About a week ago, we took a short trip to Florida for our friends' wedding. Katie did SO well in the car -- what must it be like? Riding for hours at a time, backward, not able to see out the windows, not able to see Mommy and Daddy, having just a few toys . . . we could go on and on. But she really does ride well in the car. We counted up the states she has been through in her short 9 months of life -- Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, D.C., Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida! What a traveler!!! And she has spent the night in Kentucky, Illinois, New York, Maryland, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. Too bad she won't remember this stuff!!
Anyway, we stopped Thursday night in Alabama -- between Birmingham and Montgomery. Then Friday we continued down into Florida. Our condo was great! It was small, but we didn't really need a lot of space for SLEEPING the two nights we were there. It had an efficiency kitchen, and a great bathroom. Katie did a lot of crawling around on the floors there! She didn't like the travertine tile in the kitchen and bathroom, so when she crawled to those parts, she turned around and went back the other way!
Friday night we ate dinner at a place right on the water called the Crab Trap. The seafood was great, and the atmosphere was fun! We watched a storm coming in over the water -- lightning everywhere!!
Saturday, we braved the rain torrents and ate lunch in the car!! Fortunately, the rain stopped in time for the wedding!! We traveled about 10 minutes from the condo to the church -- Katie was already asleep. The wedding was beautiful, and Katie stayed asleep through nearly all of it! After the ceremony, we headed to the reception. Everything was so simple and elegant. We got to chat with some friends, old and new, and we had a great time sharing the day with the bride and groom!
That evening, we took Katie to see the Gulf of Mexico. We wanted her to have the experience of dipping her toes in the water -- she hated it!! For one thing, the water was colder than her "normal" bath water, and also, bath water doesn't rush up and get your toes -- this water did!! But we got some good pictures to show her when she gets older!!
Sunday -- Father's Day -- we gathered our things together and headed for home. We were trying to decide whether to try to make it all the way home, or to stop somewhere in Tennessee. After what seemed like an eternity in the car, we finally decided to stop. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Cracker Barrel, and then headed back to the hotel to collapse into bed, exhausted. (Isn't it something how much energy is sapped from your body just from traveling?)
Monday, our goal was to make it back to Louisville in time for Katie's Dr's appointment for her 9 month checkup. We drove into town and straight to the pediatrician's office! Just in time!!
All in all, it was a great trip -- quick, but a nice getaway! Just what we needed to recharge our batteries! Now, we're back into the daily routine, waiting until next month for our next quick getaway -- which will, fortunately, be just a LITTLE bit longer!
