Southern Tour, Days 1 and 2

vacation:

1va·ca·tion
Pronunciation: \vā-ˈkā-shən, və-\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French vacacion, from Latin vacation-, vacatio freedom, exemption, from vacare
Date: 14th century
1: a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission

2 a: a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b: a period of exemption from work granted to an employee

3: a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation

4: an act or an instance of vacating

Let me tell you, in case you were unaware, there's very little about travel with three children under the age of 5 that could be considered "a respite or time of respite from something"!

We decided to leave a day early on Saturday and went to Savannah, GA. Chris and I had never been there, and both have wanted to. The boys did really well on the drive. Hallelujah for the DVD player! Jack is getting two teeth, which I discovered on the drive. He was a bit cranky, but was for the most part great. We got to Savannah and checked into the Savannah Marriott Riverfront. As you may gather from the name, it's right on the river. The boys LOVED seeing the huge ships going right by our hotel. Shortly after checking in, we ate dinner at The Pirates' House. It was cute, has a great history, and the food was OK. Not the best we've had, but far from the worst. The boys were exhausted by that point, so it was a pretty quick dinner. After dinner, we quickly changed our clothes and I brought the boys swimming in the hotel pool. David said several times, "I just love an indoor swimming pool!" David did a great job swimming immediately, and Henry took a couple of minutes to remember he knew how. Jack, as always, loved to splash, splash, splash. Chris took that opportunity to nap in the chair as I wrangled all three slippery children in the pool. Not really what I had in mind when I asked him to "help me bring the boys swimming"! Going to bed was interesting, as we were all sleeping in a room the size of our living room. We started with Jack in the crib, David and Henry in one bed, and Chris and I in the other. It was quickly apparent that wasn't going to work! I had to rock Jack to sleep in the desk chair while David and Henry played Quiet Mouse. That meant I had approximately 43 seconds to get Jack to sleep, and thankfully he cooperated! Then David slept with Chris and I slept with Henry. Surprisingly, we all slept until almost 7. That NEVER happens with our family!

Yesterday morning we all got dressed and checked out of our hotel, then went on a trolley tour of Savannah. The boys were thrilled to ride on the trolley, and Chris and I enjoyed the history of Savannah. What should then have been a quick ride to Orlando was slowed significantly by a two hour traffic backup. Yes, two. Hours. That's like 10 hours with three small children. David was unbelievably whiny, upset about everything, and almost got thrown out to hitchhike to Orlando. Henry was amazing - never complaining, crying, whining, or anything. He was perfect. Jack was very close to perfect. Two out of three is pretty good! We got to our resort, and the mood in the car quickly changed. It's amazing. David asked if we're going to live here forever. (Henry wouldn't like that, since he keeps saying, "I just want to go home to be with Gigi." WTH?) David was exhausted and, after exploring our condo, quickly changed back to his sour self. Henry and I ran to get some dinner and an ice cream for him, because he was such a good boy. Getting everyone to bed was a bit of a chore, but I was SO glad that David and Henry are not sleeping in the same room as us!!!

Today we're going to check out the rest of our resort and head to Downtown Disney. We have no plans for the week and are just going to play things by ear. The boys are already up and playing Pictureka (Thanks Briana for recommending that!) in their room.

Have a great day!