Welcome to Holland: Bermuda, Bahama, Come on Pretty Mama

OK, I'll stop with the cheesy tune-naming for the blog posts!

In a word, vacation was phenomenal. It was five days of wonderful with my family.

My Dad and Lauren treated Rob, the boys and me to a five-day cruise to Bermuda with a travel group called Autism on the Seas. Though the weather wasn't entirely cooperative, the trip was great.

Through this group we were first to get on and off the ship. We had a special dining room where just the 22 people in the group were allowed to dine. So it didn't matter if the kids were wild or whiny. No one cared and no one looked or stared. We had a private excursion. We had special activities for the kids, including a private bridge tour and rock-climbing wall session (my family napped through this, but apparently it was awesome). The kids were able to go to the on-board childcare and the autism leaders checked in periodically. Apparently, if we were a larger group, the kids would have had private childcare as well. It really didn't matter though. The boys liked it and got to go at least once a day, which gave Rob and us a chance to walk around, grab a drink or just relax.

Saturday we left Baltimore in the rain. We didn't do much other than unpack, settle in and meet the group.

Sunday we were at sea all day. The ship was a little rocky. Eric had a bit of a tougher time adjusting to it, which is ironic because he loves to be spun and flipped. I won a slot tournament in the casino--not bad and paid for the tips for the week! The boys managed to get in the pool for a bit, which was nice. This was the formal night on the ship and though our entire traveling group was exempt from the traditional dining room dress code, our entire group got dressed up--kiddos and all!

Monday we got to Bermuda. Literally the minute we stepped off the ship it started pouring down rain. We trekked through the mini-monsoon and got to the ferry that took us to St. George and Tobacco Bay (just so happened to be one of my parents favorite beaches on Bermuda). We were already soaked--literally down to our underwear--once we got on the ferry. Once over to St. George, it cleared for about 15 seconds before it started pouring again. So we ducked into a shop. The tour leader realized it wasn't going to end anytime soon, so he told us to grab lunch. After lunch--and after telling Eric for 3+ hours that we were going to the beach--we finally started to head to the coastline. The weather was looking a bit better, however, after five steps it started pouring again. Might I add, that we had five beach towels with us that started out at three pounds and were now approximately forty! Combine that with Rob carrying Eric and me carrying Evan--though they both did their fair share of puddle jumping. We walked through the rain for about 15 minutes before we finally got to the beach....only to find out that the snack shack and bathrooms were closed--nowhere to change! We held up towels, got the kids and us all ready and hit the ocean...in the driving rain! I know it all sounds terrible, but it was truly an awesome day. The kids rolled with the punches. No one complained of being wet. Evan walked in the rain (something he refuses to do). We all laughed so terribly hard it was insane. If it had been sunny and ideal, it could have been a terrible day for one reason (or tantrum) or another. Even though the weather was less than favorable (OK, it downright stunk!), the kids were so good and patient, and the adults really got to know one another. It was a day we will never forget and will look back on with fondness.

Tuesday the weather was much nicer and we took a trip over to Hamilton, Bermuda, to go to Horseshoe Bay. The boys had a great time playing in the water and on the beach. Though it was beautiful, it wasn't as eventful (or delightful) as Monday.

Wednesday we were at sea again all day. The boys were able to play in the pool for a bit and we got a private tour of the ship's bridge.

Thursday we arrived back in Baltimore. We had our last meal with our group and then left the ship. It was a bittersweet goodbye. In such a short time, we all became fast friends--I guess misery loves company! I have never in my life had such a great vacation. The kids were wonderful. The tour group was great. We were disconnected from the entire world for five days--no cell phones, no email and little to no TV. We all got to spend some quality time with my Dad and Lauren. It truly couldn't have been better.

So much more to say, but I will bore you all with the finer details some other time.

The photos aren't in order of the trip...sorry there are so many, but we had a blast....and this is just a few. Apparently, our group leaders are sending us photo CDs with over 2,000 photos from the trip! I'm sure I will have more to share!