Last weekend my husband and I took our first trip just the two of us to Florida. My husband worked both Friday night and Sunday morning so he asked me to join him for the weekend. We flew out Friday morning and came back late Sunday night. I was so anxious about the flight and leaving the girls behind, but all went well. Summer is still nursing and I thought being away for 3 days she would wean herself. I was wrong- she came back full force! The girls stayed with my parents until Saturday night, then my in laws had them. Friday my Mom took them to the zoo with their cousins, dinner at Jules Pizza, and Saturday they went to the playground and to the pool. They were well taken care of!
I asked Ellie to give me something to take with me that I could put in my bag. First it was an Anna Barbie doll, but she was too big so she gave me this small pink poodle. I told the girls he slept with me (during a Face Time call) and they found it hilarious.
We flew in and out of Orlando and rented a car. Friday we had a late lunch near University of Central Florida.
We drove to Clearwater Friday night where we were staying. When we were looking for hotels I initially wanted to stay in a really nice hotel, but then decided I wanted something more Floridian. We had just stayed in a nice hotel at the Water Club and we can stay in a hotel anywhere. My husband was shocked when I showed him pictures of the North Sunrise Motel. Trust me, I would have avoided a motel, too, but I read the five star reviews and I loved the photos. I called to make sure they were close to the beach, and literally it was a half a block. We could see the beach from outside of our room. It was located in the beach town and just what I wanted. The porch and rocking chairs sold me. Our room was nicer than I expected (for a motel). We had a television, bathroom, and closet. It was very clean and well maintained. I loved the decor and plants and there was a pool and washer/dryer we used, too. The owners, Mark and Emory, were so nice and inviting. I highly recommend this place! Plus, it was inexpensive. For two nights it was $200 (I booked online through Trivago).
A few shops down the street was Clearwater Paddle Boarding. I've been wanting to try this for a while now so we rented two boards and paddles for 4 hours. Chris, the owner, brought the boards to the beach for us and gave us a mini lesson. Getting up on the board was much easier than I anticipated. This was an amazing experience! It was similar to surfing with the feeling of walking on water. We hung out on our boards in the ocean most of the day. Paddling and sitting and talking. The water was calm, which was key (Nick tried to do it later in the afternoon when the water was choppy and it was pretty hilarious to watch). I'm so glad we did this. The beaches were beautiful with the white sand and clear blue water.
We went back to the room, took showers and got ready to go out. We went to the Palm Pavilion for dinner- a recommendation from Chris. The atmosphere, food, and drinks were great. We sat on the porch, which was on the beach. I had fish tacos and rice and beans and Nick had a fish burger. I enjoyed a margarita- I haven't had a drink in a long time! Afterwards, we walked into the town to a few shops, then made it back to the beach for the most gorgeous sunset. The sky was filled with so much color.
Sunday we got up, got breakfast and drove to Tampa where Nick was working. It was another beautiful day. We were ready to go home that night to see our girls (and they were asleep on the couch waiting for us!). Summer didn't trust that I would leave again so this week she gave me a tough time sleeping on her own. Finally, last night she slept through the night in her crib. It was a great weekend with my husband and we really needed a trip like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment