We booked a week long vacation to Williamsburg, Virginia. Ryan was not himself most of the day Saturday while we were running errands, packing, and preparing for our trip. We left early Sunday morning to tackle the 8.5 hour ride. Ryan has been on long trips before, but he was unusually hyper for part of this car ride. We figured it was probably due to the food he ate Friday night at the baseball game and also due to the excitement to go on vacation
With the joys of vacation also comes the downfalls of vacation for someone on a special diet. We did our best all week to give Ryan his regular diet foods when available. We made lunch and brought it with us to the parks on most days and the meals we ate in the condo were on his normal GFCF diet. But there were times where we were getting treats and snacks out and about, and we let Ryan cheat. We certainly paid for it with his behavior, but some of that behavior would have been there anyways since we ran the kids ragged all week. There wasn't much downtime, and we certainly can relate to the saying, "We need a vacation from our vacation!"
By the way, I tried this ice cream that we bought for Ryan to keep in the condo all week and it was excellent!
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| Peanut Butter Zig Zag |
After checking in to our condo and unpacking, we headed over to Busch Gardens. Ryan loved riding the rides, so much so that he barely wanted to watch the fireworks in the evening. We gave in to the kids begging for cotton candy and so began Ryan's week of food indulgence.
Monday:
We spent the entire day at Water Country, a water park close to Busch Gardens. We opened and closed the park and Ryan rode almost every ride, many of them more than once. He was excited to ride the big, fast rides. I wish I brought a water camera with me to take more pictures but I didn't so I left my regular camera in the locker most of the time. But there are a couple of pictures and a video below. We did some rides all together as a family but there were times where Ryan wanted his independence so we let him ride some of the smaller rides while we watched him from the sidelines. Ryan's OCD was in full force today and he was a bit on the bossy side. But overall, both kids did a great job lasting 10 hours of constant walking and swimming on a day that was close to 100 degrees and was still in the 90's when we left the park at 8pm.
Tuesday:
After all of the walking we did the day before, we opted to hit the beach. It was another hot and sunny day and we only lasted a couple of hours. We went back to the condo and took a dip in the pool which proved to be refreshing. After dinner we did some shopping for souveniers and gifts and homemade fudge, which the kids loved! During our shopping spree we found a Thomas the Train section, and Ryan enjoyed playing for a little while. Since he plays with his trains every day at home he was going through withdrawal!
And just when we thought we couldn't fit anything else in, we went to a pirate-hemed mini golf course. Ryan got a hole in one on the first hole, but then after that it all went downhill. The kids didn't want to even try to play the game correctly. It was hot and sticky and they were tired. We were all losing our patience. We got through the 18 holes as quick as we could and called it a night.
Wednesday:
We spent the day, another hot one, at Busch Gardens. We dressed the kids in their bathing suits and spent part of the day enjoying the sections that were available for kids to run through the sprinklers and went on some water rides. Both kids continued to enjoy riding the rides, the faster the ride, the wider Ryan's smile! We saw a few shows as well and of course ate some treats!
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| There is Phil and Ryan in the last row! |
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| This is the picture taken of us on the log flume. Phil was the only one who didn't look terrified of the steep drop! |
Thursday:
We decided to slow down the pace and visit Colonial Williamsburg today. Big mistake. The kids were not interested at all and there was just too much walking around with very little to do and see that would keep their interst. Within two hours we were back at the condo and we all took a nap, except for Ryan who laid in bed with us and watched TV. For dinner we went to a pizzeria that sold GFCF pizza, and as an added bonus, their pizza is 100% organic. It was tasty, but a little on the expensive side because everything is organic. After dinner we returned to Busch Gardens for more rides, shows, and fireworks. Ryan's silly and eratic behavior continued and he had a few meltdowns. Some I would say were age appropriate and just from being tired, but it is obvious to us that the inconsistency in his diet is partially if not mostly to blame.
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| Trying to make the best out of Colonial Williamsburg |
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| Before watching the Pirate 3D/4D show at Busch Gardens; Ryan got spooked a couple of times! |
Phil, Ryan, and Julia on the kiddy roller coaster ride.
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| Making wine in Italy! |
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| What would a visit to "Italy" be without enjoying some sweet desserts before the firework show? |
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| Julia with the cast of characters who performed in one of the shows we saw. |
With the end of our vacation looming around the corner we decided to make a return trip to the water park since the kids enjoyed our first visit so much. We got there just before it opened but didn't stay until closing. By 5pm we were exhausted and headed out. But since we knew the park much better than we did on Monday, we still went on just as many rides. We knew which order to do them in and avoided waiting on lines. But it is impossible to avoid the walking. In fact, by the end of the day, Ryan had worn a hole in the bottom of one of his brand new water shoes!
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| Brownie sundae in a waffle cone |
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| They were so yummy on Monday that we went back for another on Friday! |
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| The kids with the performers of the diving/acrobatics show. |
Saturday:
This was the only day we went out for breakfast since breakfast seems to be the most difficult meal to find food for Ryan to eat. We stocked the condo with his milk, cereal, waffles, and french toast sticks and that served us just fine all week. But we again wanted a treat so we went out for waffles and pancakes. Afterwards we went to the beach again, but didn't do much swimming because there were lots of jellyfish out. The kids spent a couple of hours playing in the sand and then we headed to the condo pool to cool off and wash some of the sand off. By the afternoon it started to rain and we were actually thankful for two reasons: 1. it gave us an excuse to hang out in the condo and pack up, and 2. we were thankful the rain held off and didn't ruin our week. Ryan continued to be hyper and jittery, and had trouble sitting still most of the day.
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| Being silly in the car. |
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| Searching for sea shells. |
What a great week!!!
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