Well, after consulting with the school district, the decision was made to proceed and make the best of it. And we all had quarantine letters waiting for us from the county when we got back home. In the days we were gone, the schools had decided not to re-open and my work had sent people home with their laptops and told not to come back on site until further notice. My family has not dined in a restaurant since the last place we dined on that Disney trip. None of us have left the state, and actually, only Rob and Jake have traveled more than one county outside from ours. I didn't really think we were doing too bad from a mental health perspective, but today, I started making reservations for Nicole and I to take a "last hurrah" road trip before she moves into the dorm, and I was NOT prepared for the amount it lifted my spirits!
Due to a massive project at work that's going live on July 1, there is a vacation moratorium for all involved from May through August. This was not OK with me because my daughter was leaving home and I was not going to tell her we couldn't have one last vacation before she left because of work. So I managed to negotiate a two week vacation for the last two weeks before Nicole left. We have been pondering a road trip, with one of the primary destinations being the whole Magnolia complex in Waco, TX. But due to a recent discovery that we had vacation club points expiring on 8/1, we just decided today to make the first stop on our trip a couple of days in Disney World. And because I don't particularly want to spend our first day+ driving to Orlando, it looks like we'll fly there and rent a car one-way for the rest of the trip.
So.... first thing - I'm super excited to have travel plans again. I mean like, I thought I wasn't super bothered by all of this time at home, but man oh man - looking at car rental options and flight schedules just made me giddy. Next I have a question though - we've got about 5 days to spend trekking from Orlando to Waco, TX. I figure we'll mostly run not far north of the coast between Talahassee and Houston, but once we leave Florida, I'll be visiting every state from there all the way back to Missouri for the first time in our lives. If anyone has any favorite spots along the Gulf Coast that we should check out, I'm all ears. I figure we'll find some nice beaches and spend a few hours checking out some beach towns. New Orleans is on the list, but I'm not sure what else we should try to hit along the way. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has traveled through those areas.
Sorry for the super long post - but I'm just so excited!!!!
Besides, I kind of figure that where Disney is concerned, I may be perfectly happy hanging out in the shade with a book and a cold beverage while the girls go do their thing. At 17 and 18, they can totally navigate the parks on their own and I can just as easily spend the day poolside, or browsing the resort shops.
Eye candy makes everything better. 