Let's Go Back

Missing the beach already...

Sweet Siesta Key, FL.
May 2008.

Day Five: Home, Sweet Home

Made it home safe and sound, pulling into the driveway around 3:00 pm. We shared the driving duties, traded off iPod time, and traveled under a cloudy gray sky for the entire 350 miles home. That type of icky weather made it a tiny bit easier to leave Florida behind, but already I am accosted by calls from work with scheduling questions, have unpacked us both and started a load of laundry, and J washed the car. Blah - we're back to reality. But it was a BEYOND SWEET trip and we are always thankful for safe travels. I already can't wait to get away again soon, but it's nice to be back to our own bed for now. We enjoyed lots of amazing seafood, fine adult beverages, beautiful beach memories were made, and we discovered Siesta Key together, which is now officially on my list of top beach destinations. It was truly swoon-worthy, refreshing and recharging. And now we are relaxing on our couch catching up on the American Idol season finale: home, sweet home. The End.

Update: Yaaaaaay, David Cook! We were so sure this finale was not going to go the way we hoped, but it did! :-)

Day Four: Early Morning Sunshine (of course)

I set our alarm to go off early so I could run down for one last visit with the beach, weather permitting. Of course the sun was shining brightly since it was our last day in Siesta Key, but I couldn't feel too betrayed since it also meant I could squeeze in one more hour of tan time, water time, and general frolicking on the beach time. Besides the hardcore deeply-tanned local beach joggers, I was one of the first people on the beach, snagging a beach chair and a prime spot to enjoy the panoramic view of the ocean. I finished my book, snapped a few final pictures, and collected two of the most perfect shells I've ever seen - they washed up right next to my beach chair, so really, they found me. The water was more clear today than ever before, and I waded around before returning to my chair to bask in the sun until the last minute possible. I took it all in and then returned to the room to find Starbucks waiting for me while I packed. (Thanks, hubby!)

We leisurely made our way up to Tampa and stopped in at the International Plaza Mall, which is my new favorite! Lunch at Champp's and shopping at the Apple Store for J, Forever 21 for me. Let me just say I scored majorly in the fashion department - yay! :-) We checked into a hotel for the night and took in an IMAX movie at MOSI, Roving Mars = way cool. We ventured down to Ybor City for beer and some of J's all-time favorite fabulous pizza at Demmi's Market on 7th. After returning to our hotel to doze along with the HBO movie channel and reading in the cabana by the pool, we hit Bennigan's for a late dinner to split a sandwich and dessert - no less than Death by Chocolate to serve as our vacation grand finale meal, oh yes. Then we cozied up and watched Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer...predictable, but decent. Tomorrow brings the journey home, whether we are ready or not.

Day Two: Rain, Rain Go Away/Rainy Monday

Huge storm rolled through around 4:00 am and woke us, but it's fury passed quickly and we were able to sleep in until Starbucks called and wanted us to donate to their cause. And we did. Mmm, caffeine. :-)

After a lazy morning, we decided to hit the beach and got all suited up only to discover it was drizzling outside. We decided to wait it out a little while before giving up, and parked it in the cabana with books in hand. After taking a couple of polaroids and reading exactly 1.5 pages, the small but mighty swarm of mosquitoes chased us back in to our room. We changed clothes again and decided to do some driving and sightseeing in our dry, bug-free car. There are tons of beautiful sea-mansions around here, and lots of them for sale! We scouted out a few more places to eat dinner, checked out Siesta Key Village, and headed into Sarasota for some shopping. I got the awesome pair of shoes I've been pining after for the past week at Dillard's while J browsed a cool kitchen store, and after a couple more shopping stops, I grabbed some Rain-kissed Leaves lotion and Dancing Waters body mist from Bath & Body Works (perfect beach purchases!), and we set out to find lunch. Sweet Tomatoes was our pick today, and I was in veggie heaven. Rows and rows of salad stuff, soup, pasta, and bread with nearly zero meat in sight - yay! I loved it, and took pictures to remember it by. By this time the rain had ceased, and we could see little patches of blue sky...but my heart didn't sing for long, as the drops started to fall again as soon as we turned in the direction of our hotel. Still, this weather makes for a nice afternoon siesta, and I'm starting to understand why they named this key so aptly. Maybe my sunny dreams will come true when I wake, and I can finally lay on the sand...until then, yawn.

Fast forward to about 4:30 pm:
Beautiful afternoon on the beach, breezy and sunny = perfect for tanning! I picked up a gazillion shells, each more lovely than the last. J retired to the room a bit earlier than me to browse photos and such, but I stayed out until my skin started to turn pink, then after showering up, purchasing postcards (loved ones watch your mailboxes!), and enjoying some super-delish mixed beverages, mango rum (for me) and Maker's Mark (for J) , we returned to the beach for sunset pictures and enjoyed the sights. Dinner at S.K.O.B. - that's Siesta Key Oyster Bar for you non-locals ;-) It was fabulous! Grouper bites with buffalo remolaude, a Vampiro for me (a margarita with lots of bells & whistles, including hibiscus and ginger!) and a Lobster Pot Pie, with LongBoard on draft for J and a jerk-seasoned shrimp & scallop skewer dinner that looked great. Yum-O!

Anniversary Trip Journal - Day One: We Made It!

(To catch anyone up to speed who doesn't already know, J and I are celebrating our second wedding anniversary in Siesta Key, FL.)

Loooong drive for us both, due to my lack of sleep and the fact that J's drive actually started in TN, making it a 12-hour trip. Still, we enjoyed the ride, shared the driving duties, and are digging all the space in the CRV.

We stopped by ABC for some goodies before arriving at our destination, the lovely gulfside Tropical Shores around 7:30pm catching a couple of sunset rays on the way to check in. It's beautiful here! Our room is nice and clean, very cute with it's little kitchen and lighted cabana out front, complete with a giant grill, table, and decorative jungle setting. I highly recommend this place - great rates and a great place to stay. Yay! :-)

Dinner took us to Captain Curt's for Crabby Red draft beer, crab cakes, fried shrimp for J and a yummy Cheese-Snapper-in-Paradise sandwich for me. Cute atmosphere, and within walking distance. After dinner, we walked down to the beach and J laughed at me as I snatched up beautiful seashells. Tonight we greeted sleep early and eagerly, in preparation for the fun to come.