1243 March 19 – 26, 2025 Family Time
On Wednesday, March 19th, we drove to Miami International Airport to get Kyle and his family. There had been a terrible wildfire that had blocked the road in and out of the Keys. Fortunately, the road was open as we traveled north. The traffic was heavy and very slow. There were huge plumes of black smoke and large areas of burnt grass and trees.
Meanwhile, at BWI, everything was on schedule and there was even time for breakfast!
We arrived on time and met Kyle and Allison and Wade at Door #20. We were all so happy to be together. We were laughing and chatting. We had a little more than 2-hour ride to the campground. We had directions in GPS. Suddenly, there were no instructions. Tim was at an intersection and he had no idea which way to go…there were no available directions because of current road conditions. The road to the Keys was closed again and we could not get back. Tim had the idea to go to Biscayne National Park. I had packed a picnic and we enjoyed our meal by the water. Wade was able to get down and play. I was so grateful that we were able to get to the airport and that we were all together and that we had such a nice afternoon…always finding a way to make the best of things!
We hadn’t planned to be gone all evening and so we needed to stop and buy extra diapers and milk and food for the baby. By the time we had everything we needed, the road was reopened! The fire was still active and burning alongside the road.
It took another three hours to get back but we made it. We even stopped in Islamorada for beer and cider and tacos. We listened to live music and started to relax.
On Thursday, everyone was content to spend time here at the small beach and the day passed quickly. We let Wade play in the sand for the first time and though he had sand in every little crease, he had fun.
That evening was the Islamorada Art Walk. We started with dinner at Islamorada Fish Company where Wade charmed all the other guests and waitstaff.
At Art Walk there were lots of vendors. We walked the streets and the guys had some craft beer and we listened to music. Kyle and Allison and Wade enjoyed some chocolate covered frozen key lime pie on a stick.
Friday, we had planned to walk on the Old Seven Mile Bridge but Wade’s stroller had not arrived. It was also very windy. I volunteered to watch the baby while the rest of the group went out to walk.
We went to Long Key with a picnic dinner. We brought bubbles and Wade loved watching them.
We watched the sunset from the beach at the campground.
PopPop and I had a great game of Peek-a-boo with Wade.
Saturday, we took Wade to the pool. He loved being in the water.
Another beautiful sunset.
Sunday, Tim and I got to watch the baby while Kyle and Allison did some shopping.
We went back to the pool for the afternoon.
For dinner we went to Veteran’s Beach.
Monday, Kyle and Allison went to Key West for the day. Tim and I kept Wade. I may have let Wade draw with markers!
The two of us took the baby back to the pool.
Tuesday, we all went back to the pool. Wade saw some children playing with a yellow ball. He kept saying “ball” each time he saw it. The dad let us play with it and Wade was a happy, happy boy. We got carryout form SS Wreck for dinner and took it to Sombrero Beach. We made it back to Jolly Roger for the sunset.
Today, we drove our family back to the airport. I missed them as soon as they stepped out of the car and onto the curb.
This week was so much fun. We had time for naps and beach time and pool time. We played and played and played. Wade is growing and changing so quickly. We noticed a change on his language after spending the whole week with him. He is particularly partial to “b” words. He knows ball and bird and bubbles. He of course says Mama and Dada and he even says PopPop. He says boo when playing peek-a-boo and pop at the end of a song. He claps delightedly when he is excited. He is a joy and a light. He loves music and it works to calm him when he is fussy…though he rarely is. He loves watching dogs and I took him to stand outside the dog park so that he could watch them play. He loves to be outside and he loves to ride in the stroller. He is a huge flirt. I had time with Kyle and Time with Allison and we all had lots of together time as well. We tried to give Kyle and Allison some mornings to sleep in and some date time too.
It won’t be too much longer before we are home and we get to see them all again.
