My dear mother-in-law has been planning for months on end a surprise birthday weekend for my father-in-law’s 60th birthday party. The plan was our family and Tim’s brother’s family would meet them down in Destin, Florida for a weekend together as well as a deep sea fishing trip for the guys. Tim and I had discussed back and forth the pros and cons of flying versus driving there. Of course, cost was the huge factor. For such a short amount of time, a round trip of 28 hours in 4 days, seemed less than pleasurable. Call us wimps, but being in the car that long with a 6 and a 4 year old sounded like some extreme form of torture. So we sucked it up and broke the bank and decided to fly. It was Kayla’s first time on an airplane. (Note: My last smile of the weekend)
The day before we were about to leave Isaac came down with a cold. Isaac isn’t one to let that get him down so we jus rolled with it. But he actually had to miss school on Wednesday because of it and we left that night for the airport. We arrived in Pensacola late Wednesday night and stayed in a Holiday Inn Express. (view from our window)
The next morning arrived and I felt terrible. It looks like the cold Isaac had was now passed onto me. So Tim got up with the kids and went to beach searching for shells and also went swimming in the hotel pool while I rested. Here is my kids first time seeing the ocean.
We then met up with the rest of the family at the condo in Destin. I was so sad because I finally got to meet my nephew who is now 9 months old, and because I was sick, I couldn’t cuddle him or kiss his chubby cheeks. 
So that night I went to bed early hoping rest would help the situation and I had the chills all night. I would sweat through all my clothes and then be so cold no amount of clothes in the entire universe would make me warm. It went back and forth between those extremes all night. Pretty much the next three days looked exactly like that. I got out of the condo I think twice. I don’t know if I had a flu and cold combo or just the worst strand of cold virus there is but – HOOOOLY COW – it is a doozy. Headache, chills, body aches, cough, running nose, and upset stomach. Even the shower water hurt my skin when it touched me. So I spent the next three days holed up in the condo bedroom sleeping, sweating, freezing, snotting and watching Lifetime Movies feeling sorry for myself.
Then the day before we were going to fly home Kayla said she had a headache. Oh no! If anyone in the family we don’t want sick it is her. She is not the greatest patient. So the rest of the family went off to the alligator farm and Kayla and I stayed back. She was screaming bloody murder for about a half hour (while I am incessantly texting my hubby to come rescue me) when all of the sudden she covers me in barf from head to toe. Sweet mother of mercy! I clean off all my barfy clothes and put her in the bath – immediately she clonks out.
So after a brief pity party of tears and more snot my hubby comes home. Poor guy he doesn’t know what to do with an emotional wife with snot covering her face blubbering about how miserable she is, how she hates Florida, the condo, the bed, and everything in the room. Yes, I was slightly dramatic in that moment.
Kayla woke up feeling fine but the same exact thing happened the next day. Calgon take me away!
On the last day I felt about 20% better, which I was grateful for. I think it must have been the excitement of my own bed because today I feel like crap again. Oh and did I mention that our plane was delayed on our way home because the plane had a crack in the windshield? Yep so we didn’t get to bed until after 1 a.m.
Well that will go down in the Farrant history books as my worst vacation ever. Here is all the fun that I missed.
Now I know you all have a story that probably rivals this one. I would love for you to cheer me up with your crazy terrible vacation stories in the comments below.
Excuse me while I go cough up a lung and blow my nose.
Oh Beckie…you betcha…we always do the drive from Michigan to Florida and Back..while in Florida one of my twins got a bug…we thought it only lasted a day…Well we were wrong…On the car drive home..not 20 feet from my Mom’s driveway and over 1000’s miles from home He starts projectile vomiting…hitting us in the front seat…we had to pull over every 30 minutes to clean up the car..I thought I would snap…he finally stopped after 12 hours..only to have his twin sister then start up….I didn’t cry until 2 days later…LOL…I was in Mom mode trying to make sure we got home safe while hubby would yell..”i’ve been hit” while driving 70 miles an hour….LOL I can laugh now, but the smell of the blue lysol wipes will forever haunt my dreams…:)
Hugs
Karin
Oh, that is just awful, Beckie. 🙁 Hope you guys are all on the mend now!
When I was about 8, me, my parents, and my brothers ( 12 and 13) drove from Illinois to Colorado and we broke down in EVERY SINGLE STATE on the way there, and the way back, TWICE!!!!!! We even had to get towed once and the tow truck broke down!! It was horrible. We had this old motor home that my parents bought for the trip and we never took another trip in it again. My mom lost her wedding ring at one website and our rental car once we got there was from a place names “rent a wreck” and trust me it was a wreck! The only good thing, once we got home and unpacked my mom did find her ring in her shoe!
Stevi,
Okay that is a good one. Do you guys laugh about it now? I bet everytime “family trip” came up you ran for the hills! H!
Slowly but surely. I still feel like crap but Isaac is bouncing around and Kayla hasn’t barfed today – victory.
Yikes, I had mono in college – that is brutal. Whataguy! He just had to pay his dues and pass the ultimate sacrifice of caring for her 😉
Karin,
Okay you win. Projectile vomit in the back of the head? Sweet Jesus that is TERRIBLE! Did you ever get the smell out of the car?
Awww…sorry about your icks on your trip! Hope you are on the mend very soon too! We have had our share, but one of the most memorable for me was years ago when I was single and seeking a new job in a new city and it was one of the last interviews and I couldn’t miss the opportunity although I felt like crap. I chalked it up to nerves and as I checked myself into the hotel the night before I thought it would settle down from the trip, etc. Fast forward to that morning, I woke up early and realized that I was flu-sick and barfed all over my bed. I mean all over. I was alone and although I can rally now in Mom mode I was terrified and not sure what to do. I called the maid service to get me some more towels and had them leave them outside the door. I took a shower and did the best I could and continued to get dressed…all the while trying to keep my puke down. Long story short, as I checked out I told the gal that I left a $20 bill on my dresser for the maid and made my apologies and ran outta there so fast. On the way to the appt, I pulled over 3 times and wiped chunks outta my hair the last time. Needless to say, when I FINALLY got to the interview they were going to be late and I told them that I would have to go to the restroom. I said a prayer that the puke smell was hidden by my perfume, pulled my act together, splashed my face with water and went with it. I ended up getting the job…thankgoodness…but it was the worst experience being sick, solo, out of town and stressed. Being a mommy now with our daughter having the icks pales in comparison! 🙂
Oh we crack up about it! My mom actually kept a journal for the whole trip which we loving refer to as “the trip from hell” she had about 25 pages of all the details and it is hilarious to look back at! And that was at one CAMPsite she lost her ring lol…guess website was on the brain!!
OH my poor dear! You had the flu… yes I know this only because I had the same symptoms and my doctor confirmed it was the H3N1 influenza virus that I was suffering from. I would love to say the coughing is gone but lets just say it has minimized…. as in I no longer have to take the codeine laced cough syrup in order to sleep at night and it no longer sounds like I belong in the TB ward.
Bad vacation experiences…. there are 2 to chose from. When I was in the AF I was sent down to Oklahoma City for 5 weeks. The idea was I would do some flying and then be on alert for a full week. When I got down there, I was feeling a little “off”….. experiencing some “site” tenderness, a bit queasy, just off. We had been talking about starting a family so…. Because I was not late yet they wouldn’t let me go in and have a pregnancy test done. The beginning of my 4th week there my husband came down over his break to visit… it was a great time! We went to the zoo, ate out, I got wicked stomach cramps and spent a lot of time in the bathroom, we hung out at the pool, discovered all the bathrooms in Oklahoma City… yep great fun! (it really was a good time… until my last day) So it was the day before I was supposed to be on alert for a week… and they finally let me have the official pregnancy test. Yep I passed! Definitely pregnant! Chris was back at work and I had to drive home, by myself… throwing up almost the entire way! The longest I was able to drive was 45 minutes without having to pull over and throw up…. yep “morning” sickness and carsickness all at once. It was miserable!
#2…..spending 1st Christmas after said child was born at my Mom’s in Denver as my husband was deployed. At 10 months old he cried for the final 6 hours of the drive to my mom’s.. yes I was driving by myself. He started to run a fever our 2nd day there… turns out he was teething. 4 teeth in 1 week, lots of crying, snotty running nose, and frustration… and that was just me. 🙂 ha ha! Seriously an evening did not go by where he did not throw up on me for 4 days in a row. Oh did I mention my mom did not “do” babies at that time…. they make her nervous (there is a reason I’m an only child… i love my mom but she doesn’t do babies/little kids well… she kinda freaks a bit, ha ha! but teenagers, she’s great with teenagers! even the moody ones!!) Two days before we drove home his teeth broke through and he was a happy smiling baby…. and no it is not a Christmas I would ever want to repeat.
So glad your trip is over & you’re getting better!
Okay, this doesn’t top your trip, but will let you know you’re not alone…. Instead of a big party for my 40th, I asked my husband for one more beach trip (my bday’s in August). Make it extra special and pull kids out of school for 2 days for a longer weekend. Day of my birthday, we have fish tacos at the poolside restaurant & I rave they are the best ever. Right after that, a headache hits & thinking it’s a migraine, we head up to hotel room for a little siesta time. Within an hour, I am OMGoodness sick, sick, sick. Stomach virus, food poisoning, I don’t know. Lovely single room hotel room with 4 people. Gets smaller when you’re sick. My husband kept the kids out of room for 2 days, doing every kids’ activity on the resort, trying to let me rest. I was sick every hour for at least 24 hours. He had worked out a special dinner at a off-property restaurant to celebrate my birthday. We moved it, but it was too soon. Before that, I’d only had toast and I tried to eat fish to show I was enjoying myself that night, but could only eat 2 bites. It’s been 2 years and I still can’t eat Mahi Mahi (which used to be my favorite fish) because the smell brings it all back. And like you, we have all of these pics of the kids having a blast & I’m not there.
OH NO, so sorry, Beckie! What a rough vacation. This is the stuff family vacation legends are made from and yes, one day you’ll laugh about it. I remember our family vaca to Disney years ago, our (siblings) first time on an airplane and there was a huge airline strike. We had to take four different planes to get to FL and they lost our luggage. Stayed in an authentic roach motel with no heat, hand selected by my father’s cousin. We didn’t pack winter coats and FL had a record-breaking cold snap — we look absolutely frozen in our orange grove photos. And, my mother had pneumonia the whole time. Today, we can laugh about it, along with a lot of other vacations we took. Anyway, I hope you’re all feeling better very soon!
Being sick sucks…but being sick AWAY from home is 1000x worse. With sick kids on top of it — and during a vacation!! Hope you are all better soon. And like everyone else says, you WILL laugh about it some day. But not for a while. 🙂
oh NO! That sounds awful 🙁 🙁 I’m totally in the middle of that “worst sickness ever”, but I didn’t have it affect a family vacation – so sorry it ruined yours!! 🙁
yes…but I still recoil at the sound of that Pre barf burp and like I said..the smell of the lysol wipes we kept using to CLEAN up the mess makes me gag…LOL..
My mom said its a club membership thing for Moms..she took my older siblings on a car ferry and my brother got car sick and threw up “she thought” out the window…NOPE in between the window and the door…so the car sat on the ferry in 100 degree heat with barf stuck between the glass and the door…had to drive where they were going with that smell..I laughed at her when she told me its “a parent thing” LOL She lived through it and so will we..
Hugs and hope you are feeling better.
Karin
So sorry about the bummer trip:( I hope you feel all better soon!
Once when I was 11 each of my 5 siblings threw up while we were on a day-trip around all of Yellowstone park. All the sulphur smells do not mix well with that!
So sorry friend. That stinks 🙁
yeap you had the flu, and I understand the “just shoot me” I had it then It went to bronchitis and then because so run down Phnemonia for the 8th time…then after barely recouping I get a ear infection and that starts a terrible infection of the soft tissue in my face. Face swells pain burning…so a shot and penicillin strong enough for a horse. So a toast to all of us lets get better and get our makeovers going
Worst.vacation.story.ever. You deserve a re-do. I seriously welled up with tears at the thought of you laying in bed while your family had a good time… and then to be puked on, you have GOT to be kidding me. I hope you are feeling better soon!
so sorry you were sick for your whole trip. I don’t have any really good stories…probably because we never really travel anywhere but I’m going to make fun of my dad so you can have a good laugh. when we were kids (I was probably 12-ish) the family went up to Niagra Falls. To give you some background, we tent camped for the whole trip. Somehow in the process of setting up camp my dad threw his back out. Here’s where the funny part (for everyone but dad) comes in. Picture us sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and dad joking around starts shaking his flaming mallow Denis the Menace style. Well, fast forward 2.5 seconds and flaming gooey marshmallow falls on dads bare leg. Here’s where his family is laughing so hard they forget he can’t move because his back’s thrown out. Not my dad’s best vacation but he gets a good laugh out of it now.
Get well soon!
When I was in college, I went to Disney with a family (3 kids under 4) I babysat for. On the final full day, we went to my favorite park (then MGM). We went on The Great Movie Ride and by the end I didn’t feel so well. We walked down to the infirmary, where I rested and insisted that the family go and enjoy the park. I ran to the bathroom a few times, but I was starting to feel better by lunchtime. The family came to get me and the dad had a diabetic reaction. The mom left me with the 18 month old in the stroller, and the other 2 on “leashes” attached to both of my wrists while she went into the infirmary with her husband to get his blood sugar up. While they were inside, I started throwing up. I released the 4-year-old’s leash and she ran into the infirmary yelling, “Mommy, mommy, Tanya’s sick”. I felt so bad for the mom. I spent the entire day in the infirmary. Disney sent a van to bring us back to the hotel at the end of the day…they didn’t want to chance me throwing up on one of the buses. They also sent a doctor to the room, refunded the dining plan and one night’s hotel stay, and gave me a one-day park ticket.
I live in Florida and it sounds like your daughter had a mild version of the stomach bug that is sweeping the state. Be glad it was mild, my in-laws got it full blown and puked non stop for 6-10 hours and wanted to die, kids and adults alike. The next day, they could not even move. So glad your daughter did not have that while you had the flu. Sorry for such a bad vacation. Come to Destin again April – October and you will fall in love. If you just got back, then you got here right after a week of rain and then cold fronts. I don’t live in Destin but it is one of Florida’s prettiest beaches usually.
I suppose we all have a similar story to tell, especially those with small children! My worst was when we went for a summer vacation (fortunatelly not far away from home) and at the moment we arrived at the hotel I realised that my, then, 2 years old baby had 38.5 fever. And as the days were passing (we were to stay there for a week) the third day that the fever remained I decided to visit the doctor. As she said it was a virus of the tonsils and she couldn’t give any medicine…just wait!!! One day before we leave the hotel my doughter felt better and at least I had the opportunity to plunge my legs in the sea for a while because at the same time my visitors came…(you know these red unexpectable visitors that visit all women once per month….I hate them the summer days). I have a lot of similar stories to say but this was the worst from all!!! Thanks for giving me the oppotunity to share my story with you!!!
Oh no, I hope you are starting to feel better now. What a shame you had to miss all the good times. Poor Kayla…poor you! It’s lucky your husband didn’t catch the bug.
Was your father-in-laws party a success? Was he surprised? Looks like you missed it, but I didn’t see you mention how it went…and that was the reason for the trip. 😉
We’ve been very fortunate, we’ve never had any illnesses or incidents while on holidays.
Debbie 🙂
Sorry about the flu! It has been a killer flu season!
My funny story is from faithfully visiting my children’s Great-Grandparents every Easter. I have some allergy issues that were always compounded at their house due to dust and fibers and I always suffered from migraines while visiting. (But LOVE LOVE LOVE them) Just after leaving their home, I said to my husband, “Pull over NOW”, which started a question and answer session that never was to be….I grabbed the Easter basket my daughter had made out of a gallon milk jug (you know, the bunny with construction paper ears and cotton balls?) and heaved in several times. Oh the crying that began over the lost candy!! My husband certainly understood what “Pull over now!” means from then on! HAHAHA
Page out of my book for this week, well other than no one has thrown up on me (yet). But our worst vacation is still fondly referred to as the vacation from Hell – to Florida – and had nothing to do with getting sick and everything to do with what in laws we chose to vacation with.
I’ll end just by saying…. the flu at least goes away.
Bliss
My husband and I, with 4 moody teen and pre-teen girls (3 his, 1 mine) and our teething 2 year old drove (all together, in a van) from NJ to Williamsburg by way of VA Beach. The teething 2 year old cried all the way from Northern VA to VA Beach, which in the driving rain of the nearby hurricane took twice as long as usual. When we got to the hotel which had been gorgeous in the online pictures, we were very disappointed with the shabby, smelly rooms with 50 year old lumpy beds. The next morning we headed to the beach, only to be rained out (see above re: hurricane) so we decided to check out the time-share speech to get our free gift. Our teething 2 year old screamed constantly, and we were actually asked to leave! (I think that part is not all bad!) We headed to Williamsburg, went to Busch Gardens and stayed for about an hour because we were melting in the heat and humidity. Thankfully, that hotel was much nicer, and the girls at least had fun in the indoor pool. That was our vacation from hell, mild compared to barfing!
Aww, I am soo bummed for you. I never go on vacation, therefore these things don’t happen to me. When I finally have saved up for an awesome vacation…it better not!
My husband and I and our little 1 1/2 yr old daughter traveled to Wisconsin this last summer in the middle of a heat wave to visit family. The house we stayed at didn’t have central air. I was six months pregnant and in order to keep from suffocating from the humidity we had to keep our bedroom door open which meant I couldn’t strip down past my pajamas…I didn’t sleep well the entire week we were there, I just sweated through all of my clothes every night. My husband had “violent” diarhea start the day we arrived and that lasted the entire week. And to top it off as we were traveling home and about an hour away from our plane landing my daughter who had been sleeping soundly in my lap quickly bolted up and spewed large amounts of throwup all down herself and all down me. The person in front of us said the smell was so bad that he almost started throwing up himself. It went down my shirt and into my pants. I had to juggle cleaning her up, our seat up, and changing every peice of clothing I had on, including underwear all while the plane was experiencing turbulence.
Well, phooey, what a crappy vacation! Or I guess I should say, barfy vacation. My worst nightmare was traveling from Oklahoma to Georgia with a urinary tract infection- so bad I was passing blood clots. The worst pain ever, wanted to die, stopped every few minutes to go pee- I could write a travel book on the best and WORST restrooms in the country. We would have just turned around and gone back to Oklahoma, but I hadn’t seen my parents in over a year, wanted desperately to see them. Now we live in GA & I won’t ever do that again. I hope.
Oops, sorry, meant to say, I hope you’re feeling better really soon!!!
Wow that sounds brutal. That is a long drive. I have had enough UTI’s to know that there is no place like home when you are experiencing one of those. Egads!
Okay you win, that is horrrrrriiiibbbbblllleee! And pregnant? Oh my, that for sure, will go down in history! WOWIE wow! Anything with barf and traveling is torture. But navigating an airplane bathroom? Sweet mother of mercy! I would have bawled!
HAHA! True dat! I am blessed with great in laws but if they were awful the flu would be a welcome!
HAHA! That is hilarious….poor little gallon bunny! i bet it didn’t know what hit him. better the candy be a casualty than the car for sure.
Yes he had a great time. Everyone had a great time except me. So it was a success. They caught a lot of fish and spent some quality bonding time together.
No way!!! 🙁 So sorry , what a bummer! I remember when my husband and I ( we were just dating at the time) went on a fabulous trip to Cancun and day 2, I got the worst yeast infection ever!!!!!!!!! I’ll spare you the details …….I’m sure you get the drift! ha 🙂
OhMGee. I’m so sorry. You make it sound pretty funny but I know you were miserable. That just stinks.
What a bummer to miss all the fun, Beckie! Glad to read that you all are on the mend now, but still..!
And what IS it about Florida?! Lots of germs from all of the tourists (us!) who vacation there, maybe.
We have a Florida story, but not about germs. We vacationed in Orlando for a family reunion last month and right in the middle of the weekend my 1 and 2 year old girls and I were in a head-on collision at about 45 mph. Crazy. I still am amazed that we all walked away (well, were transported away by ambulance, but could walk!). The car was totaled, of course, and I had lots of bruises, but my kids had no more than a tiny bruise on each of their chins and chests. Praise God.
My 2 year old thought it was just extra fun to have a rental car and then a new car to ride in!
Sorry your vaca was a bust ~ About 20 years ago a friend and I decided to go to Florida – with our combined 7 kids. We loaded the Suburban (sans hubbies) and took off for 20 days. In Miami, we met up with another friend plus 2 more kids. That’s 3 moms, 9 kids ages 4-14, and no real sense of reality. I think we were actually asked to leave Key West. We had every ailment you can imagine ~ jelly fish stings, losing a kid at Walt Disney World, vomiting in the Suburban and a variety of hotels, fever, a lightening storm in the Gulf of Mexico on a snorkling trip, more vomit and fever. Best worst Vacation ever.
Wow that is intense. So glad you are okay, especially with your little ones. Yikes!
I’m a little late responding to this but so sorry you were so sick! We are experiencing that right now. I’ve been sick since Thursday and my daughter was sick a week ago. Turns out I have strep! All those symptoms you had I think I have experienced. I hate the sweating and then being so cold! Now my son is sick. We leave next Wednesday for Hawaii so I am very hopeful this will all be over before we leave. Otherwise I’d probably have a similar story about our trip to Hawaii!
Oh no that can’t happen in Hawaii. It is just not allowed! I just got your message on FB today. I am so sorry I didn’t see it until now.