Thursday, April 4, 2019

Spring Break: Part 3

The kids went to Club Ocean for a couple hours that afternoon.  There were only a few kids since it was a port day.  We went swimming and ate lunch from the sandwich shop before hearing a page to give them a call.  By the time we got up there, Esme had calmed down, but we picked them up anyway.  We got a front row seat to watch the elevators and listen to the violins before dinner. This was date night for Jimmy and myself.  My mom came over to our room to stay with the kids.  They were sleeping already, so it was a pretty easy gig.
We perused the shops on board, then went to the Love and Marriage show.  I couldn't convince Jimmy to volunteer to participate.  They chose a newly married, middly married and oldly married couple to participated in a Newlywed Game type competition.  It was hilarious and so fun!
Wednesday morning we docked in Freeport.  I caught the port captain being dropped off to guide us in.  We were in a very industrial area here, Nassau was very commercial.
You could really see the beauty of it once the sun came up.
There were a few shops just off the boat, so we walked around for a bit.  Parker had woken up with a limp, so he wasn't in too much of a hurry.  Esme really wanted a stuffed animal she saw and had a meltdown when I took it away.  We were back on the boat before 10 and got dressed to go swimming.  By this time, Parker didn't want to put any weight on his leg.  He was telling us it hurt, but couldn't fully communicate what was happening.  
I decided not to take chances and we went down to deck 1 where the medical center was.  We checked in with the nurse and filled out some paperwork.  I was trying to hold it together, but got a little teary.  We waited about 30 minutes before seeing the doctor.  He was from South Africa and started by doing a physical exam.  He noted some swelling in Parker's knee and could tell by his behavior that it was painful.  He was able to rule out dislocation and tendon issues right away and ordered some e-rays to check the bones.
It took some effort to keep him still, but they got three clean images.  The initial review of those was good, but they would be sent ashore for final reading.  The final step was doing a blood draw to measure his white blood cell count.  An elevated number would indicate infection.  I sat on the bid and bear hugged him while a doctor held his legs, a nurse held his arm, and another doctor took the sample.  This came back clear as well and they said it was likely a twist or sprain.  We got some Ibuprofen for the road and were ready to break out.  Everyone was so kind, gentle, and patient with us, I could not imagine a better experience given the circumstances.
 
Parker and I stopped at the pizza place to get some lunch and brought it back to the room for Esme.  Jimmy took her swimming while we visited the doctor.  It seemed like we might be able to get her to take a nap (we did!), so Parker and I strolled to the pool for a soak while Jimmy hung out with her in the room.
I carried Parker to the hot tub for a relaxing soak.  A brief rain shower had cleared it out nicely just before we arrived.  We hopped back and forth between here and the pool for about an hour.
I had tacos for lunch and then we explored the ship while waiting for Esme to wake up.  I found a outside area on deck three where we could watch for Grandpa and Nana to return from their scooter adventure around the island.
We took another pre-dinner dip once everyone was back on board.
I finally got to go down the water slide as well.  I went 4 times and dragged up my dad, Tegan, and Jimmy.
Here is that great picture of the view from our dinner table.  You could feel the rumble of the engines, but it wasn't too distracting.
The wind and waves picked up once we got back to our room.  They ended up closing off most of the outside decks because of how much the boat was rocking.  I ventured up to the 12th deck to return the Club Ocean phone and it was really crazy up there!  We watched them tie up at Port Canaveral and finished the rest of our packing.  Here are a few pictures of our room.  It was a little tight, but did the trick for a short cruise.  We may have gotten stir crazy on a longer journey.
Parker and I stopped back at the medical center to get our final paperwork, then fought the crowds to get off the boat.  I had all of our passports, so Jimmy and Esme were stuck and had to wait for us.  Once out, it was a quick shuttle back to the van.  We had a little time to burn before checking in to our house, so my dad drove to the University of Central Florida.  This is the former school of the current Nebraska football coach, Scott Frost.
We had a minor miscommunication with the VRBO contact, but were able to access the house by 1:00.  Everyone hopped in the pool for a swim and some friendly competition.  Parker was able to touch, so Esme wore the vest we brought from home.
Up Next: Anniversary dinner, Disney Springs, flying home

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