Sunday, May 28th
It’s check out day today, and I am already tired from anticipating the long
drive home by myself. Jim, however, has started a family tradition that
takes us into a park on our last day until noon or so, so that he ends up
being OHSD (Our Hero, Super Daddy). Of course, not to be outdone, TDGM
(That Dimwitted Goofy Mommy), decided to head to Universal Studios on our
way out of Orlando so the kids could ride the last few rides and enjoy the
waning moments of their vacation.
Despite difficulty sleeping (long story, but the gist of it is Grace sleeps
with Jim and I, and when Jim is not on the other side of her, I get nervous
and sleep very lightly, worrying that she’ll fall out of bed. Even though I
had a guard rail and three pillows between her and falling to certain death
on the carpeted floor a foot and a half below, I slept with one eye open
most of the vacation.), I was up, packed and dragging kids by their feet as
they dug their nails into the furniture out the door of the hotel to begin
the journey home by 8 AM. I made a couple of stops, and pulled into
Preferred Parking at Universal Studios at 8:30 – half an hour before they
opened. Because of the charge for the Express Passes on the holiday
weekend, the only way to really do the rides at Universal if you are not a
Universal resort guest is to get there first thing in the morning. This has
worked out well for us the last couple of trips, and it works out well this
time, too.
Brighid and Eilis ride Jimmy Neutron; Twister; Men In Black; Back to the
Future; and ET before 10:30, and Gracie is dripping with sweat. I have
forgotten to bring the sippie cup in the park with me in all of that super
mom nonsense I was trying to pull off this morning, so I tell the girls we
are going to pack it in, grab some drinks, and head back to the car. I
promise them we’ll get lunch on the way out.
We bid a fond farewell to Universal Studios for the time being, and head on
back to our car in Cat in the Hat. Have I mentioned I hate this parking
lot? Honestly, the car stays much cooler than it does in the huge lots at
Disney, but it just seems to zap my energy to leave the park and have to
walk 600 miles to my car – and that’s if I pay to upgrade to Preferred
Parking! The moving sidewalks make it easier, but you can’t use them if you
have a stroller. No way to treat a fat chick, I’m telling you 🙁
We are in the car, have some great lunches in hand, courtesy of the
McDonald’s on Sand Lake Road (if you have never been, it is truly an
experience all it’s own), and we drive through to Florence, SC, where we
stop for the night.
I won’t bore you with the details of our overnight stop or uneventful trip
home. But we did arrive home today, Memorial Day, in time to grill a few
steaks, have some corn on the cob, and enjoy being back home with Jim.