Replacing What Was Left Behind

The day before we left for vacation, I had commented to a friend that I found packing for our cruise to be more challenging than any other vacation because this was the first vacation we’d gone on where if we forgot something we couldn’t just run to Wal-mart to pick up what we needed…

Turns out I was worried for good reason, b/c when we arrived at the curb of the airport, we realized we had left behind one of our larger suitcases… the one with all of my and Scott’s underclothes and shorts and every day type clothing (it also had some decorations for our daughters 10th birthday that I was really excited about :-(.   While we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check our bags, go through security, and board our plane… we did not arrive with enough time to go back and forth to home and get our forgotten luggage.   I send out a few panicked group 7AM texts to a whole lot of people from our church family that live near us seeing if anyone could possibly help us (yes we were that morning spammer)… it was a desperate grasping at straws attempt to try and get our bag!   We actually had a friend ready and willing to make the morning trek, but when we talked to the ticket person at the airport we learned they won't quite make the check in deadline.  So close! (thanks for trying)!

Like it or not we had to go for plan B.

I did a search on my phone and saw there was a Target not far from the Ft. Lauderdale airport.  My FIL had set up a shuttle to take us all directly from the airport to the ship but Scott and I figured there would be enough time for the two of us to get a taxi and run to Target.  It would be an unwelcome stress and expense but, there SHOULD have been plenty of time.

I started making a list of what I thought was in the missing bag.  I couldn’t remember for sure exactly what was in each bag and I was really wishing I had double checked what we actually did have before I checked the ones we had (note for next time we forget a bag :-).  Anyway, I made a list of what I thought I knew we needed and by far underwear was our biggest concern.  Thereis a lot that can be improved in a pinch but underwear is a staple you don’t want to cruise without.

The kids were happily enjoying the flight with Nana and Pop.  Our youngest stared out the window in awe and amazement the entire flight.  I asked if he wanted his book and he told me, “No, I am too busy staring out the window looking for the ocean.”

 

We decided this wasn’t going to be so bad.  Sure it wasn’t ideal, but we could make it work. It appeared our flight was on course to actually land early… Scott and I were feeling optimistic.  My list was made, his parents would get our luggage and take the kids to the ship, we’d meet them there after a quick taxi ride to Target…. But then… our plane took an abrupt right turn and our captain got on the loudspeaker and announced that were making an unexpected stop in Orlando due to a medical emergency.  It was a great reminder that however inconvenient our forgotten luggage was, it really was not an emergency.  There would be no underwear but, in addition to our health, we were thankful for the bags we did have:  all of the kids clothes and our dress clothes.  We had our sunscreen.  We had our snorkel gear.  We even had a bathing suit each.  We had our toiletries and first aid kit.

We made it to the ship and my sister in law lent me a pair of shorts and a few tank tops.  My mom lent me a shirt and spare bathing suit as well.  I was pretty well set except for underwear.  Poor Scott had only the shorts he was wearing, some polo shirts, a pair of khaki pants and a bathing suit.  Before the ship left the port, I did some more searching on my phone.  The first port of call was the Nassau, Bahamas the next morning.  I thought maybe, MAYBE they’d have a Walmart or Target.  I discovered they had something called Solomon’s Supercenter.  Scott and I made a plan… we’d get up early the next morning and disembark as soon as possible.  We’d leave the kids with the grandparents and take a taxi to Solomon’s.  We packed our beach bag, laid out the kids swim suits and sunscreen.  We figured we’d be back in 2 hours tops… the grandparents would make sure the kids ate, then when we got back to the ship, we would still have time to take the kids to the beach that was within walking distance of the cruise ports. 

We were some of the first people off the ship… when we asked a taxi driver for a ride to Solomon’s Market he gave us a strange look.  “What are you looking for,” he asked us.  We forgot one of our suitcases we explained… we need underwear and tee shirts… not tourist shopping… but like where would you go if you lived here shopping.   He told us Solomon’s was where we wanted to go…but not many people come off the cruise ship asking to go to Solomon’s.

Solomon’s was exactly what we needed… think step down from Walmart… not near as big selection… and way higher imported prices… but truly we were not in a position to be choosey.  We had our list of essentials.  We needed underwear, some tee shirts, a pair of shorts and some birthday decorations.  There was more than that in our suitcase at home, but these goods would help us get by.   Not everyone gets this pic when they visit Nassau. :-)

We got our goods and were back to to the ship in an hour.  As we walked up to the ship we saw Scott’s sister and her family heading off for their excursion at Atlantis.  “We have underwear!” I shouted with glee!! (see the “Solomon's bags in the picture below –> Happiness) 

When we got home a week later, we had to laugh at our suitcase sitting in the hall waiting for us.  One plus of our forgotten luggage was Scott and I came home to a suitcase full of clean clothes waiting for us, while the kids had to wait till I caught up on laundry for their clean clothes.