we are back from our annual mid-winter break trip to florida and i'm trying to get caught up on (regular) life today: laundry, groceries, bookkeeping work that went by the wayside, etc. we had a really wonderful trip overall and i'm always so thankful for this week we get each year. lots of quality time with my mom and brother, and this time a bonus special day with family friends kathy and garry who we hadn't seen in years. a major thing to happen this year was that azalea's terrible pollen allergies that usually hit like clockwork on the third day didn't happen...all week! we were prepared with the steroid and never even needed it. florida pollen season must be behind schedule and we are so thankful for that! unfortunately my mom and brother came down with respiratory viruses while we were there, which was a bummer. but we made the most of our time.
last monday thatcher dropped us off at the airport 2.5 hours before our 9am flight. checking our bag took more time than security did. we still had plenty of time to kill after, so we got some coffee and a snack before the flight. we left on time and arrived in tampa at 5:30pm eastern time. it always feels weird to lose an entire day flying. and on top of that, it took an extra 45 minutes of sitting on the plane before there was a gate ready for us. very frustrating after an already long journey, but at least we made it there safe and sound.
my brother flew in from minneapolis and was supposed to arrive hours before us, but his flight got delayed so we got in at the same time, which worked out well. it took my mom over 2.5 hours to get to the airport because of traffic. we stopped at culver's for dinner before driving back to her place in venice, which went much faster. we were all tired when we got back and went to bed soon after.
tuesday morning we got up and got ready and headed to osprey to a hotel where our friends kathy and garry were staying. they have known my mom (and dad) since they were all in their 20s and we spent a lot of time together when i was growing up. they moved to south carolina a few years ago and my brother and i hadn't seen them in a few years. we got to spend their last day in town together, which was really fun and special. we drove up to sarasota to go mini golfing. we all had fun.
then we headed to 'phillipi creek oyster bar' for lunch. i hadn't been there in many years. my (giant) strawberry margarita and crab cake sandwich were delicious.
after lunch we drove to siesta key beach. we usually go in the morning because the parking lot gets so crowded, but we thought we'd take our chances going in the afternoon when it was warmer and thankfully it worked out. the only downside to our experience at our favorite beach was that red tide was present, which meant lots of dead fish washed up...and the smell that comes with it ;)
we soaked up the sun, water, and soft sand for a couple hours then headed back to my mom's to go in the pool. kathy and garry hung out with us there and then we said our goodbyes. we picked up publix subs for dinner and hung out at my mom's the rest of the night.
wednesday morning we all slept in and had a slow morning while we figured out what we wanted to do. i read my book and the boys played catch.
we decided to go walk around downtown venice and go in some shops.
after that we got lunch (and blizzards) at DQ. yum. we came back and went in the pool again.
it was a rainy evening, so we ate dinner at my mom's and played board games.
thursday morning my brother woke up feeling under the weather. we hung out at my mom's for the morning. it was cloudy and cool out. azalea and i went for a short walk.
we always get a kick out of the alligator warning signs
at lunch time we picked up publix subs (yes, again - so good) and drove to myakka river state park, which we've been to before, but not for a few years. we knew it got damaged in the hurricane(s) last fall, but we didn't realize a lot of the best parts were still closed like the tree canopy walk and the bird watching pier. we were still able to have a picnic and see some gators which is always fun. it only got up to 68 degrees this day.
on the way home, we stopped at 'detwilers' amish grocery store for ice cream. two giant scoops for $3! it was so good.
we hung out at my mom's the rest of the night. we ordered pizza from 'allegro bistro' and my mom's neighbor jan came over to visit.
friday morning we woke up to 45 degrees. my mom made us her amazing french toast and sausage for breakfast. then she took my brother to the airport for his flight back to minneapolis while the kids and i stayed home. in the afternoon i took the kids to maxine barrett park and we played on the venice beach and walked out on the fishing pier. it warmed up to the upper 60s again.
the rest of the day we hung out at my mom's, made dinner, played another game of scrabble and watched a movie.
saturday morning we slept in and i went for a walk and the kids lounged. then we all went to the farmer's market in downtown venice. ashford got a smoothie (looked more like an icee) and azalea got some paella. it was a beautiful morning.
we came back for lunch. we spent most of the afternoon at my mom's and ashford and i went in the pool again for a bit. it had clouded over, but it was still warm.
in the evening, we went out for japanese dinner at 'bushido' with my mom and her friend jan. it was our first time going there and it was great. then we walked down the street to listen to an all-female band that was playing outside a restaurant.
sunday was our last full day. my mom's friend john stopped over in the morning to say hi and show us his new corvette.
then i climbed up on a ladder to clean out my mom's gutters. gotta earn my keep :)
at lunch time, the kids and i picked up some food at publix and headed to venice beach again one more time. it was such a beautiful day for it. and it was packed!
we came back, took a sun break for a while and then headed to the pool for the last time.
we picked up food from the publix deli for dinner and hung out at my mom's the rest of the night.
yesterday was our day to leave, but our flight wasn't until 6:30pm, which is not ideal when you have to fly for 6 hours. we also woke up to rain. ashford and i managed to take a short walk while it was dry. we hung out at my mom's through lunch time and then started our drive up to tampa. it took well over 2 hours not including our brief stop at an outlet mall. our flight seemed to be on time, but once we boarded the plane, it ended up being another hour until takeoff because of maintenance work that needed to be done. we landed in seattle at 10:30pm after a fairly windy/turbulent and looooong flight. it was midnight by the time we got home and we felt like zombies.
i let the kids sleep in until 8am this morning and then got them off to school. it's back to extra curriculars here and next week ashford will be going to environmental camp with all the 5th graders from school.
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