Showering is Optional

Goodland, FL

New Grooming Rule: Rinsing off with a hose or jumping into a pool, constitues as a shower.

There is just not enough towels to go around and Florida's humidy doesn't allow anything to completley dry.

No need primp like we do at home. It's hot, everyone is loosely dressed and with this economy, restaurant and business owners are just happy for our business.

Kids are thrilled with this plan albeit, the need to use a hairbrush.

On one particular night, (after taking real showers), we headed over to a famous, underground spot for bikers, Stan's Idle Hour. Not exactly a place you typically roll into with five kids...but it looked like FUN!

The shower and sun-dress ensembles that we had on, set us apart from the rest, but it was interesting to be at a place that has grown in fame, by word of mouth.

We didn't stay at Stan's but found another local spot that was more appropriate for two mommas and five kids under 12 years.

Showering is worth the effort, if you are going to enjoy being served a delicous seafood dinner.

Every Sunset Is A Party

Marco Island, Florida

Days are wonderfully long.

The sun sets around 8:30pm.

Big Fun for FREE

Things to do with five kids for free or close to it.

Five kids + a willing adult = One Soccer Game
Local Community Center. Games, clubs and activities planned all year for anyone to join.
County Water Park. For $12.00 a day you can play in this huge, clean water park. Bargain!
Find a Public Library. Free wifi and dvd's. Out-of-staters can join for cheap.
Shelling. Incredible shells found on the west coast of Fl.
National Parks. Keep track of all your visits by collecting stamps in a National Park Passport Book ($7.00).
Essay Contests. Believe it or not, the kids participated in our own contests. The topics were varied but the prizes were motivating (key).

Haven't heard the kids are "bored", yet!

Things that make my life easier:

• Free WiFi
• The grocery store sells liquor
• Free beach access

SPACE

It's been two weeks living together in the Motorhome. We have covered the highlights of the western coast of Florida. Naples and Everglades are beautiful areas to explore.

No one was ready to head home but there was a shift within the group.

Our living situation were cramped. And being true to our original intention, this was the 'summer of options'. Before any friendships or feelings were hurt, we created a list of options.

Here is our list:

Option 1: Head back to NJ

Option 2: Ignore the fact that we are cramped and continue west in the Motorhome

Option 3: Find a condo in Flordia and stay two more weeks!

Options 3 was the winner.

Take the Jolly Bridge over to Marco Island and you land in an easy to navigate, tropical island that offers incredible beaches. Again, there is minimal tourism in July. The island is empty which made securing affordable accomodations, very easy!

Creating options has proven to be a successful plan again.

Marco Island, Fl
Air Temp: 91 degrees
Water Temp: 80 degrees (this ain't NJ)
No Humidity
Best thing about the beaches: The shells are unbelievable!

Don't Show Your Weakness

Everglade City, Fl

We have transitioned to living in a motor home fairly well. Besides watching how much toilet paper you consume, the living arrangements are as comfortable as being at home.

As for the inappropriate behavior among the kids? 'Rude and Crude', is on the rise.

After traveling two weeks together, the group has developed some tough unwritten rules... if one of our kids is feeling down and out for any particular reason, (hot, hungry, tired, cranky) the others will relentlessly antagonize that child until tears flow and feelings are hurt.

So instead of spending hours refereeing the bickering...we set out to look for gators.

Everglades National Park is huge. Along Highway 41, you can get out and observe alligators, turtles and other wildlife from a safe distance.

First stop, Big Cypress Bend. This stop is a long walk on a raised boardwalk, that takes you deep (about 45min walk) into a section of the Everglades or as the kids like to refer to it...'the swamp'.

This year, Florida had a good rainy season, so the Everglades' water level was high.

We set out...

Covered (more like lathered) in bug repellent, feeling confident but wary of our surroundings, we all took down the path.

As usual, the kids failed to notice anything interesting along the way.

Then out of the blue, we heard a deep, loud, splashing growl!

We all screamed and in the confusion...the group got split up.

Between us, in the water, right where we were standing, was a huge alligator waiting with his mouth WIDE open.

Panic struck!

We were frozen. No one moved. Not us, not the kids nor Mr. Alligator.

Despite the drama, the teasing and antagonizing began among the kids...before long, someone was crying and convinced they were going to die.

For a few seconds I was scared. This seemed like a scene from the show, 'Man vs The Wild'...but we had to regroup and calm the kids down.

We had to convince them that this situation was under control so we could all get off this boardwalk!

Slowly and quietly we talked the kids into tiptoeing, one-by-one, passed the alligator.

Once back in the safety of our car, we rehashed the event 10,000 times. Each time, adding our own embellishment!

The ribbing among the kids grew too...until tears flowed again.

The day left us with a lesson learned.

"When touring with a pack of kids, 'never show your weakness'. Keep your issues to yourself, be calm and go with the program... otherwise you will become alligator bait."

When did WiFi become part of my survival?

Pelican Lake
Naples, Fl

To survive, you need food, shelter and at least one bar of Internet connectivity. It's amazing what falls apart when you can't connect for a few days!

Not being able to find an Internet connection (yes, I'm pirating any signal I can find) is something I didn't really expect traveling in the USA!

Unless you find a Starbucks near by, which I don't have available.

I knew I was dependent upon being connected for work but I didn't expect to FREAK when I couldn't find a connection for DAYs and not be able to get my news or have the ability to roam the web or the most upsetting....update Facebook (*choke* yes, this is true...).

Despite being on 'vacation' among palm trees and exquisite sunsets, I get excited for a weak signal and willing to wait over 60 seconds for a webpage to load.

No need to comment, I realize this is sad.

Can we do this?

Parked.

Car unloaded.

It looks like our luggage has exploded all over the motor home.

Can all of us and our stuff, really live in a motor home, together for an undetermined amount of time?

The kids have cried 'uncle'.

After days of traveling, they need space.

We unhooked the bikes and sent them off to explore our new neighborhood.

What did they discover?

Bugs! Holy Cow! The mosquitoes are rampant.

God only knows where I put the spray...

Below the Tropic Line

Naples, FL

This time of year, the orange groves are closed for the season.

In July, the west side of Florida is quiet, like the Jersey Shore's winter. No one is around.

With lots of affordable accomdations, we can secure a nice place to stay, on the beach.

But before we head to the beaches, we are going to try living in a friends Motor Home.

After days in a mini-van, a Motor Home will feel luxurious.

The kids are holding up great...the Nintendo DS's have lost their appeal and we've moved onto campfire songs..."74 bottles of beer on the wall...."

More coming soon from tropics!

Disney Dash

A few hours in Magic Kingdom.

Disney or Bust

A plan is coming together that is worth sharing. We decided to break up the trek with a two day stay in Disney....!

This is what happens when you are traveling with a VIP Disney Consultant.....[a shameless plug?]

We didn't announce the plan to our kids. We figured we would see what would happen if we just rolled through the Walt Disney World Gates...

It didn't take the kids long to notice that we got off 95 and were on Route 4, passing signs for the parks.

We denied everything as long as we could.

It was a great surprise.

And as a final note, despite the global financial crisis, Disney still delivers a magical experience, even if it's for a short stay!

Ahh.....poolside.

Finally!

No words can describe how happy we were to reach the boarder....and the free OJ is YUM!

BBQ, Humidity and Retainers

Florence, South Carolina.

Before we rest our weary heads in a Holiday Inn Express, we drove to the nearest restaurant for some southern BBQ.

Rolling out of our car the Carolina humidity was delightful. The hostess' sweet southern accent was welcoming. The smell of the BBQ was amazing. We were ravenous!

We drank sweet tea, ate sweet rolls, salad, creamy corn soup and fall-off-the-bone ribs, until we were satisfied.

As we are paying the bill, I realized that the my daughter's retainer was not on table, where I placed it.

(Note: Orthodontist's #1 Rule: Always keep the retainer in it's case. Never, ever, roll it in a napkin and put it on the table!)

As if we weren't exhausted enough, we tore apart our table and chairs looking for a very small, clear plastic retainer, in a dimly lit room.

The restaurant manager offered to dig through all the garbage to see if they could find it. Our waitress was equally sympathetic and helpful.

For 20 minutes, all I could think of was dollars down the tubes (or trash bin).

I heard one of the kids say a prayer to St. Anthony.

The scene was enough to make me completely loose it, when my daughter slid her hand into her pocket and found a balled up napkin with her retainer inside.

No one asked, "How did the retainer move from the table to her pocket?"

We were too exhausted.

The restaurant was closed and the manager and waitress went way beyond what they needed to do to help us.

It was time to end the day.

pumping gas - sorta empowering

Of course, you pump your own gas in Virgina...how could I've forgotten?

It's just my kids had no idea what was going on when I hopped out of the car.

They shout from inside the cool air conditioned car, "Mom, do you know what you are doing?"

Yes, I know what I'm doing!

You can't screw it up, the directions are clear and easy. You just have to make sure you are not selecting diesel.

The more I got used to the self-pump stops, the more I preferred it.

It's slightly empowering, a bit gritty and much faster than waiting for someone else to serve you.

It doesn't take much to create an experience on the road.

More later....

Road Rules In a mini-van world

It sounds cliche but we hadn't left New Jersey and the crew is growing unruly. The kids don't realize how long we are going to be together in the mini-van...so we decided it's time for RULES.

Here is what we came up with,

Rules of the mini-van:

• Use Kind Words
• No Yelling
• Respect each others space
• If you have a problem - state it with a solution
• Keep your area neat and shoes close by
• Speak-up for your needs
• No Tantrums - Use Self Control

Like a contract, we passed around the list for everyone to sign their name in agreement.

The experience was similiar to when, right before you download a new program to your computer, they ask you to 'agree' to an endless list of terms....who ever reads those?

Everyone signed and as expected...continued as they were.

More from the road...

'Keep the options Open'

For me, my summer motto is to 'create options'.

With that said, I've started out on a road trip with my college roommate and our kids and decided to blog about the experiences that unfold in our travels.

Why leave our comfortable homes, loving husbands and the beautiful Jersey Shore, during the summer?

Good question. At times my friend and I wondered ourselves. For example, when you are traveling with kids that are on the brink of puberty, they tend to be overly facinated with talking about the different bodyparts. Cleverly, they kept this subject up for hours, as we traveled down 95.

But the real answer is simple and possibly naive; it was the pefect idea after a long, dark and rainy spring.

So off we went, in my mini-van, packed with an excess amount of items, bikes, two adults, five kids and a couple of bottles of Veuve Clicquot stowed in the rear.

Join me in my summer blogging series for the Coast Star.

I hope you find some humor and possibly inspiration to create your own summer adventure.

More to come, from the Road!