Friday, February 6 - Cruise Day Minus One

We took the Lancaster train to Philadelphia to start our trip off. Uneventful, except for the moment arriving in Philly when the doors were closing and half our family and bags were still inside the train. Doug, in a Mr. Incredible moment of feat and strength, held the doors open while our panicked family escaped outside. In the Philadelphia train station, we caught a local Septa train to get to the airport. Unfortunately, somewhere in the process Doug lost his Visa and bank card. Ugh. At least Leslie had her credit card for the rest of the trip! (And yes, Mom and Dad, Doug canceled the cards…J) On this train trip, Doug emphasized hurrying to the doors. I have never seen Aaron so intense, really. He had his adrenaline going, and knocked my suitcase over (not easy!) getting to the doors. I wish I had a video of him.

When we boarded the plane, the captain asked if the kids wanted to see the cockpit. Don't push that button Chris!

Before takeoff on our flight to Florida, the gentleman behind us (we were all sitting in a row together) could not stop his nosebleed. Apparently, he had a few things working against him, like the aspirin in his system. Well, Doug gave him a little advice, which was met with stares until Doug mentioned he was a doctor. The advice was in vain. The man even had blood coming out his tear ducts! Doug asked to see a medical kit, and he and the bloody gentleman went to the rear of the plane. The bleeding stopped with the packing and nasal decongestant, but Doug spent the duration of the flight in the galley pinching his nose, along with two other doctors. (One was an ear, nose and throat doc who felt letting the nose go wasn’t worth the risk until we landed.)

Well, the rest of the family were treated like royalty on row 13. The flight attendants brought us a huge bag of snacks and any drinks we wanted. At the end of the flight, the ground paramedics came on board to assist Doug in helping the man off the plane, and the passengers all gave a round of applause for the doctors who helped. I don’t think the kids were ever prouder of their daddy.

We were intercepted after security by Doug’s aunt Janet and cousin Dave, who transported us and our matching five bags to their house in Hollywood, Florida. We were SO warmly received, and had just an incredible time reconnecting with our extended family. Dave has three children, close to our children’s ages. They had a ball together, along with the pet Lab and bunny in the back. They were outside, inside, and outside again. In the evening, they had prearranged for Janet and another grandma to watch all of our children, while Dave, his sister Karen and their spouses took us to downtown Hollywood to a Spanish Tapas bar. (Yes, a Tapas bar, not a topless bar.) The wine, food and Flamenco dancing were extraordinary. Incredibly, during that time, the grandmas found our children’s pajamas and got them all cozied in bed for us!