Vacation Recap

I'm finally mostly caught up on emails, messages, paying bills etc...so time for a little vacation recap:




Saturday - we flew from Duluth to Mpls then to Tampa. We were nervous about Dahlia...but she did great! Peek-a-boo with the passengers behind us, fell asleep on the runway on the 'long' flight...woke up in a great mood & enjoyed the Sky Mall catalog.

Got to the island around dinner time...so didn't do much. Picked up a few supplies, ate dinner, marveled at how warm it was (& humid!) and that was it.

Sunday - Rained all night - thunderstorms. It rained on Sunday too - but not too much. We went for a walk with Grandpa H. We went to the beach. We swam in the pool. Dahlia LOVED the pool. A lot.



Monday - I'm sure we went for a walk & we went swimming (amazing how fast it becomes hazy!). Oh yes, Steve & I walked with Dahlia on the beach. We saw lots of beautiful birds. We went swimming in the ocean - Dahlia had no fear, would've crawled right in had we let her. We didn't. She got mad. The pool was calmer. We ate that night at "Mr. Bones" which is my favorite ribs place EVER.

Tuesday - Dahlia got sick during the night and puked all over herself and me. Fun. We laid low - she seemed better so we did more walking & swimming in the pool. Oh yeah, and she pooped in the tub that day too. Awesome.



Wednesday - We were going to go to Myakka River State Park but Dahlia was still not 100% herself, so instead Steve, Roger, Dahlia & I went to the Coquina Baywalk.
Beautiful. We stopped at an art fair. We ate pecans. Delish. We went swimming. Steve & I rented bikes.



Thursday - Baby was getting better...but we kept her out of the pool (much to her chagrin!). We jumped in the waves a little but there are so many shells on the beach that it is quite painful (without aqua-socks...which I bought some - dorky? yes, but much easier on my tender feet). I saw a snake when I was walking with Dahlia. I had to ask a stranger to help me get the stroller down from an elevated ice cream place (where I ran after the snake...I could NOT go back the same way I came!! the snake was waiting for me). Steve & I "went out" that night. There's not many places to go. The bar we went to was SO dang smoky it was just gross. We didn't stay out long.



Friday - All of us went out to Myakka. We had a picnic & saw alligators (at the picnic area! yikes!). We went up on the canopy walk & climbed the tower. I was totally a spaz because I am afraid of snakes...I kept focused though and didn't freak out (we didn't see any snakes). We saw many many many more alligators - 15? 20? They were everywhere...yet you could rent canoes & kayaks?!? WHAT? No thanks. We also saw lots of beautiful birds, bunnies, more alligators & boars on a boardwalk out into a lake (that's drying up). Friday night we watched the sunset on the beach and mourned the fact that the next day we'd be in snow.







Saturday - clean up! We had to pack & clean up, do laundry, etc. Fun! Bleh. We ate brunch at a creperie which was delicious even if the waitress was a bitch. Then off to the airport. Dahlia was a PILL on the flight to Detroit. So squirmy and LOUD and generally unhappy. She finally fell asleep about 1/2 way (or a little more) through. Detroit to Duluth was much better.

The car seat had WET jet fuel (or something with a similar foul smell) on it when we picked it up in Duluth. WTF? Now the seat is stained too. Lovely. Gross. I washed it but it is still stained. The smell is gone thankfully. We tried to call but you can't get through to an actual person! And when we finally got the 'right' number - you have to make a claim within 24 hours of your flight! WHATEVER!!!!

Anyhoo - aside from the vomiting, pooping & jet fuel, we had a really nice vacation. Vacation is much different with a toddler. I kind of feel like now I need a week to lay on the beach and read, as not too much of that happened. Ah well, maybe our NEXT vacation will be a parents-only vacation! ha!