Just beachy

Can Joe and I really be so lucky to keep having one amazing vacation after another or are we just good company? We headed home this morning, leaving another fantastic vacation behind us. We had a great time in Longboat Key. The weather was beautiful, the location was gorgeous, and the company was even better.

We rolled onto Longboat Key around noon on Friday. It was my first trip to the island and I have to say that I quickly fell in love with the scenery. The Gulf of Mexico is a gorgeous bright turquoise that is hard not to stare at. Around the island the properties are very well manicured with lush green grass, huge magenta bougainvillea, varying shades of plumeria trees, and tons of other beautiful mounds of brightly colored flowers. Driving down the street through the island we could gawk at some very impressive beach houses with huge metal gates and intricately paved driveways. It was definitely a different type of beach town than I'm used to here.

We got to our hotel, the Longboat Key Hilton, and were happy that we were able to check in early. We're not quite sure how we got so lucky, but Joe and I scored one of the best rooms at the hotel. We were on the 5th floor (the top) and had an amazing, huge suite. We had a large bedroom and an adjoining living room that was as big as the bedroom. We also had two balconies and could see both the ocean and the bay from either one. The rooms together were seriously half the size of my house!

Once we were checked in and settled, we headed out to lunch and to meet up with all our friends. We had one really heavy rain storm while we were at lunch but the sky quickly turned back to sunny when we were done eating. Joe and I decided to take advantage and hit the pool. We had a drink and lounged in the pool for a couple of hours and then decided to drive around and check out the rest of the island. We drove to the downtown area, St. Armands Circle, which was so cute. There were shops and restaurants and little sidewalk cafes. It was so charming. We kept going and ended up in downtown Sarasota. We again admired the many beautiful houses along the bay and the marinas and huge condos that were scattered everywhere. When we got back my girlfriend and I took a couple of beers down to the beach and watched a beautiful sunset while lounging on some beach chairs.

Saturday was a pretty lazy day. We got up and went to breakfast then quickly changed into our bathing suits and hit the beach. Everyone kept telling me how flat and calm the Gulf beaches were. Not this beach! I don't know it was a storm or if we just picked the wrong beach because the water was actually quite choppy and there was lots of seaweed floating around. Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrified of ocean creatures and flip out when anything touches my leg while standing in the ocean so I chose not to venture too far into the water. I pretty much enjoyed the sight, sound, and smell of the ocean while safely perched on my lounge chair. Once we had our fill of the beach we headed to the pool for a dip. And even after all that, I still had several hours before we had to be ready for the wedding and I spent the majority of that time on the balcony of our hotel room reading and watching the ocean.

I've never been to a wedding on the beach. I've also never been to a wedding in which I stayed at the hotel where the wedding was taking place. I have to say that I truly enjoyed the experience! To be able to walk out from our hotel room to the wedding ceremony and then just as easily walk back to our room after the reception was great. So convenient! And there really is something to be said about having all the guests tanned and relaxed and enjoying their vacations as well as celebrating a marriage. Everyone was just in such a great mood.

The wedding was beautiful. The bride was gorgeous and glowing and she and her groom truly, truly looked so happy to be married. I honestly could look at them and say that they had found their match in each other. We all had a great time dancing and laughing at the reception, the open bar helped. I did have to coax Joe onto the dance floor a couple more times than he would've liked, leading him to dub me a, "dance rapist", and telling me that, "no means no". Hey, is it really so bad that I want to dance with my husband?! I think not! We finished out the night pretty much the best way possible, with cupcakes. They were so delicious I had to smuggle two more out with me when we left. And I promptly ate one of them this morning while having my coffee.

All in all, we had a great time. I'm so glad that amazing vacations like these are only a short drive away. Florida really is a beautiful place to live and we should take more time to explore it and enjoy it. And I'm proud to say I lived up to the motto I'd set forward for this vacation, "sun and the sand and a drink in my hand, with no bottom..." I can't wait for the next one.