Vacation has always been a time for me to take the kiddo somewhere, visit family, fix something on the house, move, maybe just hang out at the house for a bit. Everyone else took them to actually go places, not me. I have always done my sightseeing on the travel channel. When CC asked me to go on vacation with him, I was so excited! I was going to actually go somewhere...
As my son was visiting family for a graduation the same weekend, it really cleared up my schedule and my mind . Son was going to be with his father, multiple states away and my time was my own. I didn't have to worry about him burning down the house or trying to change SUV's into U-boats.
After work on Thursday I took off for Nashville as our flight was scheduled to leave on Friday morning. Traffic was remarkably light - a good sign. After a warm greeting courtesy of CC and the girls, we went to talk with the neighbors to let them know we would be away for the weekend. Brian and Doug are a hoot! We finally got away and left for a yummy dinner at a restaurant called Rumours. WOW! We had the most amazing gnocchi! (Did I spell that correctly?) They had a couple of drink specials as well. I had a "Kentucky Smash". Bourbon, lemon, honey and mint. Yummy! (Note to self, attempt to recreate that one at home). *wink*
The next day we were up and at it early. CC grabbed us a quick breakfast and we packed up and took the girls to the kennel. We arrived at the airport without incident and were quickly on our way to sunny Florida! The flight was uneventful, the gods were smiling upon us and we were in the rental car and on our way in no time. There was a minor mishap when CC almost broadsided a car in the parking garage but I squealed just in time. No one was hurt, not a scratch on either car. The only evidence of the incident was my heart pounding out of my chest for 10 minutes afterward.
We stopped at Crabby Bill's on the way in for a bite to eat and a tasty beverage. Beverage of the day was a Zombie! It was a nice kick off to our vacation. Enjoying the outdoors with a cocktail and discussing what possibilities lie before us.
The weather was beautiful. We found our hotel without difficulty. It would be a bit hard to miss as it resembled a huge pink cake. There was nothing around close to its size. We checked in, found our room. They were very large. There was a kitchen with stainless steel fridge, cooktop etc. Flat panel t.v. and the most wonderful view from the balcony. All in all it was one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in.
We decided to take a stroll along the beach and just check everything out. We needed to get our toes in the sand! We walked along the beach and down to the pier. Vendors and entertainers were all around. There was everything from jugglers to artists. We decided to start walking back and went to a restaurant a couple of doors down from the hotel. They had live music and Red Stripe beer! We shared a few of the appetizers which were delicious! We decided we would spend Saturday at the beach so we went in search of the necessary supplies (Cooler, frosty beverages, ice...). We were successful on our hunt and took the supplies up to the room and settled in for some rest and "relaxation"....
Saturday morning was absolutely gorgeous! CC ordered up some room service and we had breakfast on the balcony. Belgian waffles and an omelet. The food was great and the atmosphere was as good as it gets. Did I mention the view?
We finished breakfast, dressed and packed up for the beach. We found our spot and set up for the day under a big shady umbrella. I know a lot of people don't have the patience for a full day at the beach. I believe "bored" is a word often uttered. We wiled away the time playing a trivia game I had brought along. It allowed for leisurely play and entertainment while sunning ourselves. We played, read, people watched. Enjoyed the beach and each other. It was a perfect day. We finally decided we had enough sun and surf and returned to the room to clean up. Sunday would be fishing and we needed to find a boat. We walked to the marina and secured passage on a boat called "Above Average". We then went to CC's FAVORITE place, Cooter's. It was a very laid back place with good food and cold beer. We enjoyed gator bites, grouper cheeks and crabby shrimp dip washed down with Shock Top beer. Delish! After supper, we headed back to the room (via the beach) for a nice stroll and cool sand between our toes.
Sunday morning came along with our breakfast. The night before we placed our order for tasty room service and breakfast was right on time. We again ate on the balcony, watching the sun come up. Today's fare included salmon, cream cheese, red onions and capers on a bagel for one entree and sticky bun french toast with pecans for the other. Let me just tell you, this was fantastic! I don't know who thought to take a pastry and cook it in the same manner as french toast but this stuff rocked! I was envisioning french toast with the flavor of sticky buns. Not MADE from sticky buns... Mmmmmmmm good!
After filling our tanks on such a yummy breakfast, we headed over to the marina. We had two additional people who would be fishing with us. A man named Simon and his son, Landon. They were excellent companions for us on my maiden voyage. Captain Richard took us out into the bay to begin fishing. We were trolling for fish today.
After a fashion and many moves throughout the bay, we really began to catch some fish. We caught King and Spanish Mackerel, Bonita and Lizard fish. The Bonita and lizard fish went back into the bay but they were fun to catch. The trip was excellent, we finished catching a lot of fish! (Simon even caught a crab trap!) We headed back to the marina with a cooler full of fish. The nice thing about fishing in this manner is the cleaning and filleting of the fish is handled by someone else. Richard made short work of that chore.
We did manage to take pictures of the fish before they became supper.
We took our catch across the way to Crabby Bills. They will cook your fish for you that you brought in from your fishing excursion. We had some of it blackened and some of it fried. Mackerel is a very mild fish. The blackened was by far the best way to eat it. Our bellies full of fish, we made our way back to the room. We decided to hang in the room and relax a bit. We found out that the television did work and snoozed a bit while watching some t.v. As we ate so late in the afternoon, we found supper wasn't necessary and stayed in the rest of the evening. We managed to occupy ourselves without any difficulties.... Another perfect day had come to a close.
I awoke early on Monday morning. I was awake for a good 1.5 hours before I just couldn't stand it any longer and woke CC. It was a bit subdued. We knew we were on our way home. The weather was not as we had enjoyed it the previous few days. It was cloudy and raining steadily while we began to gather our things and prepare for departure. The rain may have made it a bit easier to leave, but I would have stayed if given the opportunity.
We arrived to a sunny afternoon in Nashville. We picked up the girls from the kennel (they were soooo glad to see their Daddy) and headed towards the house. I was able to hang out a bit before running back to the Ville, so we ran out to Nuevo Burrito. The food was excellent. Before I knew it we were back at the house and I was saying goodbye.
The entire trip was fantastic. Our vacation to Florida was definitely the best time of my life. It wouldn't have mattered where we were or what we were doing. CC lights up my life in a way that only he can. Location doesn't matter, it's him. This trip was like being in someone else's life; falling down the rabbit hole. It was wonderful! I have never had such a good time as I did spending 4 days with my CC.
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