vacationing part III

News flash to those of you who, like me see ocean waves and think "takes-a-while-to-get-used-to-it-before-plunging-all-the-way-in": when they say "warm Gulf waters" they actually mean as in almost too warm to seem appropriate for hygeinic bathing. But then it was kinda fun and then we realized (somewhere between when one of Caleb's crutches got sucked under the waves and I considered the possibilities of finding a replacement and before my friend found it) what warm water meant for Caleb. Joy. One of those things no one told us when Caleb was little and we were following therapists' advice and pushing pool time was that what seems comfortable to the rest of us will cause muscle spasms in muscles with CP. So the screaming kid complaining about the water being too cold was not being wimpy he was in pain. Now, at 25 he is thinking maybe he'll give swimming another try (if we move to Florida).

See World too: travel whine part II

Oh and on that extra day park hopping I was in Walmart. We had told the slightly (undiagnosed of course, why would we pay another specialist?) OCD eldest that he need not pack 15 of everything -we might do laundry on the trip or one can wear a shirt twice (actually even underwear but that would be too personal to mention) so we came up with a compromise of packing for 11 days. I didn't mean the pills, but I did keep saying 11, so when on the 3rd day he lost a pill I asked had he packed any extra... I spent an hour on the phone making various calls and locating the nearest pharmacy (-in a Walmart that is, because I might as well buy cheap Disney stuff while I waited) explaining it to the neurologists, verifying it went through etc. etc. Of course insurance doesn't cover this so the 6 days worth was ... well a lot of money that could have been used for more Mickey Mouse t-shirts.

And we also went to SeaWorld. Not the royal we since the other half had to be in meetings all day (why we went to Florida after all). Al day and just me and 3 out of 4 offspring. 100% of those offspring who need assistance. And when one of them broke down because he couldn't pick his own seat at the shows and was upset we never got splashed and wanted to come back alone -I did not by some miracle break down too. Because at that moment it just did not seem right that it was my 25 year old. It did not seem right to him either. On the other hand we did see a mime who was actually funny at the seal and otter show so in the end it was all worthwhile. We left laughing.

Disney Whirled (whining alert)

Remember how I said I had called Guest Sevices? Well then I stood in line for Guest Services because I'd been told there was some card I could get to have better acces to the rides for Caleb, but the young person at the counter told me the wheelchair was enough (made sense to me) and we could always use FastPass (I think the italics make it look faster) -not so much sense since running back and forth between rides is part of what I was trying to avoid but OK. Then the rides attendants (not correct Disney term) started telling us we needed a special (possibly Magic) access card. So I have Carolyn, who went with Caleb to Epcot so that I could be free to stand in line twice in one day to have a 5 year old be to shy to talk to Mickey Mouse but that was alright since it all reall is the happiest place on earth to a 5 yr old, wait in line at Guest Service there and get the access card. And then at the first ride she tried to use it was told it was the "wrong kind" -it just told the attendants the holder had a wheelchair (really) and she needed the kind with an arrow on it. He (if I knew his name I'd put it right here) told her this rudely -and she doesn't notice rude easily. So 3rd tme around I avoid the Guest Services line and try if the card works in the Magic Kingdom. No I am told (politely now) I need to go to Guest Services, but there is no doubt the young man I am pushing in the wheelchair could and should have the other access card -from Guest Services at the front of the park. I am not at the front of the park. I am pushing the wheelchair. I whine a little and the attendant gives us pass to get right on the ride. I only tried this once but it was good.

Still, I don't really like having to do this sort of thing and mostly our ride choice was driven by the 5 yr old so the lines were only medium long and sometimes there was a special entrance for wheelchairs -and sometimes not. And sometimes you got there and found this conveyor belt thing you had to step on and then climb from it into a moving car. Try that with crutches and orthotics and big feet that don't bend. And then do it again to get out. We spent a lot of time having costumed people telling us, "no, this way." because we missed the handicap entrance or thought there was one when there wasn't. So at the end I stood in line to at Guest Services again to tell them what I thought of the communication skills of the previous Guest Service people and the need for something more than a PhD (I like to work it in whenever I can) to figure out the secret codes involved. It was not a young person this time. It was in fact a very handsome Latin looking and sounding gentleman. I was very polite and really I think only a little pathetic. And he said (suavely I swear) they had indeed erred and it was their job to make it right and would we take free passes (park hopper at that) for all (of us) for the next day and the proper access pass? OK. Actually that's when I started crying.

And for anyone thinking, why should someone just sitting in a wheelchair get to bypass the lines and go straight into the Fastpass lanes without gettin a Fastpass?- you have a point. It's the people pushing the wheelchair in 90+ heat and getting the occupant in and out of the rides and carrying the crutches that should get to. It was my 5th day in a park I figured this out.

Oh and I made Caleb pose for me with Jesse's Mickey Mouse. He wasn't totally amused but I was and sometimes it's all about making Mom happy.