Well, our trip is at an end. It has been a sunny, relaxing trip. Who knew the trip home could be so stressful...
One thing that you'll notice as you follow my travel blog is that I'm very susceptible to motion sickness. Long car trips, airplane flights, and water travel all require Dramamine to keep my food down. I've discovered over the years that while the Dramamine will keep me going, it makes me groggy and it doesn't help the fluid imbalance that seems to have a compounding effect.
One surprise on this trip is that swimming and snorkeling in the ocean for about an hour didn't make me feel nauseous but it did mess with my inner ear equilibrium. I could feel it as I laid down that night, a constant rocking in my head that make it hard to sleep and left me feeling a bit nauseous by morning. Every car and water excursion from then on seemed to keep the rocking in my head from settling down and I felt motion sick a good portion of the trip. Even a short ferry ride across the channel in Willemstad left me on the verge of vomiting and clutching Jon's arm as my balance seemed determined to pitch me to the ground.
By Saturday night, things were constantly rolling, like being on a huge ship. A rolling that was always there but easy to ignore and barely perceptible but constant. As evening drew to a close the rolling seemed to intensify. I finished packing all of our clothes and sorting through what needed to be checked and what would go in our backpacks as carry-ons. Finally at 10 pm I made the last sweep through the house for anything I might have missed. Clothes carefully laid out next to the bed, I set my alarm for 5 am and fell sleep feeling like I was on a ship.
I woke in a cold sweat at 2:30 am. Jumping up and fumbling through the dark room, I barely made it to the toilet when I vomited up what was left of my dinner. The cold sweat and weak feeling hit full on and I felt back in bed feeling only slightly better as the rocking continued.
The alarm goes off right at 5 am and I fall out of bed and pull on the clothes I'd set out. Grandma is up cooking a huge batch of eggs as Jon and Papa work on loading up everything. The smell of eggs makes me feel sick all over again and I try to avoid the kitchen area. I quickly pop two Dramamine hoping the 30 minute car ride will seem quicker and that we don't have to stop on the side of the road for me.
Everything is packed and in the car and we are on our way. I can't decide if I'm grateful it is still dark or not. At least everyone is quite. I think through all of our belongings, mentally checking that I haven't forgotten anything. My head hurts and I feel terrible so I figure anything we left (clothes, earrings, shoes, whatever) wasn't anything we couldn't live without. I double checked Little Bear's favorite "puppy" stuffed animal. That would be something we CAN'T forget. Sure enough, he is hugging puppy from his booster seat. Ok, I relax, we have everything. Jon looks at me, "We have everything? Keys, Passports, cell phones?" I reply yes, thinking I knew where everything was in my backpack except the keys which were in his pack. I tell him this, "Forgetting the keys would be terrible, they are in your backpack I think." His backpack is in the trunk so I don't bother to check as I do with the passports and cell phones.
I rest my forehead on the cool window and manage to make it to the airport without throwing up. Going through customs and finding our gate was a breeze... literally. The airport is open and breezy. I'm feeling a bit flush and ill so I make my way to the restroom only to discover my aunt Scarlett has come to visit. Luck was on my side, it was surprisingly easy to find the necessary supplies at the little airport shop.
The rest of the trip was uneventful until we were preparing to land in Pittsburgh. Upon searching through the backpack I realized I'd left the keys to the car back on the island. My nausea returned full force.
