Christmas in September: The Wait Is Over!

It was a little less than 9 months ago when we surprised the kids on Christmas morning with a cruise to Hawaii.  

And then we told them they would have to wait until September to go.  

Cue sad trombone.

But now it was finally time!  Time to:

• Figure out how to pack 4 people for 14 days and keep to one checked bag each.
• Get up at 3:30AM to get to the airport by 4:30AM in order to catch a 6:30AM flight to Toronto and then onto Vancouver.
• Have the kids experience their first ever airplane rides!

Here's how we were feeling around the 5:30AM mark on September 6, 2015:

So basically, we were feeling fine and looking good!

The kids experienced a whole lot of firsts on this day:

- first time checking baggage.

- first time getting a boarding pass.

- first time going through airport security.

- first time wandering around an airport looking for an

outlet for their device charger.  All the fun stuff of airline travel!

Both were very excited to experience their first airplane rides. Although a little nervous, they did very well and thankfully we had very smooth flights.

Will was glued to his window and took his first pictures of a sunrise from a plane:

 

 

Eliza Grace, meanwhile, had no problem sleeping through most of that first flight:

We landed in Toronto and thank goodness we had a two hour layover because we needed nearly every minute of it.

My,what an ordeal in Canada. First, we deplaned directly onto the tarmac.  I think the last time I did that was 1994.  

Then it was into the terminal, walk what felt like half a mile to baggage claim, wait for luggage, grab luggage, haul it down the hall to customs, figure out the newfangled machines where they scanned our passports and we declared that we had not somehow picked up prohibited items from the time we deplaned, got our luggage and made it to customs.  Once through that phase we then had a human confirm what we did at the machine, then a short walk to another area where we took our 50lb checked bags and put them on another conveyor and prayed they would eventually make it to the right plane.

By the time we made it down to the Tim Horton's (which we will never do again) we had about an hour until we boarded and it took about 30 minutes to get our food.  Needless-to-say, we wolfed down our breakfast biscuits and booked it to the right terminal and gate with about 10 minutes to spare.

The upside was that we never felt like we were sitting around waiting to board.  And the kids were getting a well rounded experience in air travel!

Up next (six hours later), Vancouver!

"Savannah would be better for you...

..You'll just get in trouble in Atlanta."
Gone with the Wind (Mammy to Scarlett O'Hara)

With this advice in mind, we headed to Savannah, Georgia for a Spring break get away.  We'd never been to Savannah but have longed to visit.

We did a lot of advanced reading on the area and, while we had a few specific "not to miss" things on the itinerary, we planned to spend most of our time simply wandering around the historic district.

And wander we did.  Have a look:

We had dinner at the world famous Pirates' House.

We walked along Bay Street and River Street, with views of the Talmadge Bridge

 and the famous Waving Girl statue.

We stopped for pizza and soda breaks at the City Market

and walked to and through nearly every square in the Historic District.

 We played in beautiful Forsyth Park

 

and walked past Paula Deen's Lady and Sons restaurant.

 

We soaked in the low country views

and admired all the various and beautiful architectural styles and details.

 

 

And every now and then we stopped to rest against an ivy covered-wall.

We took an ice cream break at the famous Leopold's. 

Well, Scott and Eliza Grace had ice cream. Since they make all their ice cream in the same machines, including the Pistachio flavored kind, Will had to abstain and I joined him in solidarity.

We toured the Roundhouse Railroad Museum.

 
and the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum.

And the Davenport House - the restoration project that started Savannah's era of historic preservation.

On the last day of our trip we visited the Oat Island Wildlife Center, where we walked along wooded trails and visited the various animal habitats.

Eliza Grace was particularly keen on the Wolf habitat.

Not to mention the Bobcats.

And the Red Foxes.

Oooo, what are these creatures?
And the Bald Eagles
And the Tatankas! (Buffaloes for you non-"Dances With Wolves" folks)

After we left the wildlife reserve, we headed over to Tybee Island and stopped by the Tybee Island Lighthouse.

We had lunch at the slightly offbeat Crab Shack...

...where the kids enjoyed the sites and channeled their inner Croc Hunters.

We finished off the day with a dolphin sight seeing tour.  

The afternoon was chilly and gray but the dolphins, who live near the reef where the Savannah River and the Atlantic Ocean meet, still gave us a little show.

Along the way we got some great shots of the Cockspur Island lighthouse, which is completely surrounded by water.

Wow, as I recapped all we did and saw I cannot believe we did so in only four days!

We definitely enjoyed our time in the "hostess city," Savannah, Georgia!