[Angileyze1]

Day 1

It was finally here! We set the alarm for 330am but it didn’t matter as I was wide awake at 2. All that kept going through my mind was that commercial where the kids say “we’re too excited to sleep!” I had packed the kids a morning snack which included a package of Pop-Tarts and an apple. This would be significant later in the trip report. Remember the apple.

We got to the airport at 4:50am and were initially worried about the warnings we read on the website that said parking was VERY limited. Luckily, we found a space with not too much trouble. Once inside, we saw that the line for security in our tiny little airport was longer than I had EVER seen it. It took an hour to go through. We started to see other cheerleading families from the gym who were also leaving a bit early. We said hello, snapped a few pictures, and all got on our own flights. By now, all the snacks were gone but DD’s apple. I told her to keep it and she could have it later.
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The flight to Baltimore was smooth and it was good that Airtran was running a little early because we were already going to have just 25 mins between flights. Luckily again, we got there a bit early, and we got to relax & stretch for 10 minutes before boarding to Tampa.

In Tampa, again, we arrived early. A fiull ½ hr early. I noticed the warmth already. Other people were freezing. I couldn’t understand this. It was 66 degrees! (In Maine when we left, there was still snow on the ground.)

The Enterprise rental counter man was nice, he even gave us our choice of vehicle. The sleek, sporty Dodge Avenger, or the boring hatchback. The Chevy HHR. I explained that we had 5 rather large pieces of luggage.


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And we’re off! DD abd DSS’ first reaction was WOW! REAL PALM TREES! Mind was of amazement that everything was so green & alive not dead & brown. We arrived in Ft Myers and it was a bit warmer there. DSIS was not home from work yet but her step-son who is just a year younger than DS was, and he showed us in and was very nice. They hit it off immediately. In fact, they got right into the pool. All but me. I was hoping for a nap on the swing. I couldn’t sleep however, due to the fact that I could NOT stop my face from smiling to the sounds of my Dh and kids laughing and squealing and having the best care-free day in a long time. We were all so happy.
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Soon, everyone was home and we had a spaghetti dinner and took a ride in the convertible. Ok. Girl from Maine Winter just last week, with sunglasses on and Florida wind whipping through my hair. Yeah, it was the best feeling ever. At this point, I want to move here and can’t help but staring at all the for sale signs. Hmmmm. The music was cranked and My DD who has Autism (mildly as it is) smiled more than I had remembered seeing in a while.

After the ride, DSIS made Apple-tinis and the adults hit the hot tub. What a night! We went to bed shortly after. This was only day 1. How can it possibly get any better? Remember this question. Meanwhile, the apple still lived.