We actually just returned from a trip-fest. My hubby had to work in Florida for 10 days so we decided to tag along (since he was working, the company pays for his room/car/gas and some food expense-so since we would only need to pay for our food and entertainment we went. Mind you-for us entertainment is not Mickey Mouse Land or hitting the tons of tourist attractions-we enjoy strolling beaches, going to free or low fee places like state parks or the local historical homes and the like). It was a much needed break, as we have not been anywhere to speak of during the past year, and we were anxious to get away. It was a good time (we did homeschool in the morning whilst the hubby worked, then the kids swam in the afternoon or we hung out in the hotel somewhere)...and we managed to get a bit of beach time when the hubby wasn't working. It was fun to comb the beaches for goodies and my dd found this crab (dead) which was missed by the birds (he was intact). We thought we would give dad a good laugh by putting him on his shoes when he was walking down the beach a way off from us.
We also collected some nice shells and spent some time building memories. We hit a few beaches we have never been to before, went to a State Park and did some more shelling and walking about. We were a tad sun burned [not like the many others we saw but enough to hurt a bit] to hang out and swim so that day we stayed on the shore and covered our toasted/roasted skin as best as we could. We walked out to the end of a pretty long pier to watch the sun set over the Gulf one nite too. This was interesting because we were able to see some crazy people (and I mean crazy) loitering around trying to beg for money- which I guess added to the experience.
The best part was that we were given a room upgrade [I guess all his traveling does pay off in some respects, his priority status got us the upgrade and they discounted the room significantly) that I had been praying about before we even left, and they upgraded us w/o our even asking. It was such a lovely treat and so very wonderful because 10 days in the same room, squashed with no space is not fun! With the suite, we had a huge room with a 'living room' area, an eating area and a mini kitchenette that allowed for us to grocery shop to have our bkfst and many lunches covered. I even asked for a toaster which they promptly brought us! Score! The other room had a king size bed for us, in sorta it's own area and the kids had a room nook with a bunk bed. The best of the best was 2 bathrooms so we could have 2 people getting ready at once!
But I must say the entertainment was something to behold. When we first arrived we came up to 3 cop cars in the entrance, a group of people in one area talking to the police and a dude in the back of one of the vehicles. Guess what? Yep, we felt like we were on COPS (show) cuz we got to watch him get his rights read and be arrested. Wow! (NOT)...we seriously wondered about this place! The next day hubby saw a dude being asked to leave very sternly to which he argued and the cops appeared again to escort him away. Nice. Then-well, why stop there? That nite-well next morning at 12:30 am, my dd who was in the fam room area reading heard a scuffling/shouting thing in the hall. Guess what? Yep! Police talking to our neighbor who was trying to defend her husband or whatever. They searched the room, then (mind you they are talking full voice strength in the hall so it was easy to hear everything) the police walked to the elevators followed by her shouting for them to "Please don't do this..." to which they responded, "Ma'am, good night. Go back to your room ma'am." But no-she followed them down. Guess they were not only arresting him but her too (if she didn't get the hint to stay away...and I am sure she didn't so yeps...) that was our fun for the first few days. This is a huge tourist area/beach (Clearwater) and a family oriented area (yah right) so this was kinda freaky. Thankfully, it settled down after the weekend and we didn't see anymore arrests/police.
View off the pool deck area. It was so peaceful and fun to
watch boats go by (the tour ones)
we saw this pirate one a lot!
We also tried out many restaurants. We scored big time all around. We hit Chick-Fil-A the first nite there since we don't have those by us-ah, that was a true delight. I couldn't get the Tim Hawkins song about it out of my head the whole time. We also managed to go very global in our dining experiences. We hit an Italian, Polish, Taiwanese, Greek, and yes a few American restaurants to give us some variety...and if I didn't mention it already-LOL-we had Chick-Fil-A!
For me, it was a much needed time to refresh my tired soul. It's been a long few years of stress and sitzies that have drained me a tad, and this was a perfect way to rejuvenate my strength.
I know God used this time as a to refresh me so that I will be able to tackle the days ahead. It has been a time of change for our family, as another child graduated. I have been dealing with school burnout and this was a great way to kick off the year! :) Now I am ready to get back into a routine, get things rolling to full time status and to work on the projects and goals we have set for the boy this year .
The 10 day get-away was nice, but it was even better to be home, sleeping in our own beds and drinking good coffee. But alas dear readers-that was not the end to our adventure! We left two days later (it was just how the whole thing worked out and it was not what I would have preferred but heh-it was what it was) to go up north to Mackinac Island. Our dear daughter wanted to go there for her graduation gift instead of having a party and it was also to celebrate her 18th birthday...so gone 10 days (which was really 11 when figuring in travel time) then 2 days home to be off in the car for about a 4 1/2 hour trip to the island. But that experience will have to wait for another post.....
So that is what we have been up to this past Sept. (well most of it) and why I haven't posted in some time...
