Hola friends all the way from sunny (and muggy) Maderia Beach, FL!
So yesterday after hours on the beach just relaxing, Jarrett had the bright idea that we should blog our vacation so that we have a photo/written journal of our time here. Good idea! Let's just hope you get me blogging not after one too many frozen drinks :)
Right now, I'm up super early, which is usually always the case for me on vacation. It's hard for me to break the habit of getting up early for work, but I usually don't mind. It gives me a chance to enjoy my coffee by myself and just be thankful to be taking a break from work for a week. There's just something about enjoying coffee during the early morning hours without the looming possibility of opening your email that is just complete and total heaven.
J and I haven't been on a true vacation since our honeymoon in December. We both had time to use at work and had no idea where to even think about going, we just wanted to go somewhere warm and tropical. When we were originally booking our Florida vacay several months ago, we initially had Key West in mind. We've both never been and it sounded like fun. But flights were really spensy, so we started looking at the Gulf and lo and behold, with the magic of VRBO, we found a really cheap deal a block from the beach and 2 blocks from shopping and good eats. Can't beat that with a stick. And we drove from Charleston. About an 8 hour drive, but worth it. We can drive to several beaches, restaurants and attractions without any issues.
Now, we live at the beach, and it's great, but we both immediately said as we walked on the beach Sunday that there is something peaceful and serene about the Gulf Coast. And I like being able to see my feet in the water :)
This beach is NOT crowded ONE BIT. Charleston has become a hot tourist spot in the past 10 years. We have to fight parking and other people just to get a decent beach spot. And our beaches get so trashed sometimes. Not here. It's really beautiful and family friendly. White sand, blue green water. So amazing.
Sunday, we spent most of the day walking around and exploring. The shopping/eating area near our house is called John's Pass. We pretty much decided to do about 2 days in town, because it's on the small side, and then go explore the rest of St. Pete/Clearwater, which is very close by. But we had a blast just walking around. We discovered a place that made wine slushies... I'll pause while you wrap your brain around that...
Let's just say it was nothing short of amazing andddddddd I might have needed a quick nap after a long drive plus a strong adult drink. Just sayin :)
Anywho, Sunday night's dinner and drink plan was in town. DELICIOUS Italian food at a little pizza place, followed by craft beers down the street. J enjoyed one of his favorite past times. Hand rolled cigars. Normally I'm not a cigar fan because they're so strong and smelly, but this one wasn't bad and the bar owned the cigar shop and just let us hang out there while he enjoyed it. Winning!
Yesterday, I was up early (as usual). Even while on vacation, I typically try to do some sort of physical activity each day. I managed to run/walk over the bridge close to us into town. We needed a small cooler for beach drinks and some sunscreen. This was about 2 miles from our house, so I just decide to explore and walk and sweat out my wine slushy :) 4 miles in the hot muggy Florida heat was great.
We stuck to our beach near the house for most of the afternoon. The beach was so relaxing. I think the reason why we're loving the beach so much is because of the not so crowded mess we typically deal with. OH and you can drink on the beach without any police issues. We're also walking from where we're staying, so no driving issues. I have ZERO complaints about all of those things.
After our long day on the beach, we enjoyed a little lunch back at our Casa de Beach. We have a sweet little hammock that is the perfect length for short people.
We decided to rent a jet ski after our beach time. We've both driven one before, but it's been years, and I always forget that ocean jet skiing is like riding a bucking bronco for an hour straight. You get beat to death by the waves, but it was soooooooooooo FUN! We had an AWESOME time and most likely going back again today. We were super sore last night, it felt like getting whiplash from a fender bender. I would do it every day until we go back to Charleston though. We were about 3 feet from dolphins for part of the ride and we stopped to watch them swim by. And then, Jarrett let me drive and I threw us off twice. It was so fun. I don' think I've laughed and screamed that much since I was 12 years old on my first roller coaster.
We were definitely beat last night after our waverunner adventure, so we took it easy with a later dinner and drinks at a local spot called The Daquiri Shak. Our waitress immediately informed us that waiting 15 minutes for drinks would result in them being $1 all evening sooooooo we definitely took advantage of that cheapness. The food was awesome. I scarfed down a grouper sandwich (which was the size of a large man's hand) in record time and didn't leave a crumb. J had an awesome philly cheesesteak sandwich. I think we will definitely go back there for more good eats.
Ok guys, my morning WOD is calling my name after perking up with some coffee. Not sure what our plan is today, but we're definitely doing something fun! :) Tune in later for part dos!
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