Dessert First

As I am sitting here eating ice cream out of the vessel we scored on vacation...

I want to skip right to the best part, dessert. 

I want to fast forward all the way to our last day in the park. This was the day we found out that

they were going to close the park to enforce social distancing. Thank

goodness it was our last day because the day after they announced it, we

were on the road and the lines to get in were swollen with eager tourists. 

Everybody wanted to get in knowing that the park had only one day left to 

remain open. You want to talk about perfect timing? This was it. 

We had no interruption to our original travel plans. (Also keep the timeline

of events in context. When we left for our trip the directive was, "wash your hands."

While we were gone, the situation changed and escalated on a daily basis. We

did not take this trip to bite our thumb at the government or its directives. 

Until we had been on vacation for a few days the only instruction was to 

observe safe sanitation practices. So please do  not read this using the lens

of the current climate and the shelter-in order.)

Having no interruption to our travel made eating ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice 

Cream Parlor that much

Sweeter.

All week we wandered through the streets of Diagon Alley, enjoying the sights sounds

and spells (haha). Every day the kids looked longingly at the window of the ice cream shop,

wishing for a taste of the treats inside.

I told them all I would buy them ice cream for dessert on the last night after hearing, "can we

have ice cream?" for the hundredth time.

View from the inside of the ice cream shop's window

Fast forward to the last night. After eating dinner at the Leaky Coldron, it was

decided that the Mummy was the last ride we all wanted to ride. Thankfully

The Mummy was across the park. Walking gave us a chance to let our tummies

settle before hopping on a roller coaster. (Just one of those things you try not to 

think about while at an amusement park; eating then riding. Just go for it.)

It was also our opportunity to try the "single rider line" method to getting on a ride faster.

We had heard about going in the single rider line from one of the folks in the hot

tub at the resort. "If you don't mind sitting by yourself in a row, you can get in the single rider line.

So you put one adult in the front of the line to ride first, and wait for each kid as they get off.

Then Grown up number two goes last and stays with all the kids till they have all got on the ride."

So while other parties wanted to all ride the ride "together at the same time", we all elected to

hop in the single rider line. So instead of waiting 45 minutes, we only had to wait 20. As it turned

Out I was on the same ride as all 4 kids. They were just in different rows than me. My Slytherin

Adult travel companion was in the cart behind us. So we all just waited at the exit until he got off

the ride.

"Now can we get ice cream?" the kids begged.

"Yes, now we can go get ice cream," I replied.

We started walking our way back across the park. We passed the Fast and the Furious car "showroom"

And Slytherin Adult travel companion said he wanted to pop in while we went to get ice cream. It was down to our last hour in the park, and I knew he really wanted to see the cars. So I agreed and continued to walk with the kids to Diagon Alley.

We were in a hurry,  knowing that the park was going to close shortly.  After we entered the the ice cream shop they allowed one more party in behind us and then they closed the door for the night. Only the people that were already standing in line were served.

We arrived Just in Time!

Standing in line at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor in Diagon Alley

I told the kids to get anything they wanted. They were shocked that they could literally get any

flavor swirled with any other flavor! "You mean it's not just vanilla and chocolate?" Gryffindor asked.

"Any two flavors," replied the witch behind the counter.

Each child put in their order and I made my way down the line to the cash register. It took them several minutes to create the desserts. As I was waiting, a woman came shuffling down the line towards me.

"Excuse me, have you paid for your ice cream yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet," I replied, a little bewildered.

"I have snacks left on this food card. Can I buy your ice cream for you?"

Seriously? A total stranger comes up to me asking to pay for $31.00 worth of ice cream?

"Yes. Thank you!" was of course my reply.

Magic? Who knows. The kids all got their dream desserts finally and they didn't cost me a single Fun Dollar!

Finally some ice cream!

Now that is what I call the cherry on top. 

Of Wands, Witches and Wizards

One Happy Ravenclaw

To say that this vacation was perfectly timed would be an understatement. I cannot express how grateful I am
that our trip was not only able to happen, but was not cut short or postponed in any way. So, to give myself
something to think about other than what's in the news, I wanted to recap my dream vacation. What else am
I going to do while in "quarantine"?

Having the memory of this vacation has lit me up since we returned. If I had to cast a Patronus right now, this
memory would  be the one I think of right before shouting, "Expecto Patronum!"  There was nothing that I
would change or do differently about this trip. Every moment added up to what I can only remember as my
favorite vacation to date. (Yes, I loved my childhood vacations, but this was something new...this was a self-
funded vacation with my own kids. Passing the torch in a way. So, it encompassed all those childhood
memories as well as built our own new memories with a new generation.) 

This was Fun Dollars at it's best. I was able to enjoy the feeling of "I did it!" the entire trip. I wanted this trip to
feel like a magical journey for these four kiddos. I made Fun Dollars a part of the trip, which added to the
magic. For starters, the Owls delivered packages to the kids. They all received toothbrushes, goggles and 
sunglasses, which they put to good use all week long. I also gave them all color pencils, a four color pen and 
an activity book, just to have a non-electronic thing to do in the car. There was one point when Hufflepuff 
chimed in from the middle seat, "Look, Rachael, none of us are on our electronics!" I looked behind me, 
and sure enough they were each working hard on their puzzle books.

In general, the kids handled the road travel quite well. They all were happy to entertain themselves, or talk
together. There were a few moments of typical kiddo shenanigans, but that just added to the fun of the trip.
I have to say, I did not expect to return from a trip with four kids and feel that relaxed, but I did.

When we left, each child also had their own stash of Fun Dollars. My Slytherin adult travel partner had been
paying his kids for weeks to do chores. Sweeping floors, pet care and taking out the trash were all done by
the Hufflepuff and Slytherin kids. (Although I should note that the little Slytherin realized that he might 
actually be a Ravenclaw. He called himself a Slyther-claw during our trip.)  The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw 
kids (my kids) saved up all of their Christmas money AND all their birthday money this year. Since they both 
had January birthdays, they kept their birthday card cash for the trip. They did some chores as well, like 
putting away their own laundry and dishes. I did not pay them outright for those chores, however. It was 
understood that mom would cover any souvenir expense only after they spent all their own money first. 

And guess what? ALL FOUR children came home with money! Hufflepuff was the first to run out of cash, but I
did give him the opportunity to earn more Fun Dollars on the trip. He earned an extra $30.00 on the trip and
came home with a buck to spare.

I am not sure how much money the "Slyther-claw" kiddo came home with, but I know his mason jar had
money in it when we returned. (That's what he uses as a piggy bank, a pint sized mason jar!)

Both of my children had more than $20.00 left after vacation. But the winner, the child who has been trained
in Fun Dollars since before he was in kindergarten came back from vacation with a whopping $70.00! Now, 
granted he started with about $300.00, but for a child to have free-reign on his spending on his dream 
vacation? I have to say right now that I am one proud Fun Dollars Mama. My little Ravenclaw, who inspired 
this trip, was the most judicious shopper! Even down to his last purchase, he checked with me first to see 
if it was a good buy.

It was for a very nice Jurassic Park baseball cap, and I could not have been happier saying, "Yes." The
confidence he derived from putting that hat on was tangible as he asked me if he could make the purchase. 
He was buying something he actually wanted. Even though he has baseball caps at home, this particular 
one spoke to him. I wanted him to have that hat. I wanted him to have the crown to remember that trip 
every time he puts it on.

He set out with the end in mind. He WANTED to come home with money. Why? "Because I've been saving,
mom! I want to go out and spend my money on things I've had my eye on at home."
This whole time that he has been saving up his Christmas and birthday money, he has been price 
comparing and window shopping at stores here in town. He didn't want to only spend his money on 
vacation. He wanted to be able to come home and spend too.

He even tried to get me to promise to buy him souvenirs if his money dropped below a certain point. To
which I answered, "Then you have to choose if you really want to buy the item or not. I will buy you 
souvenirs only after you run out of money." So he knew that if he spent it all, he would get vacation 
money from mom, but his home spending money would have to be built back up. He didn’t want that. 
So he kept track of his Fun Dollars and only spent down to the amount he was comfortable with.

When we returned to this epidemic, we took a trip to Wal-Mart for a few items. He brought his money
along and wanted to make a trip to aisle 11…Pokemon Cards. Even though that is the last thing I want 
in my house right now, I respected his decision and said nothing about it. He was proud to have the 
money in his pocket to make the purchase. He even ended up taking one of his items off the order 
because he didn’t like how expensive it all was. He still wanted to keep some money in his pocket so 
he returned an item! He did this all by himself with the cashier and did it with confidence. He is cool 
with putting something back and saving his money! (I am seriously getting choked up over here. I 
could not be more proud!)

So, back to vacation. Each child did bring enough to buy their own wands. This was the one big item
each child wanted. It didn't matter that they cost $60.00 each, they were so thrilled to make their own 
wand purchases.

We waited in line at Olivander's in Hogsmeade.

I had no idea what to expect. When it was our turn to enter the wand shop, we all shuffled in and they
closed the door. The assistant arranged the kids in the room in the front row and the adults behind them. 
With a little over a dozen of us in the wand shop, they closed the door and the room darkened. A single 
lamp was lit on the desk of the wandkeeper, who greeted us all with a British accent. Our little Gryffindor
started to pipe up, and our parent alarm went off, "Shh…" came out in unison. The wandkeeper didn't 
miss a beat, "Oh, no, don't sush our young Gryffindor. The student has a question." She asked her question, 
and he kindly answered her. He then asked two other the students from the crowd to come forward. They 
were dressed in their Hogwarts uniforms, and the "show" began. 

The wand keeper walked around the shop and after some thought and consideration, pulled two wand
boxes off the shelf. He brought them back to his desk and removed the lids from the wand boxes. He told 
the students about the first wand and handed it to one of them. "Give it a wave," he instructed. She did 
so, and the flowers in the pot  wilted. "No, that can't be your wand." So then he handed the other wand 
to the other student. "Go ahead and wave it, dear," he said. When she did, the wand boxes went askew 
on the shelf. So then he thought about it and traded wands with the two students. When they held them 
a fan behind the desk blew air at them and the music queued up, just like in the first movie. "Oh, those 
are your wands…" Everyone clapped. Then the crowd was instructed to shuffle their way into the actual 
wand shop to be chosen by the wands therein. 

Oh, wait, back up a bit…My little Ravenclaw thought he would be cheeky and ask questions in a British
accent through the entire ceremony. Go ahead and punctuate that whole scenario with an 11 year old 
asking questions... Since I was told by the wand keeper that I should not shush my kids, I let him handle 
the Ravenclaw comments. And he did. So when the rest of the crew was getting shuffled into the wand 
shop to make their purchases, we were told to hand back. (They only do the ceremony once per group. 
You either get to have your wand choose you, or you get to watch someone be chosen by a wand.) It 
was clear to the wand keeper that this crew of students were curious and eager, he chose to give us a 
"mini ceremony" just for us. 

So, per the wandkeeper's instructions, all 6 of us hung back while everyone else went to choose their
wands in the shoppe. The wandkeeper disappeared into a back room and returned to his desk clutching 
four wand boxes. He called the children forward. They peered eagerly at the boxes. The wand keeper 
took out the first wand and addressed our little Hufflepuff. He told him about the core and the wood 
and a few characteristics of the wand. He did this to each student in turn. After they all heard about 
their wands, they were allowed to pick them up out of the boxes. When they did, the wind blew, and 
just like that, all four wands magically chose each student. It was a mini version of what we just 
wittnessed, but the kids got their own private wand ceremony! What a treasured memory we will 
all share.

Each Child took their wand box through the door and into and actual wand shop to make their purchase.  "
$58.95," said the cashier wizard. Each child took out thier Fun Dollars and paid the wizard.  They had worked
and saved for those Fun Dollars, and they were each making the choice to spend their money on the wand
that chose them. I was so proud of all
of them!

As it turned out, these wands make magic happen all over the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The students
can take the map that comes in the wand box to places marked with medallions on the street. There, they 
can practice their wand movements and recite the incantation. Some of the magic happens inside a shop 
window, some happens with a statue or a fountain, it just depends on where you are what the magic will be. 
But it's all mapped out on the parchment that is included with the wand. 

We discovered also, that sometimes the wands need to go in for "repair". While our Gryfindor was trying to
make it rain in Diagon Alley, a wizard dressed in a black velvet hat strolled up and asked her to show him her
spellwork. "Meteolojinx!" she announced, and she did the wand movement. So the wizard tried to do the
same spell, and his spell worked. So, he asked Little Gryffindor if he could examine her wand. She handed
it to him. He rolled the wand in his fingers. He looked at it, smelled it, then declared, "Your wand needs
repair, young Witch." He explained to me that I could take the wand to any Olivander's location and they
will repair it. It will take two minutes and it's free.

This was where the students could cast the Meteolojinx spell and make it "rain". Ravenclaw enjoyed standing under the umbrella and having it "rain" around him. This was where Gryffindor was told that her wand would need repair. 

The next day we took her wand in to Olivanders in Hogsmeade. There, the witch took her wand to the back
room and brought it out, fully functioning two minutes later. We were told that no matter where the wand 
was purchased, nor when, they will always repair them. It really made me appreciate the purchase that the 
children  made even more. So, even if these students return to Diagon Alley (say in four years when 
Gryffindor turns 11, the wands will still be fun and usable!)

After an exhausting first day at the park, we returned to the hotel to hit up the pool and hot tub. The Next Owl
Post shall be delivered with the magical details of our stay in the edition of Fun Dollars. Stay tuned and stay
healthy! 

The Owl Post

We are travelling. We are en route. All is good....I have been saying prayers for safe travels for weeks now.

The Road trip down started at 1:45 in the morning on Friday.

The idea was that the kids would sleep for a few hours in the car, then wake up in Chattanooga. But in reality, we pulled out of town at 1:45 and ate breakfast in Paducah, KY at the Cracker Barrell.

My motto for the entire trip is, "We are on vacation. We have No schedule." So leaving 45 minute later than "planned" was nothing. We have an entire week with no work, no school, no schedule. We get to leave when we are ready. We get to travel at a pace that works. Whenever we get there is when we get there.

We had originally planned to reach Chattaooga, TN sometime during the day so that we could spend time site seeing. The Inclined Railway up mountain was our first choice, but it still was not open for the season. We pulled into the parking lot, and even though Google said they were opened, the crew was painting and doing repairs.


We still journeyed up Lookout Mountain and explored Ft. Oglethorpe. (This is where we would have landed had we taken the inclined railway up Look Out Mountain.)

I have taken enough family vacations to feel OK with whatever happens. I have traveled with kids enough to know that plans  can be changed at the drop of a hat and kids can always be a wild card.

In addition to the site seeing (both in the car and out) I bought a stash of "Road Trip Presents" to keep the kids smiling. They have been delivered by Owl Post throughout the trip. When we stopped at the first gas station, they delivered sunglasses to the kids. When we arrived at the hotel, they delivered toothbrushes.

Today, we are heading further south and will reach our destination. The Owls will deliver colored pencils, pencil pouches, activity books and four-color pens in the car. Goggles will be delivered at the hotel once we reach our destination. All we have to do is check in, open the packages, then hit the 85 degree water waiting for us at Cabana Bay Resort.