Wow, after al the planning it was hard to believe that this day had finally arrived. What is even more remarkable is that we were actually able to plan another family vacation with all the kids. Addison just finished his second year at UBC in the Physics Engineering program, Ayva graduated high school and starts her pre-nursing program at Douglas College in September, and Ari is already going into grade 10… yet here we are, ready to embark on another Crazy Craik Adventure.
This adventure actually began a few days early when we dropped the dogs off on Vancouver Island. I won’t go into the details but we had some 30 degree whether so we spent two days out at Lake Cowichan. The reason I am bringing it up is because I booked our ferry home on Monday, August 11, on the 10:40pm ferry. Of course the ferry was 40 minutes late which means we didn’t actually get home until after 1:00am on Tuesday August 12. Tavis had stayed home to get work done and ended up battling a bit of a stomach bug while we were away so he too was still a bit unsettled on Tuesday, but he was already on the mend. I think it was something he ate.
Our first travel day began for me at 7:00am. I woke up early to finish up loose ends at work. We also started our first load of laundry. By noon, both loads of laundry were done, Ari had mowed the lawn, and Ayva and Addison were almost finished washing the Jetta. I finally turned off the computer and began to pack my bag. Anyone that knows us knows that the rule is we each have a carry on suitcase and a backpack… Nothing else. This is usually more than enough room but the only person who ALWAYS seems to struggle with packing is Ayva. I think we all have something of Ayva’s in our bags 🙂
We had planned on leaving the house between 2-3pm. We actually left the house at 2:10pm so yay for us for being on time! We made our way to the border which was our first wildcard. We had no idea how long it would take so we wanted to leave lots of time. As it turns out, 3:00pm on a Tuesday afternoon was a good time to cross because in the Nexus lane there was only 1 vehicle ahead of us. The person was really nice as well and after less than 5 minutes, we were on our way again.
We drove straight to the Premium Outlets in Tulaliip. They had a Tesla charger so we decided to charge the car a bit while we shopped. Tavis and the kids went in to the shops in search of shoes for Ari while I stayed with the car. It took about 7 minutes to get the car charged up to 80% and only about $5.00. Then I parked and used Find My to locate Tavis. They had already purchased Ari a new pair of shoes and were making their way out. However, I wanted to have a look to see if I could find a lighter pair for our vacation. I think it took me twice as long but only because I had to battle in my mind the idea of spending money on something I already had. In the end, it was a good choice because the shoes were breathable and light which was good for the hot weather.
Next we made our way to The Olive Garden for an early 5:00 dinner. We knew we would have a long travel day and we weren’t sure when our next meal would be so we made sure to get something filling to start our adventure. The restaurant was nice and super quick! I think our meals came within 30 minutes and we were out of there in about an hour because we had so much time! The meals were really good as well! Poor Tavis didn’t eat much because he still wasn’t feeling 100%, but atleast he ate a good portion of it.
From there, we made our way to the airport parking lot. Seattle traffic wasn’t really that bad. We had reserved parking at Park n Jet for 7:30pm but we actually arrived just after 7:00. We had no idea how much charge to leave the car, but after discussing the issue with Grok, we were comfortable with our 64% battery. We turned off the Cabin Overheat and auto sentry mode. Whether we left the car with enough charge is yet to be determined but we will monitor the car and worse case we will know before leaving Miami if we need to make arrangements. Having an all electric vehicle is still new to us so we learn as we go.
Next we took a shuttle to the airport. We went through security surprisingly quick. We were TSA approved which meant everything stayed in our bags. Ayva, with her damaged finger (yet another story for another time) was the only one flagged so she got to go into the machine and then got padded down. Note to self… don’t wear baggy jogging pants when flying :P. Even with that delay, we were still through security and ready to catch our plane by 7:35 which left 180 minutes to kill while waiting for our boarding time.
We went straight to the gate and the kids sat with the luggage while Tavis and I went for a walk. We discovered that our gate had changed from D2 to N14 which was in a different building. We had so much time that this wasn’t a big deal at all. We all made our way over the updated gate but we still had over 2 hours to wait. Everyone sat with the luggage while I set out to get my monthly challenge goal of 12.86km of walking a day. Yes Mom, I did it! By the time we boarded, I had walked 13km, brushed my teeth, and ensured everyone went to the bathroom and remembered to fill their water bottles. By 10:15 we were boarded and our luggage was safely stowed. Thank you Alaska Visa for giving Tavis priority boarding, and thank you to the gate agents who let the rest of us board with him 🙂
By 11:10pm , we had taken off and we were on our way to New York. The flight attendants were super nice and very patient with everyone. They made the flight quite enjoyable and even brought Tavis a free can of wine even though it wasn’t included with our seats! Yes, he must be feeling better.
Funny how a simple gesture can make such a huge impact. All in all it was a perfect day and an uneventful flight.