I'd been preparing for about a week to go to Miami. I stocked up on snacks and books and had Grant packed up at least 1 week before wheels up. I had borrowed the last 2 Hunger Games books from Shauna, figuring I'd have plenty of time to read with the plane ride and beach time.
Wednesday night we were finishing up our packing for the trip. And then our first travel mis-hap came to light. We needed Grant's birth certificate for the day cruise to the Bahamas that we had planned for Friday. It is ALL OVER the website that you need the government-issued birth certificate, but all we could find is the document from the hospital. I then remembered, in the haze of birth, feeding a newborn, and the wonderful drugs that follow, something about how we were supposed to send off for his birth certificate. We searched high and low for hours and hours, but to no avail. We packed the documents we had and crashed LATE on Wednesday.
Thursday we got up early, Susie picked us up at 6:15, and we were off to the airport. The trip to Miami went well. Of course, there was no time for me to read. Grant fought a nap a little bit, but Daddy got him to sleep. This was a common theme for the trip. Grant fell asleep on Derek ALOT!
Once we arrived, Steve, Gloria and Matthew picked us up in our pimp ride - the minivan!! We had a quick stop to get a carseat, then drove around South Beach a little to find a CVS (for diapers, sunscreen, and other goodies) that actually had parking. Once we were stocked up, we were all hungry. We headed to Lario's (Gloria Estefan's restaurant). Review: Meh. Plantains = delicious. Everything else = meh. We checked into the hotel, changed for the beach and decided to head down to Key Biscayne.
By the time we got down to Key Biscayne, so had the clouds. A storm rolled in and thanks to our iPhones, we knew it would linger. We decided to try and find some indoor fun, so we went to Dave & Busters. After battling Miami rush hour traffic (and a disagreement with said iPhone), we arrived. Grant loved being able to run everywhere. And he loved driving cars with his cousin!
Friday we were up and at 'em VERY early. We had to be in Fort Lauderdale at 6 am for the cruise. Unfortunately, the birth certificate was NOT negotiable, and we weren't able to board. Our family loaded up in the minivan, and the Motos went on board, ate breakfast, and toured the ship. We headed back to the hotel, ate breakfast, and were headed up to the room to change into beach gear when Gloria called. They had gotten off the ship. So instead of changing, we went to pick them up. We were thrilled to spend the day with them!
Most of the day was spent at the beach by the hotel. Grant didn't exactly LOVE the ocean or the beach. He was fine playing for a bit in the mud from the tide. Next we tried the ocean, which he seemed ok with for about 10 minutes. When he threw a fit, I took to the chairs and umbrella to feed him a snack. We hung out for a while, then Derek came in from the water so I could play. After about 10 minutes, I looked over, gave Derek a thumbs up to ask if he was ok, and the response was several emphatic thumbs DOWN. Derek signaled that we needed to go upstairs, so I headed back to the beach. By the time I arrived, Grant was knocked out, asleep on his Dada. (photo above). My heart melted, I took photos, then returned to the ocean!
Grant's sleep was brief - too brief. And once he woke, he was very upset. We figured it was time to eat lunch. Back to the hotel. And the shower to rinse the sand off, followed by a pool dip to get the remnants. Then Grant and I went upstairs while Daddy got us food. Grant and I both took baths, then Daddy had our food ready. Derek went back downstairs to enjoy the beach some more (we had the chairs rented all day and the Motos were still having fun down there). Grant and I played in the air-conditioned hotel room for a good bit before he went down for a GOOD nap. Alas, I had time to read!
The bartender told Derek and Steve about the shops at Lincoln, which had several great places to eat. We ate that evening at Nexxt. Review: meh. Good for people watching, decent food, but the service was terrible.
For the first time during all of vacation, we were able to sleep in (until about 8:30 at least). We had breakfast, then decided to try the beach at Key Biscayne again. We also got a raft for Grant and the Motos got goggles to look at fish. It is supposed to be one of the top 10 beaches in the U.S. The light house was certainly beautiful.
However, the waves were weak. There were so FEW! (Derek later read that the beach is known for its calm waters) We tried Grant in the float, but he kept leaning forward to splash/drink the water. He didn't like that. In fact, he got salt water in his eye. He HATED that!
We headed back to the chairs for a snack to cheer him up, and the Motos went over to the rocks to watch fish (since there were no waves to play in). After a little while of playing on the chairs, I tried to let Grant play in the sand. He at last found his happiness on the beach. He loved playing in the sand and (trying) to walk in the sand.
We knew our trip would be brief. Grant had proven that the day before. About the time I thought he'd had enough, the Motos returned. We decided to pack up about 10 minutes after that, which may have been 10 minutes too late. Grant passed out cold while Derek was holding him on the beach (with all of our gear in hand too). I knew he would sleep better if he wasn't covered in sand, so my sleepy boy had to wake up with the cold shower. I didn't have dry clothes for him, so I stripped him down, rinsed him off and changed his diaper, then we loaded up in the minivan.
Steve drove around a long time so that Grant got a great nap. We snacked at the hotel, cleaned up, then headed to Villagio for dinner. Our friend's father owns the restaurant, and Steve wanted to reconnect with an old friend while we were in Miami. The restaurant was white tablecloth, white napkins, so I was a little worried about my baby's behavior, but he did pretty good! Review: Really good! Plus the wait staff was great to Grant, which I loved. The bread/brushetta was GREAT, and that is one thing I can't get enough of this pregnancy.
Once Grant and Matthew were done eating, Derek took them outside to play and Steve and Gloria and I chatted with Jaime and Keith. There was a large purple snail outside, which is funny because Matthew was on a snail hunt (again).
After dinner and dessert, we cruised Ocean Avenue one last time, looking at all the cool cars, then called it a night.
Sunday we got up and took the Motos to the airport. Grant got to move up to the middle row of the minivan, which certainly saved me some work! We started the day at the pool, walked the boardwalk, then made sure Grant got a good nap. We tried to find a fireworks show, but the only one we found was 30 miles away. We went to lunch at La Moon, a Columbian restaurant featured on Man v. Food for its hot dogs. We stood out in the restaurant - we were white, speaking English, dressed alike, wearing American flag t-shirts. Review: GREAT! Plus it was the only place that didn't grat us automatically!
After lunch, we went to the beach, where we cut a deal since we wouldn't need the chairs all day. We put Grant in the sand and didn't bother to try the salty ocean water. He loved it!
We showered, packed, and went back to the Lincoln area for dinner. We found a restaurant called "Quatro" and thought it was meant to be, since that's the nickname my parents have given Grant (being the fourth grandchild). He did well at the restaurant and our table was GREAT for people/dog watching. Review: Very good! The service was slow, but not unusually slow considering the quality of the restaurant. They charged a small fortune to make penne pasta & marinara for Grant, though. The soup was gooood!
Monday we woke up early and headed to the airport. We were one of the first to board (this turned out to be a good idea because the plane was not retrofitted and LOTS of luggage had to be gate checked, but not ours)! We pulled out from the gate and sat for a while. The pilot came on, told us that 1 of our 2 ACs was out. This wasn't a major mechanical challenge - we could fly with just 1, but it required us to fly lower, and thus we needed more fuel. So back to the gate we went. The 3 hour flight turned into a 4 hour flight. Conclusion: A 13 month old does fine on a 3 hour flight, but is not cut out for a 4 hour flight.
Nonetheless, our flight crew was GREAT with him. When we were at the gate refueling and filing papers, the stewardess offered to walk him up and down the aisle (we did not accept her offer, knowing he was fighting a nap, and very soon thereafter Grant was asleep in Derek's arms). Once in the air, she gave him a sticker to play with. Then in the last 45 minutes of the flight, she made Grant a rattle out of 2 cups and pieces of ice (taped together at the lids of the cups). Grant really should have napped again, but the rattle piqued his interest enough.
We came home, ate, unpacked and unwound a bit. Then I headed into work and down to Waco. I was scheduled to foreclose property in Waco on July 5th, and I took the opportunity to stay with and catch up with my cousin Jenna.
I woke up and was getting ready when I received an email. I had a restraining order against me prohibiting the foreclosure sale. I think the BEST part of that morning was waking up and realizing that I only had to get myself ready for the day. I was back in Dallas by 10:30 a.m.
TADA! That was our second family vacation (the first being St. Louis when Grant was 3 months old). After that, life was back to normal.
