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| View from my hotel room |
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| My hotel on North Redington Beach |
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| Awesome Sunset |
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| Dinner with Dane and Jonah |
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| Scary Hike |
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| Keri and Sally |
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| Panther paw print??? |
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| Krista and Brooke |
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| Airboat ride with Sally and her girls |
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| Alligator |
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| Vera Bradley Outlet |
I went to Florida for a 3-day Vestibular Rehabilitation Course in Largo, FL, which happened to be located just a few miles away from Madeira Beach, FL, the beach I grew up going to once or twice a year as a child. I decided to get a hotel right on North Redington Beach and am so glad I did. My days were busy attending my course, but my nights were spent listening to the waves crash against the shore while I slept. It was so peaceful. When I wasn't in class and wasn't sleeping, I managed to walk along the beach, shop at John's Pass, see some dolphins, and eat some yummy seafood.
One of the bonuses of being in Florida, besides the obvious, was getting to spend the weekend with my good friend, Sally Wenzel and her family. They moved to Estero, FL about a year and a half ago from Illinois. They live about two and half hours south of Largo. On my way to visit them, I made a pit stop in Port Charlotte, FL to visit my brother, Dane; Robin and Jonah. My uncle Jon and aunt Vicky happened to be down there visiting too, so I was able to see them. It was fun seeing where Dane and his family live. Our time was brief, but we enjoyed visiting around a bonfire and sharing a meal together before I finished my journey to Sally's house.
My weekend with Sally was fantastic! Besides the excitement of seeing each other again, we managed to have some pretty cool adventures. On Saturday, Sally and I took a scary hike through some wetlands. I say it was scary because we were on the look out for panthers, black bears, alligators and snakes. Thankfully, we didn't see any of the above, though we did see some paw prints. Following our hike, we went on an airboat ride with her girls. It was a beautiful ride through marshy waters with tropical birds flying across our path. We managed to see about 8 alligators, which was exciting. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour.
On Sunday, we spent the day at Barefoot Beach collecting seashells. The weather was on the cool side while I was in Florida, being in the 60's and 70's. Regardless of the weather, it was a relaxing day at the beach spent enjoying the beauty of God's creation. We ended the day with some Cuban food, which was new to me.
On Monday, Sally gave me a tour of her kids' school and her classroom. We spent the day shopping at the outlet mall and did some damage in the Vera Bradley store. We had a great time together. I am blessed to have such an amazing friend! I am also very blessed to have such an amazing husband, who made this trip possible by being an awesome Mr. Mom for six days!
