Florida, Day 2
Today we started in Jacksonville, Florida. Unfortunately the children woke up really early, especially considering that they didn’t go to sleep last night until almost 10 p.m. (their usual bedtime is 8 -8:30 p.m.) I’ve decided that we are going to stay at at Marriot chain hotel every time we travel from now on! It was so clean and nice and the pillows were awesome and the beds were comfy and the continental breakfast was yummy and…and…and…
This morning we had some time to kill. We wanted to find an activity that would take a couple of hours, grab lunch, and do the last 2 and a 1/2 hours of the drive during nap time. A hotel employee recommended the Jacksonville Hands-On Museum. WOW! This place was incredible! And might I add, thank goodness for GPS…we didn’t get lost once!
Anyhow, the museum. It was packed full (almost too full) of creative play objects. They had a fire truck set up, a TV station with cameras and a “news desk” so the kids could anchor and watch themselves, a full grocery store, complete with real cash registers and a belt that moved, a complete mail station, a gear table, a cage for wheelchair basketball (complete with wheelchairs), a castle theatre, a puppet theatre, a 50s Diner/kitchen, a stage with real stadium seating, a boat, a vet office/pet store, and an old McDonalds play set (with ball pit and slide). There were a myriad of challenge and activity tables, along with a small arts and crafts section. They also had this room for kids 3 and under packed full of every plastic toy you can imagine! My kids didn’t know what to do with themselves! They were going nuts. They flitted from one activity to another, not staying at one long enough to engage at all. But they had a blast! And it was a great way to spend the morning.
Afterwards, we had a quick lunch, then headed to Cocoa Beach. Colin slept most of the way, and Laney only a small bit, unfortunately. She woke him up crying after about a 40 minute nap; she was whining that she had to use the bathroom, but didn’t even really have to go! I think she’s figured out that saying she has to go will initiate a stop and the opportunity to get out of the car seat.
We made it to Cocoa Beach this afternoon, and killed a little time in the surf shops while our room was cleaned. We are staying in a two room suite here, which is certainly nice! The children are separate and won’t wake each other up throughout the night.
And - other big news - tonight Delaney and Colin went to their first wedding! Our friends Pete and Julia were married this evening in a completely and totally traditional ceremony. The kids did pretty good during the ceremony (it was about 15 or 20 minutes). Chris had to walk Delaney out during the vows, and of course Colin freaked out because daddy left, so he and I had to walk out, too. I thought the wedding planner was going to burn holes in us with her eyes!
The reception was also very traditional. We waited and waited for the bride and groom to arrive. They were all introduced, did the first dance, did the parental dances, did the toast, and THEN we ate! The kids were WILD! Combine lack of sleep with a late dinner and a TON of activity, and you have a recipe for wild, edgy stew that can really go either way. The kids did have a great time dancing, though. It so funny - they are so uninhibited at that age! They just walked right on that dance floor and started breaking it down in front of everyone at the reception. They were quite cute!
I have photos of all of this, but this laptop doesn’t have a photo editor. I am still working on begging Chris to let me borrow his laptop so I can edit my photos to post. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some photos tomorrow - maybe just in time for weekly winners!
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