Florida

Walking into winter is always a little bit rough. The shorter days mean leaving the house in the dark and returning home in the dark. It seemed like the perfect metaphor for how we were all feeling at the beginning of winter, as we were aimlessly searching for any signs of sunshine. So, over Christmas my sisters and I decided that the cold darkness would not get the best of us. We were anticipating a gloomy February (per the usual) so we decided to plan a trip somewhere warm and sunny the beginning of February to help break up the winter. The only stipulations...warm, sunny, easy, and cheap. No plans, no fuss. Just jump on a plane with a small carry on and arrive somewhere with the promise of sunshine. Florida was the big winner. I picked the girls up from school on Thursday afternoon and they saw us off for our 4pm flight to paradise. 

Off we go! It was dark by the time we got in, so we rented a car, scarfed down some hole-in-the-wall Waffle House goodness and checked in to our hotel. 

Day 1: Friday, we awoke to this gorgeous sunrise. None of us wanted to waste a minute of sunshine so once we watched the sun rise from the balcony, we put on our running clothes and took a quick jog around to get our bearings for the rest of the stay. 

Check out this awesome path on our run that led us to the beach! 

After our run, we scoped out the pool and decided a quick game of tennis would be fun before we suited up and settled in for our lazy day. My sisters quickly decided I was no fun to play tennis with, apparently softball is more my sport...

We spent the morning basking in the sun and soaking up the fact that we basically had the pool all to ourselves. The sunshine seemed to be the therapy we all needed. 

After a lazy few hours in the sun, we decided lunch at Mambos on the beach was in order. The Mahi wrap had to win for best food, but the fish tacos and fruity drinks were a close second. 

After lunch we headed to the beach for a change of scenery and afternoon heat, and after a few hours figured we should probably get out of the sun. We cleaned up to head to the pier. We stopped off for a few drinks and some people watching and then headed to dinner. 

We had dinner on the other side of the island to watch the sun set over the water. It was so awesome to be able to watch the sun rise and set over the water on the same day. With some more delicious seafood at Squid Lips, it was a gorgeous night. We headed back to the resort, listened to some live music and headed to bed. 

Day 2: After another gorgeous sunrise we headed out for a morning run to the other side of the island where we spotted a dolphin! It was a completely residential area so we were amazed that people live here and have the opportunity to watch the dolphins every morning. When we got back we had a few mojitos on the roof to commemorate a good run and then headed to the beach. 

After a lazy morning in the sun we wanted to hit up the Mexican restaurant for some yummy margs. However, we walked up there and it was closed. We decided to walk just a little bit further to a different Mexican place we remembered seeing. 2 miles later..."my feet hurt...look, sushi." So we ate a little sushi and took a much nicer walk back via the beach. 

An afternoon spent laying out and playing in the surf led us to this beautiful picture! Pretty sure Jess is drowning. :) The surfing here has to be amazing (we weren't brave enough to try...it looked hard) but the waves are incredible here!

Finally after an afternoon at the beach we cleaned up and hit the (original) Mexican restaurant for some delicious drinks and food. Seafood nachos...yes, please. 

Then, back to the resort for some live music with an ocean breeze and beautiful moon. 

Day 3: Since we saw a dolphin the previous day, after catching another beautiful sunrise we headed out on our same path for our morning run. We waited for a dolphin sighting, but no such luck. Just as we were getting ready to leave, we spotted a manatee. He was HUGE. It was the start to a perfect last day in paradise. 

We walked back from our run via the beach and spent a little time soul searching. I was sad to leave as I felt like this trip was another marker for me and the trip was now over. This is another blog post all its own, but as I wrote Will's name in the sand and watched the waves wash it away I felt like it was one more step away from him. We dried our tears, gorged ourselves on a buffet breakfast, and suited up to squeeze in as much of the Florida sunshine as we could. We stayed by the water until the last possible minute, then quickly headed to our hotel room, swapped clothes and headed to the airport. With a quick stop off to buy some gator jerky (so good) it was back to the cold of Iowa. 

Good-bye beautiful sunrises and warm beach breezes. Until next time.