Florida travel lessons learned
Our week in Florida seems to have flown by – I’m battling jetlag and got nowhere near enough sleep on our speedy flight back from Tampa overnight. Back in the UK, I’m struggling to remember it was almost too hot on the Gulf Coast.
Lots more to come on Bradenton and Anna Maria Island where we were staying, but in the meantime, I’ve been adding to my stock of travel lessons – not least after my first long-haul flight with a three-year-old.
1. Surviving jetlag
All the clever plotting and planning in the world can’t make my daughter sleep when I want her to. Sometimes I think she hears ‘it’s time for a lie down’ as ‘it’s time to be savaged by dragons’…
And despite a late night arriving and limited sleep on the journey, when she woke at 2am (her brain insisting it was 7am), no mere darkness would persuade her otherwise.
More impressively, she played (fairly) quietly until it was light, carried on through the next day without meltdowns and got back onto a normal(ish) routine from the next day. A quiet first day and plenty of flexibility seemed to work best.
2. I am rubbish without sleep
However well she managed, I am no good at doing without sleep. My patience survived the first broken night, by the second when she seemed to wake me the second I drifted off at approximately 10-minute intervals from 5am, I was a bit tetchy.
(OK, that’s a massive understatement).
3. I may stop ordering child meals
This was the first flight I had a special child meal for Minnie – before this, she’s either been small/fussy enough that I’ve taken her food with me or the flight has been too short to worry about it.
On the way out, she refused to eat any of hers (chicken nuggets and mash) bar the yoghurt and raisins and scoffed most of my salmon salad and pasta.
Perhaps I should just stick with normal meals! Incidentally, which clever person at BA thinks a KitKat is the ideal thing for a three-year-old before a long flight/night flight. I confiscated them both ways.
And ate them. Obviously.
4. It’s worth battling my fear of driving
I’ve only been driving regularly for about three years – before then, I just didn’t need a car in London. So driving overseas still unnerves me.
But with a small automatic car plus Florida’s wide open roads, it was far less intimidating than I expected. And the views from the Skyway Bridge were amazing.
Anna Maria island actually has its own free bus service and cycle lanes, so it’s somewhere you could manage without a car if you wanted, but it made getting around so much easier.
5. There’s a reason you don’t walk in Florida
Maybe I should blame the jetlag… but on the first day, which started off cloudy, I decided to walk to the places on our itinerary – two were about 10 minutes away, the third another 15 beyond that. Something I do all the time in London.
And then the sun came out. Plus humidity of about 150%. And that 25 minute saunter back along the seafront was much hotter, slower and exhausting.
Environmentally friendly? Yes. But I am very happy to live in an age of air conditioning.
6. I need to think about my data
I have various overseas data packages with Vodafone, my phone provider, which tend to see me through without costing a fortune.
Knowing I’d have wifi in the house where we stayed, I didn’t think much beyond that. Then I turned my data roaming on for Google Maps to get my from the airport to the island. And promptly used up my allowance for the month as we arrived.
I kept it mostly switched off after that but I am wincing at the thought of the bill.
7. Better than adorable
The standard compliment to describe my daughter is ‘adorable’, I discovered – obviously she is, but this seemed the polite description even from those people who are evidently not captivated by three-year-olds.
The person who called her ‘so well-behaved’ is the compliment I really treasured. (Smug? Absolutely)
8. Where child-friendly isn’t just words
I do love travelling off the beaten track, to places which aren’t necessarily top of the child-friendly list.
But going somewhere where all the restaurants had booster seats (and highchairs/change tables in the toilets), crayons and activity packs, proper kids’ menus and a genuinely warm welcome makes life such a breeze.
9. Chicken tonight
One rotisserie chicken from the supermarket can feed me and my three-year-old for the best part of a week, it turns out. Supplemented by peanut butter brownies from the bakery nearby (for me).
Pelican and plan image copyright MummyTravels, all others courtesy Depositphotos
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Roast chicken and peanut butter is the dream. Sounds lile you had a brilliant trip. Hats off to you Cathy for doing this by yourself and Minnie. I’ve always had the hubby’s help. Can’t wait to read more. Ps. The Plane Kit Kats were nailed by Monkey… I didn’t stand a chance!
I am a bit obsessed with peanut butter now (managed to find peanut butter fudge ice cream as well). And it was a great trip, although it’s definitely hard work at times when you’re on your own! She was VERY unimpressed that I swiped the kitkats though. The unfairness of life is a lesson we must all learn though I think (and I needed the sugar more…) 🙂
I love your honesty. Travelling with kids isn’t always easy, and I love writing about that, and reading about it too. On the whole though it sounds like you had a great time and what a brilliant mother and daughter trip too.
I’m with you on the Kit Kats. And, I am beyond tetchy when I haven’t had enough sleep. Look forward to reading about all the things you did in Florida, never been.
Thank you! Seven days solo with a three-year-old can definitely be trying at times – jetlag combined with selective hearing and toddler faffing doesn’t bring out the best in me… But we did have a lot of fun and some fab experiences (and she was great on the plane).
Your comment about driving everywhere reminds me of a friend who lived in the States for a while. He couldn’t believe that the parents would drive their kids 100m to the bottom of their road so that they could catch the school bus. They all thought his family was a bit strange because they made their kids walk to the bus stop!
That still seems a bit mad! 100m we could manage – a few people were a bit astonished/alarmed at our day 1 walk in Florida too 🙂
Sounds like you had a great, if tiring, trip!
I don’t mind the jetlag so much on the way out, coming home though – I’m not great at getting any sleep on the flight (pretty sure it’s because I’m sitting upright) so I ‘lose’ that night completely, grr.
Yes, that Florida humidity really saps the strength doesn’t it? Only time I lurrrrve a good storm passing through because it clears the air briefly!
Can’t wait to read more 🙂
Jetlag is so odd, isn’t it. Going west, I usually find if I stay up late, I’m OK – or I wake up early, I can take a melatonin and doze off again, although sadly that’s not much of an option with a three-year-old. Dragging myself out of bed today wasn’t too bad, and I have a SAD lamp blazing to try to remind me it’s daytime, but yesterday was definitely a bit knackering. A seven-hour flight isn’t enough to get much of a nap! Still worth it for the lovely trip. And I’m already missing the heat. Brrr.
I love hearing about all the travel discoveries! My daughter had at least two 3am wake ups when we went to the U.S. so took a while to adjust. I’m very impressed Minnie survived the day with so little sleep! Love how the Americans embrace children- got to be pleased with all those compliments.
I’m glad we didn’t get two 2am starts! 2am and 5am was quite knackering enough – and she seemed to do better on only a little sleep than me, despite needing a LOT more. Glad we were having a fairly chilled-out trip though.
What an adventure, you are brave taking on a toddler on a long haul flight, I’m so not ready to do that with our three year old, I worry that he would get bored and not sit still as he’s so active! Thanks for linking up with the #bestandworst and hope you’ll pop by again! x
Thank you! I think sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and go – admittedly she is pretty good at sitting still and watching TV/doing stickers though, perhaps after lots of practice… I always think it’s worth it for the destination 🙂
Hello Cathy
loved this – I have included it in our “world First Wander” which is our weekly round up of whats hot in Travel this week
Tristan
Thanks Tristan!