Florida Trip, Days 6-9

Last installment. 

Day 6! 

New years day saw everyone looking a little worse for wear. I was fine, hahaha, but the kids were tired and Papa was struggling a bit, lol. So we took some time in the morning to just relax and recharge. The boys hung out and Molly got to decorate a gingerbread house with Paul's mom and sister. 

I had been wanting to get some solo time with Sam, so while the kids were being watched back at the house, he and I took off for a few hours to ourselves. We wanted to go back to Turkey Creek and do that hike again, just the two of us, but it was closed for New Years. So instead we headed down to a little beachside park not far out of town. It was a really nice spot for us to just sit and spend some time together chatting. 

Later in the afternoon, Paul invited us to take another family boat ride. I am so glad we did, we had a blast! We putzed around for a long while, touring a lot of the other bayous. It was fun for us all to talk about which house we would want and why. It was so nice to be able to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the views. Heading back to the house was the most fun. Anthony got to play captain and we really took off then! Molly, Timothy, and I were in the back of the boat and we were getting so wet from the spray off the water, hahaha. Timothy was hiding under the towel next to me, it was so funny. I'm glad we had that towel! Definitely a fun way to end our last full day at Paul's place. 

Day 7! 

Our last morning in the house was mellow. After we were all ready, Paul drove us to the Pensecola airport so we could pick up a rental car (you will see why further down). Then we checked into the hotel we were going to stay in that night. After getting checked in, we went out to lunch with Paul to say our goodbyes. 

The rest of the day was spent at the hotel. The kids really wanted to swim, so that's what we did! They had outside pools, but the weather took a sudden chilly turn, so despite the water being slightly heated, it still wasn't warm enough to swim outside. So we spent a fair amount of time in the hot tub! The hotel was so beautiful. I felt like we were being pampered. The hotel also had an indoor pool, so after the hot tub, we did get to swim for a while before heading back up to our room for some hang time and dinner. 

 

Day 8! 

We were suppose to go home. I wanted more than anything to get on that plane and get home.  However, fate had other plans for us. If we had gotten on our flight out of Pensecola, which had been pushed back by 30 minutes, we would have missed our connecting flight in TX.....and they don't hold planes!  We were unable to get a later flight out of TX, we checked, so we would have been stuck there over night and who really knows for how long if we had just gone for it. We could have gotten another flight out of Pensecola, but not for a few days. We really couldn't afford to hotel it for a few more days. Our only option was to pack up and drive the couple hours to New Orleans, get a hotel there for the night, and fly out of New Orleans the following day on a flight we were able to secure with a new connecting flight out of TX. 

Uggghhhhhhhh. I was so upset. I was starting to not feel good. I deeply missed my dog. I was ready to be home.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry. But, what can you do. 

So instead of hopping on a plane and flying home, we hopped in the rental car and drove the couple hours to New Orleans. It wasn't a bad drive, I just wasn't feeling well, and I was sad. But everything went smoothly and Sam and the kids enjoyed driving through all the different states to get there. We made it to our hotel in one piece in the late afternoon. We decided to eat dinner out, and then spent the remainder of the evening snuggled in bed watching The Office. 

 

Day 9! 

Thankfully there were no hiccups in our travels home. Flights were on time. Roads were open. All was well. It felt like it took forever to travel home, but we made it. We wound up missing the worst of the snowy and icy roads due to our flight change, which wound up being a blessing in disquise. I didn't enjoy the flight home. I was barely hanging on. I just did not feel well. Leave it to me to take all the proper precautions, but still get sick while traveling. 

Finally walking through my front door to my pup was pure heaven though. There is no place like home. 

Despite things getting a little hairy there at the end of our trip in regards to getting home, we are feeling incredibly grateful to Paul for his generosity in helping us with the flight out to see him. We had an amazing time and I'm so thankful the kids will have these memories to look back on. We sure do have some special people in our lives. 

With love,

Mama Hauck