The Bean Becomes Cuba-Ready

So, what‘s the logical next step after four domestic trips (Canada) and one Stateside? Taking this Traveling Road Show international of course! I was, admittedly, extremely nervous for our little family’s first foray into international travel, so I hit the ‘easy’ button on this trip. I chose Cuba. The Bean had already done a three-hour flight and Cuba is well-known for their medical care. I booked an all-inclusive Varadero resort/flight package with Sunwing and threw an inappropriate bikini in my luggage to make it seem like we’d be leaving sooner than we were!

Hubs was so excited that he started telling friends and family about the trip and soon, the trip I’d planned for our little family of three turned into a twelve-person group trip! The more the merrier! During the month between booking the trip and travelling, I checked out deets about our travel insurance, looked up health risks and recommended vaccines and did a scary amount of on-line research about Varadero and nearby excursions, the Memories resort we’d booked and traveling to Cuba with a child with autism.

I also learned the term ‘social story’, downloaded an app that would enable me to create one and trolled the Sunwing and Memories Varadero websites so that I would have images of what our suite and plane would look like. I used pictures from the Bean’s previous plane rides and time spent on the beach to show her images of herself doing anticipated vacation activities. Like this photo of the Bean, napping on the way home from Nova Scotia:

I’d love to tell you that the social story gave her an idea of exactly what to expect, but as Bean is currently non-verbal and only 4 and a half, it’s kind of tough to know what she got out of it! She did sit through the whole storybook a handful of times and I got some practice writing a social story, so am counting it as a win.

I packed and re-packed her suitcase and carry-on as if we weren’t going to see civilization for months! I stocked my own luggage as if it were a traveling pharmacy.

I also purchased a clear plastic pouch and filled it with sensory toys, some old faves and some new toys that she could discover during the flight.

We pre-loaded an iPad with a few videos and threw into her carry-on the only 3 books of the 65 that she owns, that’ll she’ll allow us to read to her at the moment. At that point I realized two things:

1. We had a RIDICULOUS amount of luggage.

2. I was probably going to need a vacation after this vacation!

YHM here we come!