Spring Break 2011

Spring Break 2011
This year the kids had spring break from school on March 27 to April 3. I was fortunate enough to have the days off, so the whirlwind of activities was a go! And, the cup of fun rose to the brim, and spilled over the sides!
Our first activity was a scheduled camp trip with the Yawlie camp group, that is our annual spring family camping trip. Our destination was Little Manatee River State Park, on the West Coast of Florida, South of Brandon. A beautiful day awaited us, and we set up the camp, and enjoyed the day, temporarily. That evening a major storm passed through Florida, and was forecast to last for the entire 2nd and 3rd day of the outing. That evening, as the storm raged, our tent proved to be a worthy shelter, with little if any rain incursion. However, Dylan and Ryan were in an adjoining tent, which proved to be not as steadfast. They ended up in the main tent in the middle of the night as a 2 inch puddle pooled in their tent. In the morning, we had a small break in the weather, and Ryan and Alex took a side jaunt to the river to fish. Also, we hurried to rent some canoes, and took a wonderful family paddle for about 4 hours on the Little Manatee River, which is classified as a wild and scenic Florida river. The success of the paddle can be measured by the level of child complaints, and this paddle was hugely successful. Due to the oncoming inclemency, and some hospitality issues with the park, it was universally agreed that we would cut our camping trip short, and return home, stopping at the Golden Corral in Orlando, a nearly religious-like experience for Dylan. The entire 3 hour ride home was quite harrowing, as our route home was perfectly overlaid by the line of weather producing monsoon conditions.
Once home, we unraveled all of the camping gear to dry in the garage, and hastily packed for our next destination: Cleveland. Quite a contrarian destination for spring break! As the masses head to Florida, the Floridians headed to Cleveland. The flight was wide open, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was calling our name. We arrived in Cleveland, and found out first hand about Florida kids and their experience in winter jacket wear. Rachel left her jacket on the plane, and through some quick phone calls to the outbound Captain of the flight, the jacket was retrieved, amounting to yet another Southwest Airlines story of employee cooperation. That evening we stayed in Strongsville, OH at the SWA crew hotel, and visited the Strongsville Recreation Complex. While Rebecca and I fit in a little fitness, the kids enjoyed the pool, basketball courts, and air hockey table.
The next day, we packed up, and were off to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in downtown Cleveland, on the banks of Lake Erie. We toured all the first 4 floors, enjoying the sight of memorabilia from all of the eras of rock and roll. It is very pleasant to tour with the kids at this age, as they are very interested in museums, and the interests within. The kids enjoyed the Michael Jackson exhibit, as Rebecca and I marveled at the personalized hand written lyrics from some our favorite composers, and the exhibits depicting all the eras of this musical journey known as rock n roll.
Departing the museum, we headed straight to the Cleveland airport, and to the kid’s delight, some flurries had just begun, which would lead to a full on snow shower as we waited for the inbound flight.
We were de-iced in Cleveland, or as Rachel explained “defrosted”, and then flew to BWI, to rent a car, and drive to Grandma’s house.
We got there just in time for bedtime, and the kids took their sleeping spots in sleeping bags on couches, air mattresses, and floors.
The next morning, we moved slowly towards preparing for a DC day trip, as the fatigues of travel were catching up to us. We got down to Washington by mid day, and were able to park about a block from the Smithsonian, and toured the American History museum. Again, the kids were very engaged, and enjoyed the museum, as well as posing for pictures under the Cherry Blossom trees at the foot of the Washingotn monument.
That evening, was Dad’s 81st birthday celebration, where we dined on some awesome Chinese carry out, and made it replete with the traditional rhubarb pie, baked by Aunt Lisa. Lisa and Eric showed up to mark the event, and we all enjoyed some conversation catching up on current life events.
On Friday morning, we got an earlier start, and were equally lucky finding very close parking to the Mall, as we made our way to the Air and Space Museum, again thoroughly enjoyed by the children. We remarked how much there is to see, and how much fun we were having with the kids, so were ready to go back to DC as soon as we could. The Air and Space museum has a wonderful interactive exhibit for kids, which was fully explored by ours.
After another positive DC/museum day, we headed to BWI and got the last 5 seats to Florida on a Friday evening to end an activity filled and enjoyable spring break.