This spring, we were lucky enough to get 2 vacations within 2 weeks of each other. I will actually call the second one a trip, because, contrary to popular belief, traveling with children halfway across the country without your spouse or their other parent is not technically a vacation. It is a fun trip at best, a torture sentence at worst. It’s definitely not a relaxing, put-your-feet-up vacation, though. Those of you who have traveled solo with your kids, let alone flown with them, know exactly what I’m talking about.
Our first trip was truly a vacation. The 5 of us went down to Key West over Della’s spring break from school with my sister and her family and my mom and stepdad. I had never been there and had always wanted to go, so I was really excited to get a chance to visit the southernmost point in the US. I was beyond thankful, too, because, due to the fact that I’m currently doing some work for my sister and the company she and my brother-in-law work for, our entire family essentially got a company-sponsored vacation. Otherwise, we probably definitely would have been enjoying a Rau family stay-cation for spring break this year.
My excitement, however, soon turned to dismay, when Lana and Morrison caught a bug from their cousins and started vomiting. Unstoppably. As such, I was stuck in our rented house for almost the entirety of the trip, since barfing kids not only feel terrible and need extra care but are generally unable to do the fun things that come with tropical vacations, like boat trips to see dolphins and manatees, exploring the island, and going anywhere other than our house. Thankfully it had a private pool in the backyard, which I was able to enjoy most days while the sick ones napped.
I did get to have a little fun before the sickness ensued, fortunately. My sister rented bikes for everyone the first day we were there, so Ryan took us all on a big bike tour of our part of the island on the second day of our trip. That was cool – we saw the southernmost point landmark (even though the line was ridiculously long and we couldn’t stop to take a pic there), we did get a picture at the start of Highway 1, we biked through some of the cool little Key West neighborhoods, we rode by Hemingway’s house (unfortunately i never got a chance to go back for a tour, which i really wanted to do), and we got the general vibe of the island. We also watched the sunset in Mallory Square one night and saw the elusive green flash; that made me really happy, because I’ve always wanted to see one.
Some of us also went to the beach one morning, which was nice. The beaches there are very rocky, though, not sandy, so it made walking on it rather unpleasant. I swam out a ways to a small coral outcropping that was a popular snorkeling spot, and as far out as you could touch the bottom it was rocky. So weird; I’ve never experienced a beach like that. We found a bunch of cool shells, though, which the kids loved, and we brought back enough to fill a mason jar that’s currently decorating their bedroom.
I got to go on a sailboat ride with my sister, brother-in-law, and some of their coworkers on what was supposed to be our last afternoon there. Fortunately, I talked Ryan into staying 1 extra day so I could try to get some relief from all the vomit and have a relaxing day to myself. It kind of happened – the little ones were still barfing, but it would have been a nightmare with them on a plane that day instead of at the house, plus I did get to enjoy the afternoon sun by the pool with drinks brought to me by Ryan from some of the bars on Duval Street that I never got to see in person due to my pseudo-quarantine status most days. I need to remember, however, that boats and I don’t mix very well anymore. Any time anyone asks if I want to go on a booze cruise I jump at the chance, forgetting that I get instantly nauseous as soon as we leave the harbor. Ah well. I got to help hoist the sails and did feel good after I laid down with my eyes closed for a bit and just enjoyed the lull of the ocean, so it all ended well.
I have to say, my favorite part of our trip was the almost-daily trips to the Cuban coffee shop. That stuff was delicious!! I lamented the fact that I barely got to see or do anything else due to the kids being sick, but that’s ok. Hopefully I’ll be back. And Ryan checked off everything on his list (of course!), which was good because he hadn’t had a true vacation in about 3 years.
Then, 2 weeks after we got home from Key West, I took the kids out to Tucson over the long Easter weekend to visit my grandparents. We had a layover in Denver, and thankfully my sister booked all our flights so that I met up with them to fly the second leg from there into Tucson together. I’m not sure 4 planes by myself with the 3 Goonies would have been quite as enjoyable as having company/help for half of them.
It was a great visit, even though I was parenting solo. The weather was beautiful, we took the kids to a new-to-us pool that was pretty perfect for them, we spent some time at the house of a wonderful family friend who I’ve literally known my entire life, we got to spend important time with my grandparents, and we overlapped with other family who we don’t see that often.
It’s always nice to get out of Dodge every once in a while, especially when Wisconsin winters can seem endless. So these were some fun, sun-filled days.
