Florida

So this is the slide show of our Week in Florida! We had a BLAST! Who can't when you are at the beach with the sun warming you to the core and a nice salty ocean to cool off in???

I will give you a quick recap of the events:

Day 1: We arrived in the most beautiful place we have seen in ages! We proceeded to Grandma and Grandpa's house to settle in and have dinner with Aunt Sherry. I had to go to bed early, I couldn't keep my eyes open!

Day 2: We were chauffeured to the Fort Myers beach to enjoy some lovely seafood amid a flock of birds who were trying to get some of it. (I survived, but barely. I HATE birds for those of you who do not know!) We took in a few stores and picked up a few souvenirs.

Day 3: BEACH DAY!! Only problem was that we forgot to put sunscreen on some very important parts. We also went to a dinner and a show called Anything Goes. It was a buffet and a great show.

Day4: Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to let us borrow their car for a day without tour guides. We went to Manatee Park to see some Manatees but no luck. Then we toured downtown Fort Myers, drove past Thomas Edison and Henry Ford's winter estates, and went to Sanibel Island. We stopped for a quick game of mini-golf amidst 30 live baby alligators, and yes Steve won...this time. On the way home we got the biggest scoops of ice-cream I have ever seen, but they were delicious. While we were away, Grandma had been making us stuffed cabbages.

Day 5: Adventures took us south to Naples to visit a shopping center called Tin City. It was filled with quirky shops and fun eateries. We enjoyed some ice cream yet again. And as if we did not buy enough wine on our trip to Hermann, we bought some Pina Colada wine made at the Naples winery. That night we went out to dinner to celebrate Grandma's 75th birthday at Bahama Breeze.

Day 6: Steve and I drove back to Manatee park and this time we finally saw one!!! He was an adolescent that was probably waiting for his mother to return, since the park is a safe place for them to hang out. We also experienced another highlight of the trip when we were able to catch the MN Twins during their spring training practice. We were impressed that we could see our favorite team so up close and for free! We returned home to celebrate Grandma's actual birthday at Buca di Beppos. YUM!

Day 7: Took us back to the beach to work on our tan some more. The temperature of the ocean was even warmer than the last time. We finished our lazy day with dinner and another game of mini golf. Steve wanted to get ahead, so he turned the first 9 holes into 1 game and the back 9 holes into another. So Calie got to add two wins to the tally!!

Day 8: Thankfully for us the weather, for the first time, was cloudy and 60 degrees. It made leaving just a little easier.

So that was our trip in a nut shell. We had a great time and are not too happy to be back in St. Louis and back to reality.