Max in Florida Part 1: the arrival

We're probably going to have to break this up so that a) this post isn't four pages long, b) we don't forsake raising our child for hours on end just to post something and c) you don't fall asleep reading it.

This past week and a half, the three of us have been in Orlando, FL for a wonderful vacation. Ostensibly, the trip was to get me and some friends down to Florida for the 2008 National Scrabble Championships (more on that later), but we were also looking to see some sights and expose Max to new things. We got to be tourists and have little road trips, and learned all about trying to plan days around kids of all sorts of ages who all fell asleep at different times of the day. It was a whole new experience for all of us, and it was awesome!

Let's start at the start. We were the first family to arrive in Orlando on Monday the 21st. We left home at 5 in the morning and Max's Auntie L was kind enough to drive us to the airport at that ungodly hour. The flights went smoothly and we overheard the U.S. customs agent in Toronto telling all of his coworkers about the Scrabble player who just went through security. Cool. We landed in Orlando around noon and were met with a blast of heat and humidity after getting off the plane that reminded us of our trip to Philadelphia last summer, but worse. Which for me meant better because I love the heat :) We lounged in the airport for three hours or so (wonderful airport - lots of lovely shops, restaurants and Disney character photo ops), waiting for the T-Ps (party #2) to show up. Their daughter, little Madeleine, has almost been married off to Max by now, but this was their first official trip together.

We all piled into a minivan (Holly was enough of a trooper to accept the responsibility of being the sole driver for the duration of the trip!) and zoomed off to our hotel. We were all excited/nervous to see the hotel that we had scooped on Hotwire for a measly $40 per night. It was the Hyatt Place Orlando/Universal and wow, did we ever have a great stay! Even at full price, this would have been a good place to book. The rooms were actually massive (more like suites than rooms) with a lovely kitchenette, full desk and seating area separate from the bedroom area. The seating areas were so big that we frequently had all of the adults on the trip (8 of us) hanging out in the same space. The staff was possibly the friendliest of any hotel we've ever booked (they kept giving Max cookies and waffles - with full knowledge of course that his parents would be enjoying the treats!!), the complimentary breakfasts were healthy and delish, and they were great about offering recommendations and giving directions. The only downside of the whole place was the water (both tap and pool), which tasted pretty awful. Yuck. I actually had Max in the pool once before the tournament started so I got to witness that he is, in fact, fine with being underwater as long as he's relatively warm. It was kind of neat to share water time with Max without bringing about a meltdown.

Let's rewind this a bit, though. As we were pulling up to the hotel, we got BLASTED with what turned out to be an almost daily deluge of rain, wind and (occasionally) hail. I've never seen storms like this. Conveniently, they tended to schedule themselves for the late afternoon, from 3-6, give or take. So all of our outings had to be scheduled with the storms in mind.

We wrapped up our first day in town by taking in a truly American tradition: eating like pigs at an all-you-can-eat trough. They used to have Ponderosas in Canada, but it's been a while. So we wheeled up to one on International Drive (known more by it's nickname I-Drive) and pigged out. Meat. Make-your-own tacos. The staple for our trip: mac 'n cheez. A rainbow of Jello. 750 ml small soft drinks. Ugh.

Next up: a day trip to Cocoa beach and birthday celebrations.

But first, some visual evidence of fun times in the Orlando airport:

1) Max's introduction to crayons...no, none of those visible squiggles are his.
2) Max and Daddy
3) Max and Mummy on the movator.