“We didn’t even fight at all!” Jen exclaimed, as we recounted our trip, and what a good one it was for all of us. Ate seafood almost every day, even a serendipitous Easter dinner of Chicken Oscar at Little Bohemia on our drive home. Warm temps, visiting friends and family along the way, a kayak, a hike, a couple new kites, some well-researched spots to eat and lay our head, a kiddo that was content on planes and long days in the car, and even decided he was down for using the toilet regularly. Two weeks ago we flew to Tampa via a night in Chicago and reconnecting with a couple of my friends from college-- acquaintances then really, but who I share Chicago with and love getting to know better when our paths cross. Hopefully in our backyard next. :) We flew to Tampa for three reasons. 1) It’s the cheapest flight south. 2) We went for a week last year and were sad to leave. We loved what we were able to explore and had more we wanted to check out. I don’t remember fighting on that trip either. Maybe we’re getting our family vacation groove on. Or maybe it’s just Florida. 3) The main reason really: A friend of ours had found a nice used Jeep for us to buy and drive home. We stayed at this funky Airbnb in Gulfport, FL. The accommodations (and Gulfport) were relaxed, everything you need, not too manicured (which is a plus when bring a kid along), affordable, and half-way between hip St. Petersburg and the Gulf coast beaches. I think I could come back to this same spot every spring. There was an extra bedroom if anyone wants to join us. ;) A few recommended places from this trip and last years: -Stella’s. We went here for brunch two days in a row. In Gulfport, delicious, and queer! -Bought our kites at Windworks in Madeira Beach -Fort De Soto County Park. The softest sand I’ve ever felt. Free indoor showers. -The Island Grille & Raw Bar in Tierra Verde. Big dining patio and play area for kids. -Honeymoon Island -Olde Bay Cafe in Dunedin -St. Pete Bicycle. Rented bikes and trailer and cruised on a bike trail along the Bay. -The Conch Republic Grill in North Redington Beach In the future, I’d like to -camp or cabin at Fort De Soto or another beach park -swim with manatees? -bike on the Pinellas Trail -check out some of the St. Petersburg breweries -explore Braedonton, Myakka, and beyond… Our time in the Carolinas was the heart of our trip. It was so nice and relaxing to visit family and friends in Beaufort, SC and Holden Beach, NC. Sharing meals at home and out. Getting out on the water to kayak and fish and swim. Sharing stories around a fire. Even watching TV together. I could make a list of the places we went or ate, but really it was just about being with people who we care about and don’t get to see very often. Because they were also Jen’s family and friends first, it was meaningful for me to get to visit their homes and get to know them better. Of course, everyone we stayed with loved to hang with Oscar which made it especially relaxing for us. We knew the drive north would be long, but we broke it up with visits with friends (and their kiddos!) in Durham and Chicago, and a night at the Natural Bridge State Resort park in Kentucky. There was a moment in Kentucky when we missed breakfast at the resort restaurant and drove around hangry, when things could have gone south, but instead we made the best of lunch for breakfast, and a hike where we coaxed Oscar along by peering into tree stumps and behind rocks for bears, before getting on the road again. Ask Oscar what his favorite part of the trip was, and he replies “looking for bears.” (My favorite/proudest moment was after I was in a panic because I had accidently locked the keys and Oscar in the jeep and was in the gas station calling the cops, Jen successfully and calmly coached Oscar through the window to unlock his door with his toes.)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsMagdalen Dale and Kaite Sweval grew up a layer apart, overlapping and paralleling. Belonging to the shores of Lake Superior and yet not quite belonging. Laughing and dreaming on the bench outside the ferry booth as Mag passed the time and Kaite chose her time. Left to explore as soon as they could. And then as adults returned home, perhaps to their surprise. But glad to have each other... ‘cause we know there is strength in the differences between us and comfort where we overlap. Archives
All
|