Sanibel 2013 - The Finale

First, an addition:   I now remember why I was so tired Friday - I took a 5k run in the morning during a break in the rain.  It was wonderful - I wore a hunter orange run shirt, and I had more than a few people say "hey I saw you out running!"  

Sunday was our move-out day:  Pamela had done the usual incredible job of getting us fully packed up the night before, so "all" we had to do was finish up and clean... and clean... and clean...   you know what, we are AWESOME condo renters.  We vacuum.  We sweep.  We strip the beds, we do some laundry, and we leave behind cleaning supplies.  We DID try to finish all of our beverages, but we wound up with a couple of beers for giveaway, making us probably a little popular.  And for the health crowd, we left a few V8 juices too.  

We were finally packed and ready to rock about 930am, and headed over to the Over Easy Cafe at the end of Periwinkle way.  Last year, we went there on our move-out day with PapaBam, and it took 90 minutes to be seated.  We said "we'll hit it mid-week, not move out day, we're going to be smart about it...", and here we were, on move-out day waiting for a table.  It was only 40 min for the table, during which time we shopped in the cute little stores and Isaac and I played hat-toss for an improbably long time.  Breakfast was fast once we sat down, and it was DELICIOUS - well worth the wait!

We weren't quite ready to leave the island, so we went to Ding Darling and took the tram tour route by car, getting out to spend extra time looking at things:  We saw a bunch of fish, some cute crabs, some NOT cute Horseshoe crabs, a lot of birds, and my highlight, we saw an Osprey gutting a fish on a light post right above the road - as we drove slowly under, we were less than 10 feet from this magnificent creature, savagely ripping into that fish.  Turns out the male osprey brings food for the young and the female, and it is expected that the fish be READY TO EAT by this point:  I was looking around to see if he had a dish of batter and a deep fryer to really prep that fish properly, but no, it must have been back on another tree.

After a leisurely drive, we put the pedal to the metal and hightailed it over to the Tarpon Bay Explorers manatee pontoon ride:  This is the same things we did last year with PapaBam - a touch tank presentation with horseshoe crabs, conches, hermit crabs, and shrimp, viewing of some great seahorses, and then the boat ride.  We only wound up seeing a manatee nose from a distance, and no dolphins (we had the dolphin action covered), but the true treat was seeing a Heron and its baby peeking out of a mangrove island - the staff was completely excited - it was their first sighting of the baby too, and their excitement was infectious.  The guides were big fans of Isaac and Bella, asking them to lead in the touch tank (Isaac got the first conch, and Bella was the first to handle the terrifying horseshoe crab.  (Did you know they have dozens of eyes?  THEY ARE FREAKY.  Also, they're not crabs, they're "Aquatic Arachnids").  Isaac and Bella were also entrusted to walk a pelican beak and a manatee rib around to show everyone.  

They were much better behaved than the little Ukranian boy who hollered and tried to stuff a whelk down the aeration tube at the touch tank.  He was non-stop...  But we kept our distance, and we had a great time!

Final food on the island was back to Schnapper's Hots, where we all ate well, AND got dessert!  Love that place.  Then it was off the island.  The traffic was very light, and we made our way to Target for one more suitcase (I don't think we acquired that much, but our packing just sort of "unfurled" to the point that it seemed unreasonable to try to cram it all in.  So a cheap suitcase in a style we didn't have (roller duffel), and hit the hotel.

By the time we hit the hotel, I discovered I was BONE TIRED - and the family graciously let me nap for a spell.  My dreams were intruded upon by a beep beep beep sound and I was fairly convinced that we had a room next to a service elevator which would keep us up all night...   but no, it turns out they were watching a show about these lunatics with metal detectors.  They were going on and on about looking for hidden gold, and in the end, settled for two coins and a belt buckle.  One of the guys could have been played by a young Randy Quaid.  

A final swim in the almost completely empty pool as the sun went down - the water was warm, with temperate breeze keeping us underwater.  I zoned out in the hot tub for a spell...   Lots of smiles, giggles, and a general realization that we are ALL tired!  Back up to the room and a quick call to Room Service for dinner - everyone ate up, but I started to get queasy - was it the thai spring roll?  No, it was my exhaustion catching up with me.  I was asleep right after the kids (but not before they got a full chapter or two each).

3am, Bella woke up, resentful at her lot on the hide-a-bed, and to smooth things over I swapped with her.  My back may never recover, but she got a good nights sleep, so good for her.  I figure we've had a pretty cushy week, I can take one for the team.  Poor Pamela had insomnia, so I'm guessing it'll be an early night for her tonight.

GOING HOME:

As feared, Isaac is adjusting to the new time zone, and was up at 630 ET.  We'll need to get him back on track tonight...   We got up, I secured espresso for myself, and we finished our pack-up...  then to the classic and amazing Marriott Breakfast Buffet.  It's always a treat when traveling, and even more fun with the family.  I got a little worried about our timetable, but we managed to get there on time, missing all of the lines, using my Platinum status to check our now SEVEN suitcases, and cut to the front of the security line to the assembled glares - hey you know what people?  When you fly 80k miles a year, let's talk.  For me, it's a small reward for being away from the family.

So now we're on the plane home - Isaac and Bella have ipads and headphones, watching shows.  Pamela has the headphones on watching a Billy Crystal and Bette Midler comedy that I would never in a million years want to watch.  I'm updating the blog and starting to get my brain back into a work-mode.  I know weather has been crappy back in MN, and will continue to be so this week, but just to be back in my house with the puppies will be wonderful.

Some Random Thoughts:

My big scrape on my palm from my tag-accident is healing nicely, but made tennis a little tough with Isaac.  Hard to grip a racquet with a sore palm.  My chin is also healing well, with just the purple remains of a bruise and a little tenderness.

I read NO books, and only watched ONE show (Orphan Black).  I did a lot of sudoku, and stared at the sea.  It was a brain vacation.  

Our Edina friends at the condo complex had a little 2nd grader Gracie who turned our lives upside down - She was sporty and played ball with Isaac, but it was mostly cousin Liam who was drawn into her orbit - there was a lot of talk about "somebody has a GIRLFRIEND".  It was cute and ridiculous in that way of the very small.  

I was ID'ed by another Edina mom, who said "between that had, and your distinctive gait, I knew it had to be you".  That was one of the more surreal ways of describing how I could be identified.  I was self conscious about my walk the rest of the trip.

There were only a few minor sunburns - I wound up with bright red ankles where I had missed spraying.  They hurt for days.  Bella started with some red cheeks, but they lightened up, so the burn wasn't too bad.  Pamela escaped with a single playing-card sized red mark on a shoulder.  Isaac turned 3 shades darker all around...  

I remain enamored of Pelicans, which I have named "Robert" to a bird.  They are just amazing.

It was a delightful vacation.  Thank you for reading!

Sanibel 2013 Part 4

Friday

The day started with more rain - booms overnight and gray skies all morning - it didn't really clear up until 4 in the afternoon, with a few windows of not-rain in there here and there.  The kids were up early after the sleep-overs and spent the day shuttling between condos, watching Road Runner cartoons, and playing video games...   they generally did pretty well, and the use/abuse of technology was tolerated - rainy days were made for technology.  

We started everyone off with a big breakfast of bacon, sausage, and pancakes, so the kids all had full bellies to loll around with.  I played a lot of solitaire, and there may have been a nap in there too - in retrospect, it was a totally mellow day and I think VacationBrain had fully set in.  In a way, this is what we go on vacation to do - to actually shut OFF for a little while.  There was a brief clearing around lunch, and I swam with Isaac in the pool...   In the late afternoon, with the sky finally cleared, we all headed to the beach for another round of shelling and sand castling.  And yes, I did emerge a little in the day to do a deal for work.

And that's when the day got AWESOME:  We were walking along looking out at the surf when someone spotted a dorsal fin a few hundred yards out - beyond the sand bar.  One dolphin...  make that two...  were making their presence known.  We were all pretty excited...  when we spotted a fin closer in, this side of the sand bar.  I shouted "Dolphin" and someone said "That's not a dolphin..."  And sure enough, it was a grey fin, and then the tail poked out - grey and vertical, not flat and dark...  SHARK!   We all started hollering and pointing, someone grabbed a camera, and this guy (I think it was one, but someone thought there were two) was feeding on something - we saw some great thrashing - and he was pretty close to shore!  After a minute or so of a show, it started moving out and further down the shore...  

Towards some people who were improbably actually swimming in the rough, cold surf.  A mess of kids ran up the beach to warn them.  They came in for a few minutes then decided that damn it they had paid good money to get neck deep in a cold ocean and no shark was going to ruin that for them...  so they went back out.  No matter, the shark(s) went away.  The dolphins continued their minor show way far out, but perhaps they sensed that they'd have to up their game significantly to get that level of reaction again, so they slunk off as well.

We were all tremendously jazzed, and the energy level was so elevated, it was hard to come back down.  Sunset was beautiful at the beach, and we all stood together reflecting on the wonders of the vacation - it was a wonderful send-off for the people who needed to leave on Saturday.  

After putting Isaac to bed, I was sent out to find Bella, who was out with cousin Jen and the cousins doing flashlight shell hunting in the moonless night.   I went out once, didn't see them because they had gone so far up the beach their lights were too dim to see, went out again and finally found them:  Bella was just flush with the excitement of being out late, using a flashlight, and having found a few treasures on the beach.  She took some doing to get down to sleep...  and we all just passed out.

Saturday

Move-out day, for MOST people...  but not us!  Scott and Tiff were off at 5am, Bill and Betty off by 9.  Winnie and Steve were due out at 9pm, and Jen and Harman were headed to the airport Marriott to rest for an early Sunday flight...   so we opened our condo to family and friends to park at!  It was a clear but cooler day, and the kids spent the whole morning in the pool (it's warmer in the water than on the deck).  Some went shelling, and the rough waters were bringing up tons of great shells!  

We collected everyone's left over food and built a huge lunch buffet - mexican, burgers, deli sammiches, salads, crunchies and sweets.  Plus the collected beverages - everything must GO!  Beers, juice boxes, muscle milks, V8 juice...  whatcha want?  

The kids hung together as a unit until late afternoon when people started needing to go... and there were a lot of tears:  This has been an incredible vacation for us, but for the kids more - they've had the run of this complex, playing hide and seek and tag around the lagoon, visiting eachother's condos, going to the beach (with a grown up of course), and alliances were formed, broken, and reformed over and over...   I suspect this will be one of the vacations they remember for years to come.  

When we were finally down to just the four of us, it felt unnaturally quiet.  We went out to dinner at the Island Cow for some family friendly food, but we were not long for the night - Isaac melted down first and was asleep by 7:15.  Bella was down by 8:30.  We're in bed now at 10, with the house all packed and ready to go.  We will hit the road early Sunday for breakfast, then hit our Marriott for some quality afternoon pool time.  We're all ready to come home on Monday, and are just 36 hours away from seeing our puppies, sleeping in our own beds, and hitting daily life again.  

Random Thoughts

There's a book for Japanese Language Learning that has sat by my bedstand all week, unopened.  There's a sales presentation I was planning to do as well, that I've typed about 8 words into.  I just can't get into that frame of mind on this vacation - I am truly valuing being "unplugged".

After my whiskey was consumed, I was bought a replacement - a small flask of Johnny Walker.  I did try to drink a little of it, but it just didn't take for me.  Thanks anyway!

I have not really had the shelling bug this time around, but Bella and Pamela have found some wonderful treasures.  My happy thing has been reading to the kids at night after a long day - Isaac and I finished book 15 of Droon, and started book16 tonight.  And Bella and I are loving Percy Jackson.  

There's a Doctor Who on my hard drive that's been waiting for me to watch it, but that seems more like Edina viewing - not really for Sanibel, you dig?

One more update coming on the airplane Monday!

Sanibel 2013 Part 3

At the end of the day Thursday, Pamela and I were staring at the wall, exhausted:  We had just had the whole clan over for a spaghetti dinner, and had agreed on some kid swapping - Isaac, Julian, and Trent were all lined up in Isaac's king size bed and were pretending to sleep, furtively whispering and giggling, and Bella was sharing a room with Liam.  All were on their way down to sleep, and a thunderstorm was rolling in.  We were scared the kids would wake up from the booms.  Pamela turned to me and said "i honestly don't remember what even HAPPENED today".  Well, let me help you remember.

Wednesday
The day of the Surrey Bike.  I have always classified Surrey Bikes in the same area as paddle boats - they seem like a very charming thing to do, until you get about 200 yards down the road or out from shore in one...  then one or more of the kids decide they're done with pedaling, and you're getting a fantastic, unexpected workout.

Pamela and I had looked at the prices and decided that a 2 hour block was probably right - another group was deciding whether it would make sense to rent for 24 hours...  the kind people at the rental place said "just take it out, pay for the first hour, and when you bring it back, we'll give you the best rate based on how long you keep it".  There were raised eyebrows and knowing looks amongst the workers - "these people will be back within the hour" - bets were probably taken.

That all said, it really was a charming way to travel, and when Bella did decide to help with the pedaling, it was actually not that hard.  But when it was just Pamela and I pedaling, going up a hill, it was not AS much fun.  We took the bike 2 miles up the island to the crazy ice cream place Pinocchio's - home of the atomic colored mango sorbet.  We got there early with no line, and by the time we left, the line was out the door...

The trip took closer to 90 minutes, and we were only charged for the hour.  Pamela and I were both chagrinned to discover that our motion sensors (for exercise tracking) hadn't picked up our pedaling frenzy, and our activity trackers showed as though we had sat in a deck chair for that 90 min.

There were some naps taken, a little swimming, some beach time...   and lots of kid play time.  Late afternoon, I made my power play:  IT IS TIME FOR SCHNAPPERS HOTS.  As you know from last year, this is one of my favorite places - great dogs and burgers.  High prices, but really good.  The music was straight out of the 70s.

We headed back and there was more kids-running-like-mainacs while Scott and Tiff headed out for their evening out.  We sat on the porch with rum and cokes, and then it was off to bed for the kids.

Thursday
I got up early and took a little run with a cool breeze.  Then straight to the pool for me and Isaac, and to the beach for Pamela and Bella - they've been the shelling pair.  We got dressed and headed over to our friend's condo for lunch - the Casa Ybel complex with a great restaurant.  Mark and Jenner and their kids Jonah and Olivia welcomed us, and we shared lunch by the poolside.  They made a great blackened grouper sandwich!  Bella and Isaac got sparkly temp tattoos.

Back to the complex and Isaac and I played some tennis while the gals did more shelling...  then the skies opened up - RAIN DAY!  The kids hit Cabin Fever with shocking rapidity:  I piled them into the car and we headed over to Jerry's to get some ice cream and a couple of toys for rain play.  We saw the traffic off the island as one long unbroken stream of cars, but we were able to cross to get to our treasure.  After more play, we invited everyone over for spaghetti dinner, Jen and Harman got their date night at Trader's, and you know the rest!

RANDOM THOUGHTS:
I've done my best not to do much/any work on vacation, but there was a big sale I needed to engage in...  but have pretty much stayed off of the work tip.

The kids have been doing some amazingly complex play time with small plastic animals.

It's Friday, and all the kids are tired and it's been raining all morning.  There's quite the pillow fort in our living room.

That's it for now.

Sanibel 2013 Part 2

Monday started with Isaac re-adjusting to the time zone and fast awake at 7am. I am living in dread fear that he will fully adjust to eastern time by the end of our trip and be up at 6 again, only to have that become 5am back in Minneapolis. IT WILL HAPPEN. A good breakfast and we joined the cousins for a morning walk up to the small Annex to the Ding Darling nature center: This is where we saw the baby alligator and the gopher tortoise last year, and we were optimistic for great viewings... Our new resort is just a half mile from the annex so we had a nice march before it got too warm. And we did see some good stuff, including a pretty big old gator lolling about in the water - about a 6 footer. Not as many birds as last year.

Got back home and it was time for the pool again - Isaac is part Mer-man I suspect. Bella sat out, preferring to play with the cousins. Lunch was hit or miss, with Isaac declining major food in favor of running outside again. I got a little couch nap in while we all stayed out of the sun for a while... but Bella and I went off for a walk again while Pamela took Isaac to the beach with the cousins. Bella and I wandered down to a resort just down the beach where our friends Jenner and Mark were staying, and hey, there they were at the pool bar! So Bella and I had drinks with them (Bella had lemonade, I had a beer), and we brought a margarita back for Pamela, which she accepted with a smile. By early afternoon, it was apparent that everyone was getting a little cranky and we needed some major food. So into the car and off to the Blue Giraffe.

The Blue Giraffe is a very average place (and I think I wrote the same thing about it last year too), but good kid food, plus some cute shops and a playground outside. Inside, I had a very odd deja vu: I was was drawn to the build your own burger section, and dictated an order to the waiter - burger well done, guac, BBQ, Bacon, and jalapenos. The waiter said they didn't HAVE jalapenos, and I said "really?" and then realized, I had attempted to build this very same burger one year earlier and been stymied by the same issue. What is odd is that I had NOT tried to order this strange burger combo since last year. There was something in the wording of the BYOB menu section that triggered my same response. This year at least he offered roasted poblano peppers.

Bellies full, Bella and Pamela wanted to browse the shops, and Isaac wanted to play in the kiddie playground. He played well with the other little kids, but over time, their parents were all ready to go, and he was left alone on the playground. I went in to play and he asked if I'd play TAG. Well sure I would. We raced around and around, and then it happened. In the paver sidewalk, I was running top speed and TRIPPED. I fell forward, and broke my fall with my hands, but my momentum was such that I kept tipping forward, and smacked my chin on the ground. I don't think I even landed - I pushed myself right back up to standing, but found I had cuts on my hands, a puncture in my thigh from where my keys jammed in, and a good scrape on my chin - plus a sore jaw from getting my teeth smacked together.

Isaac watched from a safe, tag-free distance and wanted to know if I was ok... as did a group of older folk nearby. At that moment, Pamela wandered up too asking "NOW what?" Bandaids and neosporin were brought out, and i was actually quite a bit shaken by the event - it's not fun to be out of control like that. But I also wanted to be strong... And was feeling just sort of old and broken. Fortunately, nothing WAS broken by a miracle, so despite not being able to shave for a day or two, and a scraped up palm, I'm doing ok. But it was a little freaky.

There was supposed to be an ice-cream sundae bar after dinner with the cousins, but their dinner ran later and later and later, and by 8:30pm, there was still no ice cream and Isaac was a bit of a wreck. We gave him a bowl of whipped cream and a promise that TOMORROW there would be ice cream. He cried a bit, but we also finished up book 14 of the Secrets of Droon, so all was ok. I came out to find my cousins and uncle sitting on our porch, dipping into my scotch: The remaining kids were playing flashlight tag in the dark, and we were talking guy stuff. My Strathisla 12 was finished up and the kids were all headed to bed by 10, so I kicked them out and went to bed. I might have had a little too much scotch.

Tuesday:
I awoke at 5, insomnia wracking my brain, worried about statements of work and deliverables and whether I was any good at my job and all sorts of other things I have no right to think about on a nice vacation. By 6:30, I was back asleep, only to be awakened again at 7 by Isaac jumping on the bed. Literally. The day had nowhere to go but up. (And in the clear light of day, no there weren't big things to worry about and I actually AM very good at my job, thank you very much)

We gassed up with coffee and breakfast and hit the beach for a shelling run bright and early - Bella found joy in following shore birds. A very nice whelk washed up at our feet, and we picked it up, only to find it occupied. So we threw it back into the sea, only to have it wash up at our feet a good 100 yards later. I dubbed it Sidney the Suicidal Whelk, and we threw it even further back out, and we didn't see him again. Bella found a good hunk of coral. And we watched several dozen pelicans in a feeding frenzy, swooping and diving for fish - it was hard not to hear "Flight of the Valkyries" watching them. As we walked back, Isaac feigned tiredness, so he got a shoulder ride from me, and a piggyback from Bella.

Then it was Isaac headed to the Pool again, and I joined him. Bella was with the cousins again, for some reasons, the cousins have consented to having Bella tie them to palm trees. Bella loves this and cackles evilly. I got a nap in the afternoon, and we all got ready for our second Ding adventure of the week: The Tram Tour of the Ding Darling Nature refuge. We had done this last year too, and had thoroughly enjoyed it. This year, we had a different guide, but just as much fun: Highlights included a whole lot of Tarpons jumping out of the water, a horseshoe crab mating frenzy (dozens of those hideous things crawling all over eachother), a black mangrove snake trying not to be seen, and TWO big crocodiles - one a bit hidden but clearly huge, and the other swimming in a lazy circle for us to watch. They were close, they were noticing us, and we were happy to be up in a large vehicle. This year, not as many tiny mangrove crabs, however. Asked the kids what they thought after the tour, and the reviews were two thumbs up from each (though Liam added "Three Thumbs Up" - not sure what that thumb represented).

When we got back, we realized that with 3 sets of parents and 7 kids, we have OPTIONS, and we were offered the first of the "Date nights" - 2-3 hours to disappear while the other people fed and watched our kids (we'll be returning the favor for the other two families, of course!). We gussied up a bit and headed off to Traders (or as Bama renamed it, "Groupers").

Dinner was fantastic - I had horseradish crusted salmon, Pamela had blackened grouper. They had a good scotch on the bar (Glenrothes) and Pamela had a nice prosecco wine - we just enjoyed each other's company without worrying whether there was a hamburger on the menu. We wandered back in time to see the kids finishing up their sundaes, and I wrangled them back to home for bed.

I read to them both - Isaac and I started book 15 of Droon (something about MoonScrolls), and Bella and I kept on with Percy Jackson. Funny thing - Bella has started reading Percy Jackson 3 times and sort of crapped out in the same point (Page 58?) each time. Tonight, we finally blew PASTE that milestone, and kept on going! It's sort of fun to read it out loud because it's written first person in the voice of a petulant 12 year old demigod. So I get to throw a lot of attitude into the reading, and Bella has a lot of giggles.

After everyone was lights out, I pulled on the shoes and wandered up to the beach - it's a moonless night, pitch black except for the stars: they keep the lights low at the beach so as not to bum out the turtles, so it's like being on the moon out there - seeing by starlight. I stood staring at the sky, and that magical thing happened where I started to see THROUGH the first layer of the brightest stars, and see hints of all the stars behind them - and I got to a very peaceful place, realizing that there's always more to see if you let yourself stop and pay attention.

That's part of why I love doing these Blogs - by the end of a day, it's fun to try to remember all of the fun things that happened in that day. Listing it all out, it's pretty amazing just how much we pack in, while still feeling like a vacation.

And we're less than half way through! More adventures to come.