About a month ago we took our first (
vacay) trip post-baby...and it was a learning lesson, to say the least.
Hong Kong was a British colony for a very long time and because of this, it is so different than the China we know. It was great to get away for a quick weekend and be in a whole new place with a completely different culture. You even get a stamp in your passport!
We stepped off of the airplane energized and ready to explore! (Just like the good old days in Europe.)
This was our ride from the airport! Look at this happy family! Excited. Hopeful. Clueless!!!
Driver. Driving on the right. (Not how it's done in the rest of China.)
Daddy and Carter. So cute!!
After check in, we took a trolley car up the mountain to the top of Victoria Peak.
Very cool.
We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (just because it had the best balcony view). And then.....reality set in. Umm....we have a BABY!!! Poor Carter hit the wall. He was pooped from the airplane ride, hotel check in, a trolley ride, restaurant lunch. Big day for a little man. C-man wanted to sleep, in a bed. Not in the stroller, not in my arms, in a bed and he wanted it NOW!
We headed back to the hotel but at this point it was too late. Those of you with kiddos know what I'm talking about. It was scary.
In not so many details about nap/night time sleep patterns (I read way too many books) bad naps=bad night-time sleep. At this point, John and I were actually scared for the night to come.
Nap missed. We decided to move on. We explored the area around our hotel and ended our day (5:30pm) with a steak dinner and some vino! All of which (because of scary baby) had to be boxed to go and eaten in our hotel room. So the witching hour begins.
So innocent and sweet. He was much happier playing in the room in front of the mirror.
Again, I will spare you the details but he/we did NOT sleep at night. We were all in the same room, he loved it! Bad move. He usually wakes up about 8am or 8:30am. But we were on vacation...5:30am (after not really sleeping). Who needs sleep? Nice.
John and I think...well let's get a move on it! No biggie!
Well, the only thing open at 5:30 is Starbucks and the pier/boardwalk.
So that is where we went.
Notice we are the only ones here.
Quite. Desolate. 8:30am...and now someone is ready for a nap.
You get the idea. The rest of the day and night continued like so. (Sleepless and not seeing much.)This trip was not at all going as planned.
Sight-seeing trips aren't usually restful but we ran on EMPTY. Literally. But looking back, it was funny. We were constantly laughing at ourselves and in a very odd way we did have fun. Just being together in misery. Ha ha!
Tips for all traveling parents:
- Take advantage of traveling while the kiddos sleep anywhere and anytime. (0-4 month-ish).
- Get a hotel room big enough to put a crib away from you. Another mistake on our part. You will get a glimpse of the TINY room later in the video.
- Take Day One to settle in with good sleep patterns and only a few sights to see. The invested time in sleeping will be worth it.
- Know you may only see a FEW of the places you are wanting to see. And be okay with that.
- Always have snacks handy. If you baby likes to eat as much as Carter this is a great distraction to hold them over and keep them happy.
- Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.
Our Favorites from the Trip:
John's Favorite: Finding Miller Light...in China! Yay! See, this trip was worth it after all.
We both enjoyed: Seeing the light show on the water! Very cool!
Sarah's Favorite: Avenue of the Stars. Jackie Chan has small hands.
Carter's Favorite: Playing in the tiniest hotel room known to man-kind...
By the way...the loud noise (fake excited sound) at about :38 seconds was a sound he had just discovered he could make. He did it continuously in restaurants, in the middle of the night and on the flight home. Gotta love it!
