Thursday, December 11, 2014

Vacation 2014: Marco Island (III)

Thanksgiving


We were ready for the beach again Thursday so we headed into South Marco to a beach further down the southernmost tip of Florida. Gracie and I looked for shells (more on that later), while Lauren, George and Skip ran and climbed the rocks. We had a perfect day, one that easily goes down as one of the best days of my life. That a day like that should occur on Thanksgiving makes me appreciate that it was definitely a gift from God.  

PS: We wrapped up our beach time early in order to have a Thanksgiving dinner at the condo. Skip remained unflappable during the making of the bird and did not PANIC (inside family joke involving a longstanding riff on hostile chefs - long story) within the confines of our rental kitchen. 




















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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Vacation 2014: Marco Island (II)

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

After spending Saturday settling in and all day Sunday swimming at the pool, we decided to venture out to the beach Monday. We visited Tigertail Beach, with access through a State Park. We loaded the backpack style chairs and cooler that the condo owner had thoughtfully provided and struck out for a quick, ten minute walk to the beach. Interestingly, the sand is packed in pretty tightly, making for an easy walk. There was a tractor leveling out the sand each morning, and there were areas of untouched  sea grass, too. 

This was another picturesque day, with perfect blue skies, a nice breeze and clear water. The only drawback was that, although the temperature was about 81, it "felt like" 91 (per my iPhone). Monday morning at the beach was definitely one of those times when the "real story" is a little different from the perfect photos. This was a beautiful morning, but William George did not want to walk. He did not like his sandals and kept taking them off (not doable because of the many shells), and the girls were tired, too.  We stayed for an hour or so because it was so beautiful and relaxing (if one could tune out complaints), but then we scrapped that idea and went to the pool after lunch. That proved to be a good idea because we were rewarded with several Bald Eagle sitings when they kept flying over the pool. We had been told there were many nests in the area, along with myriad other forms of wildlife, what with the close proximity to the Everglades.  William George spotted the eagle first and could not have been more proud. 

Tuesday was basically a repeat of Monday. Cold Stone Creamery and Starbucks could be seen from our balcony. We finally consented to an afternoon ice cream, and then the trio developed a liking for an afternoon stop at Starbucks later in the week. 

We had cooler weather and a little rain on Wednesday so we decided to drive to Naples for lunch and some shopping. The duo shopped at Forever 21 and H&M, and we went sightseeing on Naples' swanky 5th Avenue, checked out several houses and the beach. We picked up some last minute Thanksgiving supplies and then called it a day. 



























Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Vacation 2014: Marco Island

Over Thanksgiving week, we took a trip to Marco Island, Florida. Since airfare for a family of five is cost-prohibitive (especially over Thanksgiving - yikes!), we decided to tackle the road trip over two days. We packed plenty of new videos and snacks, and we are pleased to report that everyone managed the 12 hour drive really well. Even three-year-old William George was a champion, although on the second day, about an hour from our destination, he demanded that we take him to Gran and Poppas house instead. Once we arrived, he was glad he stuck it out.

We left Friday evening and spent the night in Gainesville (lots of Gator gear in prep for their game the following morning). We drove down the Florida coast Saturday morning and were on Marco Island in time for lunch. Grace, our resident dog-lover, immediately fell in love with Mango's, our lunch choice, when she realized that pets were allowed in patio seating. She made an instant friend with a neighboring dog, and she immediately fell in love with both island time and the relaxed island vibe. We settled into our place, went shopping and sat on the lanai during an afternoon shower. We had our traditional spaghetti supper on our first night, and the trio were ready to hit the pool on Sunday. After two long days of driving, we decided that a full day of swimming was definitely in order.















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