Florida

In November we all went down to St. Pete Florida to celebrate Dad’s 70th birthday. It was a nice warm break from the cold weather back home. We stayed in a resort right on the beach that had pools, a huge blowup slide on the beach, and activities for the kids like paddle boats and zip lines. It was a really nice, relaxing getaway and a fun celebration.

For Dad’s birthday dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that had a huge aquarium in the dining room.

I think Dad enjoyed the weekend having the whole family around and just chilling on the beach. Happy Birthday, dad! We love you!

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Over the last two years we’ve traveled very little. We had the big spring break trip last spring, and lots of road trips to VA and MD, and now in the last two months we’ve gone to NY as a family, Dave and I went to Chicago for the weekend, and the we headed to FL for the long President’s Day weekend. I’m so happy to be moving around again, but it also feels strange. Over the last two years, we been in very few crowded places and standing or sitting less than six feet from another person has been “unsafe.” So to crowd onto a plane and sit nearly touching knees with strangers is a surreal experience. Anyway, that’s just what we did.

For Christmas, we decided to take my family for a trip, and found a great house on a little island off the west coast of Florida called North Captive. Apparently it used to be connected to a larger piece of land, Captiva, but a hurricane in 1921 separated the northern tip and it became it’s own island, with no paved roads, no cars, and just a few houses. Most of the island is a nature reserve.

We flew into Ft. Myers, then hired a van, and finally took a ferry to get to the little island where we picked up our golf cart for the weekend. It was only a four seater, so we had to take two trips from the ferry to the house to carry all the people and luggage, but fortunately it was only about a quarter mile away (as I said, small island).

The house was bright blue and had a heated outdoor pool and was also a short distance from the ocean. It was exactly what we needed to escape winter in February.

We arrived on a Friday, explored the island and bit and then headed to the beach. The weather was really foggy and cooler, in the 70s, but felt a little cooler because there was no sun. Dave and I had a long walk along the beach to check it out and the girls stayed with mom and dad to relax and play.

That night Dave cooked dinner for everyone at the house. Since there is no grocery story on the island, we had to have all of the food ordered and delivered before we arrived.

The rest of the weekend had amazing weather – warm and sunny. We spent more time at the beach and exploring the island. Dad’s favorite thing to do was the cruise around on the golf cart. The house also had a roof deck and mom mustered up her courage and walked up the metal spiral staircase to see it. She had made a deal with Becky – if she could confront her fear of flying, mom needed to confront her fear of heights. So overall, I would say they were both successful, if not super thrilled about either.

The Coughlin ladies!

Saturday night we went out to dinner at one of the three restaurants on the island called Barnacles.

On Sunday, Dave took the kids and Becky on a fishing trip. They had a blast and caught a lot of fish, but none big enough to keep. They also had a dolphin who swam alongside of the boat, hoping for some lunch to be thrown over the side. It’s the first time Ari has seen a dolphin, and she was thrilled.

While they were fishing, mom and dad biked around the island. They had bikes with huge tires so you can pedal on the sand. And I grabbed a kayak and went out to explore the area. Lots of birds, a few dolphin, and some nice quite time to myself!

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and watched the sunset.

On our final morning, Becky, Dave and I woke up before sunrise to hike out to the tip of the island – or as far as we could go. It was quite and beautiful and the perfect way to end the weekend (which we were all sad to see end). We walked along the beach as the sun was rising, and then moved to a trail that took us through the center of the island before ending up at the beach again.

The next time we go to North Captive, and I’m sure there will be a next time, we’ll stay for more than three days. It was such a nice, quite get away and I’m already looking forward to going back!

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The weekend after Sophie’s birthday I headed to Clearwater, FL for my annual girls weekend with Sallie and Aleen. We went to the same resort in Florida we did last year because it was spectacular. We went earlier in the year so that we were there for both Aleen and Sallie’s birthday month. Turns out Florida is actually a little chilly in March. But, it was still fabulous.

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For the last few years my good high school friends Sallie and Aleen and I have gotten together for a weekend getaway, just the ladies. It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year! This year we ended up at a resort in Clearwater, Florida. The weather was perfect, the drinks were cold, and the conversation was great.

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