Brennan's pre-school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District, so he's on the same calendar as other students. Which means he gets a spring break, because it's important to get some relief from a grueling program of Free Play, Outside Time, Snack, Circle Time, Stories, Lunch, Nap, Art, More Outside Time, Snack, and More Free Play. When I told people I was flying two pre-schoolers non-stop SFO to Florida for spring break, they often asked how we'd get through the flight:
Why, gratuitous amonts of American Academy of Pediatrics' disapproved screen time, of course. Also snacks. Lots of snacks.
Even so, conditions eventually degenerated:
Although compared to last year's trip, when Lucie cried for roughly 45 minutes non-stop, this one was a breeze. I may have celebrated with an in-flight glass of peculiar but not unpleasant chardonnay.
The train tracks arrived in Everglades City the day after we did, much to everyone's relief. Thank you, Amazon Prime. Since our suitcase weighed in at 49.5 lbs, I figure the cost of a vacation track set is likely less than round trip overweight baggage fees.
Thankfully, Lucie is content to play with the available toys at the cottage, so I didn't have to ship a substitute set of something for her, too.
We braved one dinner out, at the Havana Cafe in Chokoloskee. There's lots of outdoor seating, and I managed to convince the kids that calamari was "special chicken". We did accidentally leave Woobie behind, but luckily he followed the rules for being lost and stayed put at the table, so he was quickly retrieved after a mildly panicky drive back.
Woobie decided that it was safer to wait in the car next time.
We took a lunch cruise on the new sailboat -
Lucie seemed to find it very soothing.
Brennan was excited to eat lunch in the cabin. Which when you think about it, probably seems like a little playhouse. I'm relieved to see my motion sickness seems to be skipping a generation. Even now, there's no way I could sit below deck and eat.
Lucie liked the cabin, too. Is it wrong that this picture reminds me of the "Here's Johnny!" scene in The Shining?
Of course, the best part is helping Grandpa Marshall steer, and getting him to answer eleventy-billion questions about what every single thing on the boat does.
We had a dinner party for family currently in Florida - Great-Grandma Doris & Bill came over from Naples, and my Aunt Cathy & Uncle Evan made the trip from Port St. Lucie - unfortunately, there are no photos, because the arrival of guests means Ceaseless Show-offery - complete with toy-flinging! and unintelligible stories! and dramatic raspberry blowing! - must commence. Before hand, Lucie did help set the table:
She also made sure the appetizers were up to snuff - I like to call this one "No, Gangi, I would not eat all the chips before our guests arrive."
