Florida – September 2008
Day 1 – London to Jax – getting there (part 2)
Monday 22nd September
Well, the first flight turned out to be quite a bit easier than expected overall. The second, however, was a completely different story altogether. Although a much shorter flight, the kids’ internal clocks were instructing them to try to sleep and moving them about did nothing to put them in a good mood. We had to take them out of the buggy for the security checks, and again for the boarding procedures. Jennifer in particular screamed continuously for the better part of half an hour and I truly felt sorry for those other passengers that were within about 15 isles of us. Being so completely overtired meant that she wouldn’t sleep and was constantly fighting to stay awake. We ended up having to bite the bullet and face the wrath of the trolly-dollies by holding her in our arms – contrary to what’s allowed when the seat-belt sign is illuminated.
Fortunately, both kids were finally off by the time we started out decent into Jacksonville. Our bags arrived quite quickly and the rental car desk procedures were swift and efficient. I did have a bit of a scary moment with the rental car clerk told me that unless we’d pre-booked a child seat, none would be available. Our booking agent had previously told me that we could simply ask for one upon arrival. As luck would have it, they had 2 available for us and, although figuring out how the LATCH system worked took a while, we were soon on the road under the guidance of our trusted tom-tom – complete with the newly purchased North America map installed.
Dave and Jennifer’s penthouse condo is brilliant. It’s like stepping into a show-home. The constant sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline just yards from our vantage point is matched only by the superb views to be had up and down the coast right from our very own balcony. Neither Dave nor Jennifer (nor Kristen for that matter) has changed at all as far as I can tell. It’s like we’ve not been away for the past five years. We let the kids (Joey, Jennifer & Dillon) run riot for an hour or two and have now settled into bed for what I’m hoping will be a solid night of undisturbed slumber. Let’s just hope the kids don’t wake up in an hour or two thinking that their day is under way.