A Little Getaway for Us

Ah.... There is nothing better than sipping on a margarita while sitting along the water.

While I was off work for Spring Break, we decided to take a drive.  We packed an overnight bag knowing that we would stay somewhere for a night or two, and we left......  We have done this before .....not knowing where we are headed.  This time we headed down south to find some warmer weather.  Marco Island seemed like a good spot!  But, when we arrived with no reservations (cause that's how we roll), we could not find any place to stay.  So, we headed north and ended up in Naples.  We found a nice little place on the bay called the Cove Inn and paid for the room.  The room was nice and had a nice view of the bay.  And as an added bonus.... the water taxi picked up right at the docks.  Our plan was to go get dinner and then take a water taxi.  While searching for things to do, I came upon a place called Tin City and it looked promising!  Many shops to look in and it was along the water!  Just our cup of tea!  

We ended up eating at a nice place right on the water and as you can see we enjoyed it!  Best grilled grouper sandwich around!   

Afterwards, we walked around the shops and the buildings.  Maybe it was the margarita that went to his head, but, Gary was looking at this boat like it was already his.......... 

When we returned to the room, we decided that it was a little too chilly for the water taxi and decided to get up in the morning and drive along the water and see where we ended up the next night.  

Fort Myers Beach looked promising but no vacancies..... After all it was Spring Break!  So, we kept driving......  of course sightseeing along the way!  Captiva Island was by far our favorite but not somewhere that you can just "pop in" and stay. 

We enjoyed our drive and stopped at some interesting places along the way.... but, decided to go on home and "plan" a trip back to that area at a later and warmer date!  All in all, it was just nice to get away and do some sightseeing!

Memorial Day 2009 at the Island

Our whole family decided to go to the island (Grant, Florida) for Memorial Day weekend. Gary and I took a couple of extra days and were looking forward to a little sun and relaxation. It was nice because Michael went early and had the grass cut and everything in order. If only everything else would have cooperated as well. Actually, after reading this post, you will think that it was the weekend from hell....... But, all in all we enjoyed a little family time and managed to get a little boating and swimming done too. It rained off and on and the nicest day was the day we left. Enjoy the stories and the pictures....

1st set back..........Our plan was to go over early Friday morning, however, we had problems with the burn table at Gary's shop. It took us the better part of the day getting support and shipping the controller off to be repaired. We let Michael know that we would come with Joanne on Saturday morning.

2nd set back............Joanne got to our house early and we were ahead of schedule...... until we had a tire blow out on the boat trailer. We could literally see our exit on 95 and Michael was waiting at the boat dock to help us unload. So, Gary and I changed the tire while Joanne sat in the truck and took care of Mason, our dog Dixie and their dog Louie. Can you imagine? It was no picnic for her. LOL But, after a little bit we were on the road again. Of course Michael had no phone with him and was wondering what was taking us so long!

3rd set back............Mitch and Amy came over on Saturday afternoon because Amy had school in the morning. When they arrived, Rylee was sick and running a fever. So, we did not do a lot that day. The guys did some fishing and Michael was convinced that we jinxed his fishing because he had a few big fish that he caught before we arrived. After we came, his luck stopped. Maybe he just bought the fish???????

4th set back.............. On Sunday, we woke up and Rylee was still sick and Pop Pop's face was swollen on one side. Gary was supposed to have some oral surgery done a few weeks back and had some complications so it was postponed. It just happened that it decided to act up again and off we went to find an centra care. So, Sunday morning was spent at centra care and WalMart getting medication for him. When we got back to the cabin, Gary went to sleep on the couch, Mitch, Amy and Rylee were sleeping in the bedroom because they had been up all night with Rylee. Needless to say, Mike, Joanne, Mason, Haylee and I got our bathing suits on and left the sick people home and went boating and swimming. The weather cooperated and we had a nice time. Haylee was trying to eat all the sand and shells and Mason was drinking all the salt water that he splashed in his mouth.

5th set back............ When we got back to the cabin, Michael went fishing. Joanne was in the bedroom and started yelling for me. I ran into the room just as Mason was projectile vomiting all over the place. He really scared us, but, we managed to get him calmed down and everything cleaned up. The only thing that we could think of was it was too much salt water, sand and shells.

Are we having fun yet??????

Thankfully, that evening everything got back to normal and the next morning (the day we were leaving) the sun was shining, everyone was feeling better; so off we went in Mike's boat to enjoy some sun and water. Needless to say, Mason's water, sand and shell consumption were watched closely.



After all of that, looking back..... It was a great weekend, we were together as a family!