Vacation, Part One

Hi Readers!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post (I know you were dying with anticipation!), but this girl has been too busy traveling to sit down and write!  Fear not!  The time has come for me to indulge you all about said trip!  Here we go!

We left town on Tuesday afternoon last week- we chose Tuesday because our oldest goes to a local preschool on Tuesday mornings and I wanted to make sure she didn't miss it.  She loves going and I love that she goes!  Win-win.  The drive down was slated for around 15 hours, so it was going to be a long night.  The girls did pretty well in the car overall!  There were some tears and the expected whining, but they did sleep a lot and only really melted down about 20 minutes from our final destination.  We dropped them off with Grandma and Grandpa with their things and instructions and later that day, drove over to our private vacation getaway.

We finally decided to stay at The Harrington House on Anna Maria Island, FL.  It is a B&B with other properties surrounding the main house- we stayed in one of those.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  I told Mark that I would love to retire in a place just like that- it had master suites with their own baths, a good sized kitchen, dining and living rooms, and even a washer and dryer.  It was decorated perfectly and had lovely finishes.  I was in heaven.  Even though our place wasn't directly on the beach, we just had to walk across the road and enter the parking lot to the main house which led around to the pool and deck that was right there on the beach.  I liked the quiet privacy of being away from the main house better anyway.  That is what a good vacation is for parents, right?  P&Q.  Call us crazy, but we took full advantage of that... to the point where we each slept in our own beds.  There were two, so why not?  We had the best night's sleep we had had in weeks, let me tell you!!  No one heard a snore, felt a toss or turn, got too hot or cold, ah... it was amazing and much needed.

While we weren't staying in the main house, we still had access to every amenity offered: pool (we never had time to use it, but man, was it warm!), mouth-watering breakfast (day one: yummy omelet, toast, fruit; day two: french toast with ginger peach compote and fruit), beach chairs, bicycles, movies, afternoon cookies, coffee anytime, etc).  We spent the first morning sleeping in until we woke up on our own (surprisingly, this was 8 AM.  We had gone to bed at 9:30 the night before because we were wiped from the drive down, so that might have something to do with our early rising).  Next we headed over to the main house to eat our scrumptious breakfast on the deck, watching the beach-walkers, sailboats, pelicans diving and stingrays jumping.  We decided to take a walk on the beach ourselves for a bit before heading out on bicycles to explore the island.  It was so fun and relaxing to ride up and down the streets and experiencing the island this way.  It would be a pretty place to retire, but probably way too expensive.  Besides, we've got a whole lot of living to do before retirement anyway!  We rode our bikes to the main shopping drive and checked out the little boutiques, looking for a few small souvenirs for the girls.

After a day in the sun on our bikes, we were tired and sunburned.  It was almost dinner time and I had a craving for some Cuban food since we were down in FL and it would likely be authentic.  A little google search led me to Jose's Real Cuban Food in nearby Bradenton.  Reviews said the food was tasty and the place had been featured on The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which sold me because I enjoy that show and always wish I could try the places he finds.  Mark got the Cuban sampler platter that had different kinds of meats and sides and I got the Cuban sandwich... it was so yummy and huge!  I could only eat half, so we took the rest with us.  On the way back to AMI, we stopped in a place called Bealls Outlet (kind of like Marshall's or TJMaxx), because we didn't have kids and that makes shopping more fun.  We both found some cute, inexpensive things, including shoes and shorts for Mark, sunglasses and a few shirts for me.  Their winter clothes were clearanced so I got some great deals and I still get to wear them because winter is still going strong here at home.  We ended the evening back at the house and tried to soak up every last moment of quiet left before seeing the girls the next morning.  

The next morning was a little less leisurely as we were trying to pack up and eat breakfast before check out and Mark's parents' arrival.  The plan was for the them to bring the girls out and for us to enjoy the beautiful beach for the day with them.  The Harrington House gave us permission to continue to use the facilities for the day, even after check out, so we were able to use their towels and chairs and their bathroom.  That came in super handy throughout the day!  The girls loved the beach!  Baby girl tried to eat the sand and crushed up shells several times.  We took the girls for a beach stroll with the heavy-duty double jogger.  My oldest and I played in the Gulf- it was chilly at first, but we got used to it pretty fast!  Mark buried her in the sand, which she loved.  The seagulls hovered overhead for much of the time and took advantage of every dropped goldfish cracker or corn puff.  We decided to give them the whole bag of corn puffs because the humidity had made them taste less than appetizing.  Once they caught wind of free lunch, they surrounded us and fearlessly scavenged anything they saw, including the rest of my Cuban sandwich that was in my hand on its way to my mouth!  It was crazy!  But the girls LOVED feeding the birds so I guess it was worth my taste bud's sacrifice.

All in all, the first part of our vacation went wonderfully!  It was a great gift to get those precious hours of alone time with my Mark man, followed by a spectacular day on the beach with our sweet little family.  Oh, how I love them!  Also awesome was the weather- it was perfect and we couldn't ask for better!  Thank you, Lord, for these special memories!  These first 30 years of my life have been such a blessing and I am grateful!

Who wouldn't want to stay here?? 

This is my bedroom, ha ha. 

Here is the living room

This is Mark's bedroom

Beautiful sunset!

Jose's Real Cuban Food, Bradenton, FL

Our last beach day

Mine! Mine! Mine!

Baby girl, exploring the sand

I love the beach!

Thanks for reading!  Come back soon for the second part of our vacation!  We will be heading for a short visit to Avon Park, FL, followed by our day in Disney World!