Our Florida Vacation

Last week Nate, Abby, and I went on our first family vacation to St. Petersburg, FL. It was a much needed family time of reconnecting after the many, many months of Nate studying for his PE exam. (Which he PASSED!) Our vacation location and timing was pretty much decided for us as Nate was scheduled to teach a GOTHIC coding class in Crystal Springs, FL starting December 12th. Since Crystal Springs is a tiny town we figured we'd branch out to one of the bigger ones the week/weekend before he needed to start teaching. Since I'd previously done Orlando (Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Space Center) with my parents and brother years before we decided that Tampa would be where we'd head to. After looking at the beach possibilities for Tampa hotels we made a better decision to stay in St. Petersburg where the beaches are gorgeous and tour in Tampa where more of the 'action' is.

I was a little nervous for the flight as this was Abby's first time flying, but she was better than my wildest expectations. On the flight down she slept 50% of the actual flight time and played very nicely in the cramped airplane seats between Nate and I. Upon arriving in Tampa we stepped out of the airport into glorious 70* weather. It was so warm! Coming from Pasco, WA with a high of 30* to palm trees, humidity, and sunny skies was like walking into a dream. A warm and wonderful dream! Nate and I were like two kids exploring the world again as we excitedly pointed out the water all around us on our drive to St. Petersburg. Coming from the desert all that water was a sight to see. We checked into our hotel (The Bilmar Beach Resort - which I would highly recommend) and immediately headed onto the beach to dip our toes in the water. Come to find out that while Florida is much warmer than home during December the water is not something to swim in. Brr! After our short adventure we headed back in to go to bed. Flying with an infant, while she did great, was exhausting. Plus we wanted to acclimate to East Coast time as soon as possible.

This was Abby's 'crib'.

Our first day in Florida we slept in late, then decided to tour a bit of Treasure Island (the location of our hotel). It was weird seeing Christmas decorations in such warm weather. I'm not used to seeing Christmas lights on palm trees, but it was nice to see how other people in different climates decorate for the holidays. Pretty much the exact same way we decorate here in colder, snowy weather just without the snow! I know I should have realized this but when you're not used to something you wonder how it's done.

I love how the Christmas tree is smack in the middle of a bunch of palm trees.

We also hung out a bunch at the hotel just exploring our surroundings. I'm a believer in traveling out of tourist season and this trip was just another reason why. I know there were other people in the hotel but gosh if we hardly saw or heard them. We joked that we got our own private hotel for the cost of a single hotel room!

Here we're on the activity deck that was two steps outside our room (the yellow door in the back was in front of our hotel room door) and above the pool and hot tub. In the week that we stayed we never saw another person on this deck. It became a great outdoor play area for Abby! Abby knows Dad's smoking a cigar and drinking a beer as she keeps wanting him to pick her up and play with her. The whole time he was smoking she didn't want to have a thing to do with me! I think it was her way of trying to get Nate to put the cigar out. :-)

Abby kept going after Nate's beer. Nate kept laughing and moving it out of her reach.

After Nate had his cigar and beer time we decided to check out the beach. I was excited to see how Abby would do as she's never been in sand before. She loved it! The sand was full of seashells and she loved picking them up and turning them over and over as she explored. We even took her for a quick toe dip in the Gulf. It was quick because the water was still cold and she wasn't a big fan of that. That pretty much took up our second day as we had an early dinner and got to bed early as well. Jet lag is a killer.

Abby digging in the sand.

Touching sea water for the first time. (We kept calling it the Atlantic Ocean but I think we were actually on the Gulf of Mexico. Either way it was a huge body of water and it was her first!)

Our third day in Florida was a really fun time. We went to SeaWorld! I was really looking forward to this and Nate was willing to go along to make me happy. :-) He thought that it would be a big kid's amusement park and wasn't sure he'd enjoy himself but figured that since I wanted to go he'd go for me. What a great husband! What ended up happening is that he had a fantastic time and said he was really glad we went. It was fun seeing all the animals and watching Abby people watch. Thank goodness she was free because she got more entertainment by watching all the people around her than any of the animals!

Abby and I touching baby stingrays. Or I'm touching them and Abby is pulling as hard as she can in the opposite direction. She did enjoy watching them as they flung a 'flipper'(?) above the water in their quest for food.

Nate and Abby watching the dolphins play via the underwater viewing room. I actually got to touch a dolphin, too! When we were up top one dolphin came soaring up to me and jumped onto this little ledge and hung out for the longest time. I wasn't sure if we could touch them or not but when a bunch of people started running their hands along the dolphin I figured I wouldn't be the only one getting in trouble if we got caught. So I did a few finger strokes and was amazed at how slimy the dolphin felt. I turned to have Nate touch, too, but he stayed back as he was holding Abby and she didn't want to get to close. By the time we made the switch the dolphin had swum away. But since Nate's a scuba diver and has touched lots of sea life he was okay with missing this opportunity.

This was Abby's favorite position while in the park. On Daddy's shoulders and using his hair as a handle. Here we're looking at the penguin exhibit.

Abby LOVES ice cream! She kept grunting for more when we weren't fast enough in feeding her. And boy did she get a sugar rush! But a rare treat like this wasn't one we wanted to pass up.

This picture perfectly captures Abby vs. Nate and I in the park. Nate and I enjoyed viewing all the animal exhibits while Abby could care less and was all about watching people. 

I liked this photo because it was a baby seal/sea otter (I can't remember which) nursing. Since I'm still nursing Abby it was a nice bonding moment between the Mama and me. I did find it funny that a few people around me kept asking what the baby was doing. I guess when your nursing years are far behind/ahead of you it doesn't immediately click what's going on. 

The end of our adventure at SeaWorld was the One Ocean orca/killer whale show. WOW! If you get a chance to go to SeaWorld you should definitely see this. It was amazing seeing how high these animals could jump and how many tricks they could perform. Nate got a great picture of one of the bigger jumps we saw.

A bigger view of the show.

All in all, SeaWorld was definitely worth the money we spent!

The rest of our Florida trip was spent on the beach and in the pool. Abby loves water time so we got a big kick out of watching her splash and float around. And on the beach she played so hard that she crashed when it was nap time. The three of us couldn't get enough of the warm weather, sandy beaches, and fun pool time. It's been months since we've had this back at home.

Abby floating in the pool with Nate.

She had such fun crawling away from us and back again. Since no one was around (this is a view of the beach at prime beach time) we let her wander as far away as she wanted. 

But she always came back!

Helping Mommy and Daddy pack up the night before Mom and Abby left for home and Dad left for Crystal Springs to teach class. She's become enamored with playing with her car-seat.

Watching the sunset on our last day in Florida.

My awesome little traveler in the airport on our way home.

The time we spent together was exactly what this family needed. Focusing on each other and spending quality time together. It's so easy to get wrapped up in work, house projects, and, particularly at this time of year, all the holiday madness. Having a week where we got to focus on just us so wonderful. I'm looking forward to our next family time!