The youngest just returned from a science trip to Florida and proudly announced that she not only didn’t starve, she didn’t get glutened. I let her science teacher know about the celiac issue last fall when the youngest asked if she could go on the trip. The tour group, WorldStrides, assured us they could handle a gluten-free diet on the tour and I didn’t think about it until a week before the tour. Then it hit me that the trip was coming up and I hadn’t really heard exactly how they would handle a gluten-free diet, especially since my youngest can’t eat raw fruit or vegetables without her lips, tongue and face breaking out in hives. That excludes many of the easy gluten-free choices.
I read through the itinerary and made some calls to reassure myself that the restaurants, hotels, and beach park snack bars could accommodate her diet. The hotel blew me off and said they didn’t have anything gluten free on the menu. A search of the Hampton Inn website proved they at least had yogurt and juice. A call to the local Hampton Inn was more successful. The Lancaster, Ohio Hampton Inn staff read labels over the phone and found that the pre-made, frozen scrambled eggs they use are actually labeled gluten free. The Old Salty Dog had knowledgeable staff and they went through the whole menu with me on the phone and I got a call from the head of the company the next day. The snack bar staff at Fort DeSoto read labels over the phone and were helpful when she arrived. The tour staff were on the ball and kept their promise. They also had scoped out the places and worked with my daughter and the restaurant staff at each one to get her gluten free food.
Half my child’s baggage was food she packed and she did need it to fill in between meals and when the choices were skimpy because of her raw fruit and vegetable issues. I was worried about the pizza night, but New York New York Pizza in Tampa provided a tasty Italian seasoned chicken breast and vegetables for dinner her first night.
She packed high protein snacks that came in handy when the box lunch choice was salad. That was the only problem meal on the trip where there were no choices. She packed her favorite gluten free cereal and had milk and juice and scrambled eggs from the hotel breakfast. Schar ciabattas were easy to pack and kept her from the bunless burger. She had burgers on her ciabatta and used one for breakfast with cream cheese and jam one morning. The Schar rolls also came in handy when there was baked chicken a few times. At least having a hot chicken sandwich was a change and she snagged mustard and mayo at snack bars and kept them with her to make a sandwich. Her favorite stop was Kilwin’s in Sarasota for ice cream. The teenage boy who served her group knew what gluten free meant and had a menu with the gluten free choices.
The trip was a success both for her diet and for the fun factor. There was swimming with manatees, snorkeling, a canopy tour, shopping, beaches and lots of science. She says she would recommend the WorldStrides tour for the caring staff and the learning and fun. I was pleased to have such caring people from her science teacher and the parent chaperones to the tour staff and the restaurants that even opened up the kitchens for her to read labels. It was also reassuring to see how well she did on her first trip without me.
Photos by the youngest.
About Wendy Gregory Kaho
Midlife Mom in year 5 of gluten-free living with my two college student kids.
