Dobrindts Dot Com

- The original plan was for me to take Friday off and we were going to head to NY from Boston during the day. But at the last minute I had to go to Chicago so I flew home on Friday and Patti picked me up at 3:30 at the airport with the kids and off we went. Once we got out of the airport the Southeast Expressway was like a parking lot and stayed that way until we got on 95. All three kids fell asleep so it was kind of relaxing now that I think about it. Cup of coffee, nice day out, talking to Patti, listening to EEI. We made the 6PM ferry.

- Let me talk about the Long Island ferry for a second. When we go to NY we always take the ferry. We pick it up about 90 miles south of Boston in New London and get off at Orient Point on Long Island. Then Patti’s parents are about a 35 minute drive, a very pleasant drive at that, away. When it was just Patti and I the ferry was great. We would sit out on top with the dog, have a beer, get some sun, read and relax. If it was cold we would sit inside and watch a movie or nap. It was wonderful. With Emily it was fine. With all three, it’s 90 minutes of anxiety. Sometimes anxiety mixed with pure hell. On the way to NY this weekend the kids were great. We all sat in a booth and played or talked, I took them for a walk, and it was good. On the way back was another story, more of that later.

- On the way down we noticed Emerson had a fever and was sneezing. With a child that young our doctor requires him to be seen if his temp is above 100.5 or something. On Saturday morning when we woke up, he was doing ok but his temp was around 101. So Patti took him to a doctor in South Hampton. We had plans to visit my friend Ray during the morning and then go to another friend’s kid’s birthday party farther on the Island during the afternoon, but we had to skip Ray’s place to go to the doctor. Turns out he had an ear infection and something related to a cold. No big deal, we got medicine.

- We ended up taking the kids to the other birthday party later on Saturday. We kept Emerson away from everyone but Ethan and Emily had a good time. It was at Dave and Busters and was freakin crazy. Blinking lights, video games, TVs, pool tables, food, other kids, all combined to create this blend of over stimulation that made the kids nuts like a high pitched whistle to dogs.

- Saturday night we stayed in a hotel since the church was pretty far from Patti’s parents. Getting all of us dressed and out by 10 in the morning is hard enough, forget by 8. My sister flew in from DC for the event and she stayed at the hotel too. We all hung out in our room that night. There was a wedding that just ended and the room next to ours was the party room, so we ended up moving to another floor. Kind of a pain but I think worth it I think.

- Sunday morning was total chaos with getting the kids and us ready, plus packing all of our crap up. Traveling with three kids requires a lot of stuff. I mean A LOT. But we managed to get out.

- The church was fun. Patti’s parents and her brother came to the church with another couple we are close with. We had a big thing for Emily, slightly smaller for Ethan, and Emerson got the shaft with the fewest people attending. He’ll never know the difference.

- After church was all went to lunch which was of course crazy with a 5 year old, a 4 year old, a 20 month old and a 3 month old. But fun still the same.

- It poured all weekend. They had flood warnings for Nassau and Suffolk county. On Sunday we drove from Hicksville all the way to Orient Point in driving sheets of rain, as heavy as anything I have drove in. The road were flooded and we could barely see 20 yards in front of us. Not fun. But I kept the speedometer at 95 MPH so we made good time.

- The ferry back on Sunday was a nightmare. The water was really choppy and the boat was rocking. I was worried about getting sea sick since it was pretty bad. Ethan was getting fussy and then kind of mellow, which sent up red flags to me. He was really pale and pretty miserable. As I was walking him around and lifted him up to look out the window at the rolling waves, he started to make gurgling sounds. Then all of a sudden he threw up his entire lunch and any snacks he had while driving out to the ferry. It came out over like a 2 minute period. Throwing up, throwing up throwing up. All on the floor and the seat that I was only moments before sitting on. Solid chucks of vomit too, not the kind with the consistency of clam chowder. The rest of us did fine but he doesn’t have his sea legs yet. Poor little guy.

- The drive from New London back to Boston was in driving rain as well and not much fun, but we made it. Exhausted.

- I have been sick for over 3 weeks. Cold sick. So I finally went to the doctor and they told me they think I have allergies. So I took a Clariton, which is grossly expensive, those pharma bastards have to recoup their R&D dollars, for the first time. I feel better I guess but I still think I have a cold. Just wanted to throw that in there.

So overall it was a good weekend but busy and tiring. Fun to see family and friends but too short. I can’t wait for the warm weather because Hampton beaches are as nice as they get. I foresee a number of weekends like this over the coming summer.