We left for our exciting cruise vacation late on a Friday afternoon.  We were all packed, loaded in the van, and ready to go only to discover the van would not start.  Oh BOY!  Not again, the van has already been in the shop two times in the last couple of months.  After a quick call to Jake I tried to explain the situation to the girls.  They were in tears because they were super excited about starting their vacation together with friends while we were on the cruise.

We decided to all head back inside and have fun while waiting for Daddy to come home.  We read a couple books together as we were waiting.  Brina picked out a book about a Ballerina and Karlie picked out “The Empire’s New Clothes”.  After reading the books we took a few minutes to snuggle and talk.  We did a few extra chores around the house then Jake was home.  Looking back it was nice to have a few moments of quiet and relaxing time together before leaving.  He was able to jump start the van and away we went only a little over an hour off schedule.

We got the girls settled into their new home for the week.  They were excited about spending their vacation with friends and had been looking forward to it for a long time.  Jake and I started our first leg of our trip together as a couple.  The van was a little quiet without the girls giggling and talking in the back but we enjoyed our time together.

On the way we stopped at Flying J for a potty break and to pick up a snack for breakfast the next morning at the airport.  We were flying out early and getting checked in and through the security could take up any extra time so we wanted to be prepared.  We had a quick but nice supper at Arby’s.  It is always smart to bring coupons on vacation with you because you never know where you might stop to eat.  It is amazing how much you can save over the course of a trip by using coupons.

The roads under the bridges were still icy from the snow storm earlier that week but we made it safely to Atlanta and checked into for the night.  They have a wonderful program we have used several times where you park your vehicle at the hotel and they drive you to the airport which costs less then parking even in the long term parking at the airport.  You can park even if you are not planning on spending the night at the hotel.  This was the first time we used it and spent the night.  Since we spent the night our parking was free for a week and it was still less then parking at the airport.  Plus with the flight leaving early in the morning we wanted to make sure we were at the airport on time.  Marriott had a shuttle going to and from the airport every 15 minutes making it convenient to catch a ride when you wanted to leave for the airport.   We did all the planning for this ahead of time and reserved the room and parking online.  Love being able to get things done before ever leaving on vacation.  Many other cities provide this service as well so it may be worth checking into before you fly the next time if you cannot have someone drive you, it really has saved us a lot of money over the last few years.

Jake and I had a wonderful couple hours to relax before getting a good nights sleep.  We don’t have a TV in our room at home so we surfed the channels for a few minutes and ended up watching “Bill Cosby’s Himself”.  I had never seen it before, for an example of the show click here.  It was nice to relax together and just laugh listening to Bill Cosby.  We had no where to be until the morning so we relaxed!

A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!