must have been sitting with the adult's guardian angels because they did not fight, complain, or whine one time! Not even Ellie (age 4). They watched a few movies with headsets on so the ladies could listen to WONDERFUL CD's (my mix of songs was by far the best, just ask Cathy). Ellie fell asleep shortly after her pick of movies around 11pm and slept the ENTIRE night without a peep! The other kids fell asleep a little later and also slept through the night. Cathy drove until 3:3o am and I tried to get some sleep while she drove but just couldn't get comfortable. I think I pieced together about an hour before I took the wheel. BACKGROUND INFO: I usually go to bed by 8:30 pm and fall asleep about 9:30 and like to have about 9 hours shut-eye. Also keep in mind, that Cathy's entire drive was dry, flat and she had 2 adults to entertain her. She did hit one traffic jam because 2 semi's flipped into the median on I65. I'm pretty sure we sat or drove 5 mph for around 45 minutes, but MeMaw & Cathy are convinced it was 1.5-2 hours. I just hate people that exaggerate-hee,hee (my husband seems to think I possess this quality-yeah right!) Anyway, at 3:35am I was behind the wheel, delirious with exhaustion- it immediately started to rain, the roads turned into mountainous, wet death slopes that winded left and right at 90 degree angles (I swear my husband is wrong about me). I had a rough start... I was swerving around and scaring the passengers because I wasn't used to Cathy's wheel, but I quickly gained control (I always do - those who know me well, know I'm a bit of a control freak) and shortly after that I lost it again. Not the wheel this time, but my composure. I began a hysterical laughing fit (about nothing - well, because I couldn't adjust the seat comfortably) by myself... my eyes were filled with blinding tears, and I had that ugly cry look. My co-pilot (Mom) joined in the laughing fit and we rolled like the scenic mountains outside! This lasted about 10 minutes and then it was smooth sailing until I couldn't go any more around 7:45 or 8am. Cathy took the wheel again (man she's a trooper) and I tried too sleep until Ellie woke up but again, could not. Before we knew it, we were here and like a director on a movie set was directing the universe, the clouds parted, the sun beamed down blanketing Phoenix on the Bay II's sun deck, and the God's smiled on us all! Now, I need another cup of coffee before I can wrap my mind around what happened next and load the pictures of our first few hours yesterday. MORE ON THE VACATION: Check our our vacation blog - everyone helped post throughout the week. Visit www.whirlwindorangebeachvacation.blogspot.com