Max in Florida Part 2: the beach

I neglected to mention in yesterday's post that in the Orlando airport, there is a Hyatt hotel. In the courtyard (in the airport) outside the hotel, there was a fountain that changed height and flow intensity over time...Max loved this fountain. I'd have taken a video, but it would have just been of Max staring for a long time. I think that, had he not been bounded by his stroller, he'd have crawled right into the fountain. Then, realizing that the fountain was made of cold water, he would have cried a lot. Probably best for everyone that he didn't hit the fountain.

So after everyone who was supposed to arrive on the Monday finally got into town on Tuesday afternoon, we went for a late lunch at a lovely little Thai restaurant in a strip mall near the airport. The place was quite plain from the outside and in a weird location but the food was wonderful (big thanks to Lucky D for treating us to lunch!). Then we hit one of Holly's favourite places from her trip to Boston last Easter, Coldstone Creamery, for some heavenly ice cream concoctions. Holly was in heaven with her cake batter ice cream. After our bellies were fuller than full, we hit the local chain superstore (the biggest of its kind any of us had ever seen with a full grocery store inside) to buy some cheap drinks and snacks for our rooms. The original plan was to do this in order to avoid eating at expensive Disneyfied restaurants. Little did we know that said Disneyfied chains were dirt cheap. Typically, a C/10 note (i.e. $10) covered a meal for one. Or at Ponderosa, a meal for a small famine-ravaged nation. In any case, we stocked up on snacks and foodstuffs and enjoyed a nice laid-back Tuesday at the hotel. (evidence of laid-backness below).




On Wednesday, we decided to take a road trip off to Cocoa Beach, on the Atlantic coast of Florida, just south of Cape Canaveral. The drive out was pretty low-key, aside from the Marco/Polo type calls/responses that came when the 528 turned into the A1A (Beachfront Avenue!!). We pulled off at the first pubic access point (Sheppard Park, I believe) and set up camp. We rented an umbrella and some chairs to get our comfort on and spread out four towels on the sand for the two babies, Max and Maddy. It was a gorgeous day, but the sand was nuclear-hot.

Eventually, the two dads took the two babies out to see the ocean up close. As soon as I put my foot in the water I thought, simultaneously, "Wow, this water feels nice and warm to me", and "Wow, this water is totally not warm enough for Max - expect tears". The sound of the surf weakened the knees of the babies and a little dip sent Max over the edge. The water was so nice (until the jellyfish washed in later in the day:) that I had to stay out there though - go ahead and cling, little boy, I ain't moving!




We spent most of the day out there, getting some sun, nibbling on snacks and feeding the babies - what a great way to spend my birthday! Somehow, both babies got tired at the same time and decided to take a cat nap on the beach. They were out for about an hour! I didn't think it would be possible for them to pass out in that kind of heat, but it was starting to take its toll on the parents too...

(Holly adds: I am hereby nominated for Bad Wife of the Year Award. You know how when you go on vacation, you sometimes lose track of the days and have no idea what actual day it is? Well, I completely forgot that it was a) Wednesday, b) July 23rd or c) my lovely husband's birthday, until someone said something about his birthday at 1:30 PM when we were sitting on the beach. Seriously. Not a word to him until this point. I groveled for the rest of the day and I think he may forgive me sometime this decade.)

For lunch (which ended up counting, calorie-wise, for our next three meals), we went to Sonny's Real-Pit BBQ for a cookout like no other. Ribs. Pulled pork. Mac 'n cheez (told you it was a staple). Green beans with ham (really). Last, but certainly not least, the to-go-cup. Restaurants around there seemed to all offer the to-go cup: a 1L (or more?) carry-away cup of whatever pop or drink you were having with your meal. For free. All of us were hobbling out of the restaurant and so didn't get one...except Holly. Way to go, Mom! That 1.5L of Hi-C pink lemonade likely kept you going on empty calories until the 27th. It should also be mentioned that the staff sang to me over the PA system and gave me a fruit cobbler on the house. I could have died after a spoonful.





(Holly adds: In my defense, I had absolutely NO IDEA how big the free to-go cup was going to be and I thought it might be nice to have some cold lemonade for the ride home. I didn't finish my to-go cup until 10:00 PM that night. Yikes. I can also report that the birthday boy finished two massive cups of Pibb Extra {some sort of Dr. Pepper-like stuff with extra caffeine} before we left the restaurant.)

On the way home from the beach, one of the daily monsoons hit and piles of cars (no, not pile-ups) were pulled over on the shoulder. Eventually, with the wipers on full and everyone driving with their hazards on, we lost all visibility and Holly was forced to pull over too. It took about 20 minutes or so for the rain to pass and then everyone just got back on the road to get to wherever they were going. Thanks to Mother Nature for the white-knuckle driving!!

(Holly adds: It is entirely possible that the stress of the monsoon drive took at least one year off of my life. Seriously. It was a tad bit stressful to be driving in those conditions with a van full of friends and two babies. But we survived.)

Our day ended with more BBQ digestion and a little bit of play time at the hotel. While we were super excited that the hotel was essentially baby-proofed and we could let Max roam to his heart's content, now that we're home, we're realizing what kind of trouble he can get into with all of the slobby mess here at home. Today, we're totally getting on the babyproofing before he destroys another pile of paper... Here's Max getting me cornered between the wall and the bed:



Next up: Sea World.