Through the VNA Care Network, where he works, Gary was able to get a week at their condo in Florida for free through a lottery. We crossed our fingers and entered the lottery in the fall of '00 and waited - and sure enough, got our first choice week to spend Rowan's 4th birthday in Florida! We decided to spend ten days - 7 at the condo in Kissimmee (right next to Orlando), then spend 3 days on Daytona Beach. We've had a few day trips, and travelled to be with friends or family, but this was the first time the three of us had gone on a trip by ourselves - and we had a GREAT time!The fall of 2001 was an odd time to fly, that's for sure. There was a great deal of airport security, and we had to be careful how we packed everything (and Heather forgot she had a pair of folding sewing scissors in her carry-on bag and lost them at the first check-point, after a lengthy search of the bag, with Heather insisting she didn't have scissors! Eek! Fortunately, she remembered before they found them and wasn't arrested or anything :)). We booked our flights in the spring, making sure to choose a direct flight, even paying extra for it. Well, come October, we got a call that our flights were changing - both now included connections. *sigh* And we could have gotten our tickets at that point for about half of what we spent. Double *sigh*. Oh well, we went ahead, and it wasn't too bad! It actually worked out pretty well, since we could take turns having one of us in charge of watching/entertaining Rowan and the other having some free time (and we managed to convince the people next to us to switch seats each time so we could be together). All in all, pretty painless.
When we got to the airport, and retrieved all our luggage, we headed off to pick up our rental car. After a little discussion, because the credit card was in Heather's name, but the rental (and license) in Gary's, we managed to get them to waive the rule against this. A little too much stress for those minutes before they told us they agreed! Finally, we had the keys, the rental agreement, found the car, packed everything in, and headed off to the condo. There's a long story there, and I think everyone knows all family trips have to involve at least one major fight where someone's in tears and wanting to be home - let's just say, we got that out of the way the first night, and about 2 hours after first driving by it, found the condo. ;)
It was wonderful! Oh, to live there all the time (without it being in Florida in the summer)! By the time we got in, it was around 9pm, and we'd been up for a loooooong time. Rowan crashed, Gary and Heather brought everything in, and then they crashed! Our first day we spent at the pool, shopping for groceries, and taking in the area. Rowan definitely loved the pool, and one of our favorite photos of the trip is this one:
Rowan after a swimWe spent lots of time in the pool, played miniature golf, ate out a few times, played board games, read, colored, and generally just enjoyed spending time with each other (something we don't get to do a lot lately).
Of course, the highlight of the trip, and not just for Rowan, was visiting Disney World on her birthday. We figured the Magic Kingdom would be perfect for her, and we had a great day there. There were so many Disney pictures and memories, we set up a special Disney Page.
After our week passed much too quickly at the condo, it came time to pack to head out to the beach. As we were finishing up, Gary was walking across the ceramic tiled kitchen, and Rowan tried to run passed him, tripping and falling face first. At first, we just thought she was upset or had bumped her lip when she started crying - but it got more intense and we started to think something might be up. Turns out, she'd hit the floor with her mouth and knocked one of her front teeth back. We were sure it was going to come out, and frantically were calling the local emergency dental clinics and Rowan's dentist at home. Both agreed that since it was a baby tooth, there was nothing they'd do even if it did come out, and to just give her some Tylenol and stick to soft foods. It didn't fall out, but it was knocked back in her mouth some, so where it used to be even with the other front tooth, now it's slightly behind it.
Once that trauma was settled, we headed out. We stopped in to visit one of the other November '97 moms and her son for his 4th birthday party (you can't go somewhere a November mom lives and not visit!). Rowan managed to eat birthday cake even with the tooth issues. ;)
Then we finished the trek to Daytona Beach. We got there around sunset, and decided to take a walk on the beach before it got too dark. Not wearing a bathing suit didn't deter Rowan from running in to check the ocean!
Okay...so it didn't deter Heather either... ~
Our hotel was right on the beach, and we had a lovely balcony with a great view of the ocean - and the air show that was that weekend! We had no idea it would be there, but there were all these planes flying in formations, really close to the hotel at times. It was QUITE loud:
We also visited Marineland while we were nearby.
We had considered visiting Sea World while we were in Kissimmee, but decided it wasn't really worth it, and we were enjoying the relaxing pace as it was. Marineland isn't quite a small Sea World, but it did feature, surprise, marine life. ;) They do dolphin training there (it's the first facility where dolphins were trained when someone said "hey, having animals with flippers jump through hoops would really draw the crowds"), so we got to see a dolphin show. There were penguins (yes, some live in warm climates!), and a great huge aquarium tank which you could view from above or underground through windows. It had an amazing array of sea life, including some HUGE turtles (about the size of the adult woman in scuba gear bringing food down), small sharks, and lots of generally neat fish. 
Of course, the best part of this portion of the trip for Rowan was... the beach! She loved playing in the sand, and walking around in the kiddie pool (she liked that we didn't make her wear her floatie in that, and she could go in alone - even if we did sit there ready to jump if she had a problem!).
Okay, there might have been a tie with the beach... we also toured a candy factory, where they gave out free samples (and we made a relatively small purchase... small compared to what we WANTED to buy! ;)). Heather and Gary loved this part, as well. And, finally, we had to pass this every time we went to or left our hotel for the mainland, and Heather finally made Gary stop to get some pictures: 
There was a large field for cars to drive in! We got quite the kick out of it.
Then it was time to pack up, again, and head home. Ten days sure did fly by, but we were especially glad we'd made the plans to stay that extra 3 days on the beach. We had the most beautiful weather the whole time we were there, until we left - when it started to pour. And from what we heard, it then rained for the next week straight! How lucky can you get? :)
Our only regret was that we know we won't be back for a long, long time. *sniffle*
The Wellers' guest book!
Read it! | Write it!
Return to the Weller Family homepage Copyright 1998-2002 Heather Weller
Visitors since January 5, 2001
