A Vacation Recap.

This past week was spent in Florida vacationing on the beach.

Usually, we split the cost of renting a condo with Scott's parents. This year, we rented our own. Scott's younger brother, Brandon, stayed with us and Scott's parents, along with his Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave, rented the condo directly below us.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon. Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave landed from Chicago around the same exact time. Scott has another aunt, Faye, that lives in the area that we were staying, along with her children and their families.

Saturday night we all went to dinner at The Thirsty Marlin where the conch fritters were just about as good as Key West and the lobster quesadilla was too yummy! Scott's cousin, Tyler, ordered the all you can eat crab, and I think that Scott "helped" with the all you can eat part!

Sunday Scott's cousin. Trish, and her husband, Alex, had all of us over for a big BBQ and the food was delicious. Alex smoked chicken wings and a beef butt that melted in your mouth. Sunday night all of the boys fished off of the pier until late into the night.

Monday was finally spent on the beach! The sun was out and the water was warm!! We swam with two schools of stingrays. Each school had about eight stingrays and they swam all around us!!! All of us spent the entire day either by the pool or in the ocean. Monday night, Scott and I went out by ourselves to a little pub we like to go to when we are in town. We got home in enough time to watch the sun set and took a walk on the beach.

Tuesday, while eating breakfast on the balcony, we watched two dolphins swim pretty close to shore. We spent the entire day on the beach and decided that if we win the lottery, we are moving down on the beach. Tuesday night we went to dinner with Scott's grandpa whose wife just passed away. Also at the dinner was Grandma's two sisters and their families. It has been two years since I was able to visit with this side of the family, as I was not able to attend Grandma's memorial service. It amazes me how two years doesn't seem like a long time until you see how much people have aged during that time. I hope that another two years does not pass without visiting with these aunts and uncles again. Scott's grandpa came back to our condo for coffee and really seemed to enjoy himself.

Wednesday, Scott and I took two chairs and planted them in the surf. That is where our butts stayed for the entire day. It was VERY hot and being in the water with the ocean breeze made things so much better. That night we went to dinner with Scott's dad's cousin, Susan and her husband John. Afterwards, they came back to the condo to swim and Scott and Brandon took Grandpa fishing. I stayed behind and texted them the score of the Tampa Bay Rays game. While they didn't catch anything, they had a good time just being together.

Thursday, I woke up looking like Mush Mouth from the Fat Albert cartoon, as my lips were swollen and burned. I decided to take a break from the sun. Everyone came to our condo for lunch then we went to John's Pass to do some touristy shopping. We grabbed some ice cream as well. That night we all went to dinner to Grandpa's favorite restaurant, Leverocks. Grandpa had us back to his house for KEY LIME PIE!He makes the best pie, and even though I protested, I had to share it with everyone. We spent the evening looking through old family photos. There was a story that went along with each photo. A lot of laughter and a few tears were shed. Memories, while they are good to have, can be painful for a man who lost the only woman he ever kissed and spent the last 67 years married to. Hopefully, time will make it easier for him, but I just don't see how a heart as broken as his can ever be whole again. I try to force myself to remember that we will all be reunited with our loved one at Heaven's Gate...but that seems too far away.

Friday, we spent our last day on the beach. Brandon flew his kites. Courtney looked for sand dollars, but couldn't find any. That night for dinner we went to GiGi's Pizzeria. This is a place that Scott's parents started going to in 1969, and I am pretty sure the decor hasn't changed since then. The pizza was fabulous and it was a great way to spend our last night as a family!

Saturday we said our goodbyes and got on the road. We picked the dogs up from the kennel, and Oliver spent the entire ride home rotating between all of our laps.

As vacations go, this will go down as one of my favorites. The nightly stories of Scott growing up in Chicago has made us start making plans for our vacation next year. I think, after 18 years of marriage, it is time to go see where he grew up. It is time to be introduced to Chicago pizza, a cubs game and a hot dog from a street vendor. Time to see the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and the Brookfield Zoo.

It is time to revisit those memories and to start making new ones!