Doing Spring Break Differently

I spent my 20s traveling on my own and with friends.  There was a stretch where I traveled at least once a month, usually coming to work on a Monday straight from the airport.  Then I met “Him” and he loved to travel so we got married and traveled together.  Then Duckie came along and we became a traveling trio. Shortly after she turned one, I started working for myself and as two self-employed parents with and infant/toddler/preschooler, we were free to travel whenever we wanted (and finances allowed).  With the exception our annual wedding anniversary trip, everywhere we went, Duckie went. 

Then first grade happened and we found ourselves planning vacations around the school calendar (though, I’m changing my mind about this.)  Then Hubby, left the self-employed world and joined the corporate world.   Our traveling trio schedule was completely up-ended.  So it was time to get creative. 

Duckie decided months ago that if it was spring break, it meant we would go to New Orleans.  This is what we did last year, when her break coincided with Easter.  We had an absolutely great trip.  And despite doing only two kid oriented things (The Easter parade which was as fun for adults as kids, and the children’s museum, for which she was nearly too big), Duckie loved New Orleans and has talked about it all year.   She’s the biggest foodie in the family so, I guess it makes sense.

Partying in New Orleans 2015

But I couldn’t fathom reliving that family trip without one-third of our trio.  And Hubby would not be able to take a week off of work.  In addition, going to NO meant paying for hotels and flights, both of which were high priced for spring break, and eating all meals out.  Normally, I’d be a proponent of renting an apartment, but in New Orleans, I don’t believe in cooking.  There is just too much good food out there waiting to be eaten. Anyway, try explaining all of this to a 6 year old.  It ends like this, “Yup, that’s interesting.  Still want to go to New Orleans.  I’ll go pack.”

So I had to change strategies.  I knew if we went to Florida and stayed at Villa Pompano, we could not only save money but also there was a good chance, Hubby could join us for a weekend.  But to a travel spoiled child, suggesting that you go to the Florida house which is your default vacation spot, wont’ fly.  So I set out to add something irresistible. 

Spoiled travel child’s primary complaint is that we don’t take her to Islands.  We go there on anniversary trips and leave poor her home to be spoiled by grandparents.  So I decided to plan a side trip to the Florida Keys when Hubby left us to return to NJ.  Despite having been back and forth to Key West a few times with Hubby, I bought the Top Ten guide book to see what family things one could do in the keys.  And bingo!  Swim with the dolphins.  Oh wait, that cost over $100 per person.  So I pivoted to swimming with the stingrays, $65, yes!  I made the grand announcement to Duckie and expecting the confused look on her face, I had pulled up a YouTube video to show her what exactly is a stingray.  The desired ooohs and aaaahs followed.  Score!

So I booked us a hotel in Islamorada, one of the higher keys about a 2 hour drive from Pompano Beach/Ft. Lauderdale.  Again, spring break pricing was in effect so I booked just one night at a hotel that meant my exacting standards.  Only open for a year, the Amara Cay is a boutique styled hotel with a funky lobby filled with swinging chairs leading to a full bar and indoor/outdoor restaurant.  Outside another bar serves the warm pool and private beach area with drinks and meals.  And there is even a small playground on the beach.  The rooms are bright and sunny with beds featuring only white linens (of course) and the bathrooms, while small have a large walk in shower.  The coolest feature is the hotel shuttle.  A Mercedes van that will take guests to most destinations on the island.  This alleviates having to map out every destination and stress about driving while on vacation.

After we arrived, we grabbed a quick lunch on the beach and set out for the Theater of the Seas for our swim with the sting rays.  During the two months from when I told Duckie about this plan until our arrival, she told everyone she knew and didn’t know about how she was going to swim with the sting rays. 

Now faced with nearly a dozen small and medium sized rays, she was less enthusiastic.  Fear is not in Duckies vocabulary.  Thus, when faced with something she doesn’t want to do, you can almost she hear brain working to figure out a logical suggestion for why we should not participate.  Fortunately, this program was very kid friendly.  The first step is to sit at the edge of the water and feed the sting rays.  Duckie was not too excited about that because their mouths are below their bodies and not visible.  But after I fed a few fish to a few rays and petted them, I could see her curiosity peak.  I held her hand and coached her on how to feed them.  After a few minutes she was comfortable. Then the guides asked if we were ready to snorkel.  I was pretty sure that was a no go.  But they wisely, suggested we just stand up with the masks on in the deeper water and put our faces in.  This was perfect as Duckie was able to see not only the sting rays but a wide variety of fish and even a giant lobster creeping along the bottom.  And Duckie being Duckie she is now bragging that she swam with the sting rays! 

Post Sting Ray Swim

Before leaving she watched and participated in the sea lion show.  She got to throw a ring and the sea lion caught it around his neck.  There was also a glass bottom boat ride, dolphin show and parrot show.  Plus a tour will take you around to see the sea turtles, alligators, sharks and other sea animals.  All the animals are rescues.  Many are handicapped like the turtles that have attached flotation devices to help them balance.  We didn’t have time to do everything, but I thought it was a great opportunity for Duckie to appreciate imperfection and the importance of caring for our environment.

We spent the remainder of our time eating, of course.  We had a delicious (but expensive) gourmet meal at Chef Michael’s restaurant.  The menu includes several fish which can be prepared many different ways.  I had escargot followed by hogfish stuff with crabmeat, capers and shitake, topped with key lime butter.  Yum!  Duckie had the largest kid’s menu bowl of pasta every.   She took pride in eating everything.  There is no way I could have eaten all of that pasta and walked out of the restaurant. 

Having spent enough on dinner we took the shuttle bus to an ice cream shop for dessert, just to keep the gluttony going.  Then we slept (not an easy thing to get Duckie to do when sharing a room) and woke up to follow our morning swim with more food.  Breakfast was at the Trip Advisor top rated Mangrove Mikes.  I was shocked to see gluten-free pancakes on the menu.  We were still in the South.  The pancakes were very good.  I was apparently pushing it when I noticed soy milk was on the menu and asked to have it in my cappuccino.  The waitress, gave me some scary explanation of how the milk is already mixed in, so it could not be switched to soy.  Huh?  What?  I figured it best to forgo this line of questioning.

After our yummy meal we hit the road, stopped at the sandal factory to get a new pair of flip flops for Duckie and of course made a quick stop at the Starbucks on Key Largo in route back to Pompano Beach.

All in all we had a great 24 hour girl’s vacation.  And after a week in Florida, we packed our bags, got too little sleep and are now on a flight to DC.  Irresistible Spring break part two, Obama’s House.  Stay tuned.

Gotta go, landing soon.  Let’s talk later … BMK