Looking Back...Heading to Sardegna (August 2015)

After the girls and I spent a wonderful month reconnecting with home, we were excited to continue our Italian adventures with an island vacation to Sardegna.  Talking with expats here, Sardegna often comes up as an answer to "Where has been one of your favorite travel destinations?", so we knew it had to make the travel list.  Sardegna was our we-must-get-on-the-plane-back-to-Italy motivation -- and what made the deal even sweeter was that The Guscotts were joining us!  Sun, sand, swimming...and good friends?!?  Sign me up!  We were ALL excited for this trip!!!

Now, Sardegna is an Italian island...which means you get there by 1.5 hour plane ride or 12 hour ferry.  A plane with our family of five seemed just TOO easy, so we opted for the overnight ferry experience (really, it was so that we could bring our own car and didn't have to rent one on the island).  And let me tell you what an experience it was....

We packed up the car with all the beach vacation essentials and drove to the docks in Genoa.  We parked our car in line to board the ferry...and waited.  And waited.  And waited.

And as we waited (and eventually boarded), the sky grew darker.  And darker.  And darker.

Boarding the Sardegna ferry felt like we were cattle being herded into a very small pen.  Cars are lined up in the belly of the boat with only inches to spare and people are swarming the entrance doors with their overnight gear.  Not exactly sure how to "do" an overnight ferry with three little kids, we decided that I would wait in the car (in the belly of the boat) with the kids, while Kevin figured out how to get the key to our ferry "stateroom" and brought some of our gear to the room.  After what seemed like forever being trapped in the belly of a boat in a car packed like sardines with other cars with three very restless kids, Kevin returned.  His look said it all...he had the "Don't freak out, Lindsay.  It will be ok" look on his face.  My stomach flip-flopped and I instantly knew we were in for something less-than-perfect.

We schlepped our kids and our things through the narrow ferry hallways and found our door.  Carrying a baby in my arms, I wasn't quite sure I'd fit through this skinny gateway from public hallway to private quarters!  When Kevin opened the door, I immediately understood the look that had been on his face.  If anyone has an issue with claustrophobia, a windowless ferry room is NOT the place to be!!  I looked at Kevin and I'm sure my own face spoke volumes, too!  But, its all about the kids, right???  And this tiny windowless room made Zoey squeal with delight!  Bunkbeds!  A little desk for drawing!  "Our OWN bathroom!!" (as if we share a bathroom with strangers at home!).  She was absolutely tickled about the start of this adventure!!

Two adults, three little kids, a car seat, a pack and play, a baby rock-and-play, a diaper bag, and an overnight bag...all in this VERY TINY room.  With no windows.  Can you sense my excitement?

Making the best of what seems like it could quite possibly be a disaster, we decided to head for some food.  Once again, Zoey was quite pleased as she got to choose from a buffet of choices and load up a tray with dinner and dessert.  We sat and ate as the boat pushed off from the dock and we all noticed that we were swaying more than 30 minutes ago.  And the skies got darker...

The night continued with wandering the ship, spending a bit of time at the "kid's dance party" in the bar, and eventually stumbling back to our room -- our sea legs wobbling as the boat rocked back and forth in the waves.  Yes, a storm was definitely in our forecast.

We got the girls in pajamas and did our best to create our usual nighttime routine in a space no bigger than a large closet.  Eventually, everyone was asleep.  Except me.  The boat heaved and hoed through the waves -- which probably helped rock the three babies to sleep -- and the noises of wind, waves crashing on the sides, and boat gear clanking against the structures was sure to wake up even the heaviest of sleepers at some point.  I lay there, in a near panic, and just waited for time to tick by.  I hated every last second of it -- and yes -- I had some Titanic thoughts cross my mind!  And sure enough, before sunrise, Kaia decided she had had enough of sleeping on this vessel.  Not wanting everyone else to wake up, Kevin swooped her up and took her out of the room.  I had zero interest in trying to walk around with her as the boat tipped back and forth with my anxiety sky-high, so Kevin had Shift #1.

The benefit of a baby who won't sleep is a picture at sunrise...

They wandered around for an hour or so and made it back to the room in one piece.  Amazingly, the other two girls were still asleep (it was merely sunrise at this point), so we wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.  Now that the sun was up, my anxiousness lessened a bit, and I felt ok to take Shift #2.

Tired.  Very tired.

The waves were still quite big, but "making it through the night" reassured me that we would, indeed, make it to Sardegna and not end up wearing life jackets in the life boats (yes, I worried about this ALL night long!).    With only moments of sleep here and there, I was tired, but thankful for the trip to be coming to an end.

We grabbed a coffee and some breakfast, packed up our "too-much-stuff-for-an-overnight-ferry-trip" bags and waited for the ferry staff to let us return to our cars.  As we rolled into the Sardegna docks, I was definitely ready to be OFF the boat and begin what was sure to be an amazing vacation....!