Vacation, all I ever wanted!

We are on vacation and loving every minute of it.  The picture above is our private pool and lanai at the house we are renting.  I adore it here.  I swear I lived somewhere down south or in the islands in a past life.  It feels like home. The architecture of the buildings we pass resonate with me--as opposed to K or my kids who remark on the "flatness" of the landscapes compared to our northern vistas.

Our flight went well, if one discounts KC's anxiety attack about flying.  (lots of "I just can't do this," and I finally had to sing him his bedtime song and he fell asleep for 1/2 the flight.  And one must discount Chet's delayed motion sickness response to the flight and the drive.  When we got out at a park for the kids to play he announced he was shutting down now.  Say what?  I soon learned this meant he felt sick to his swtomach and like passing out.  Neurotypical people would have noticed the symptoms before we were in crisis mode bu that is travel with Chet.  We got permission to enter our house a few hours early and got him cooled down and resting.  Thankfully, he was fine the next day.

Magic Kingdom likes up to its magical lype. I was as enchanted as my kids.  I am immature I guess but I loved every second there.  The next day we went to Silver Springs and rode glass bottomed boats.  You could see soooooo far down into the springs and the aquatic life was unbelievable.  There were other cool things to do there too but that boat ride was the most memorable.

Today we went to Animal Kingdom. The safari was so incredibly cool and we saw tons of animals interacting in habitats that really appear to closely resemble the jungle savannah, etc.  And it was amazing!  We did it early in the a.m. so the animals were by and large active and alert.  There was also a cool nature trail through an aviary and the birdlife was astonishing.  There were rides too, but the nature aspects were so great that they overshadowed the "park" stuff.

Tomorrow we are hanging out at a science museum and then the final day we are just kicking back at our house here.  Which is also so comfy and so helpful in keeping Chet regulated.  He has his own room and seems to seek out the quiet of "his" space.  He has enjoyed the pool and with it being our own private pool I have had no worries that his slightly over the top antics are disruptive to others.

Rob has enjoyed everything we have done and has spent a lot of time in the pool for a boy who professes to hate the water.  LOL  He has always been annoyed with me because I made him learn to swim but at least he is a good swimmer despite his objections.  And he and KC and Lissa have romped for hours in this pool.  There is a hot tub too where I have spent a brief bit of time, and K has lounged a bit as well.  It all feels sort of surreal as this is all so far from our "real" life. But the chance to take a breath and enjoy something so different and to all be together is by far the greatest gift of all.