Weekend Getaway

Last weekend I went to Florida to spend the weekend with Charlie instead of him travelling home. We had been planning this trip for a month or two, and it really could not have come at a better time.


February in the midwest is always a little depressing. I mean, it is so dark and cold and snowy. And there is not really a whole lot to do in the snow here. No skiing to speak of, no good snowshoeing trails. And it ices a lot. Which I also am not a fan of. And the holidays are over. Anyways, in addition to that, work had really been getting me down a lot lately and so to get out of Columbus and to go somewhere else where my only job was to lie on the beach and ponder what I was going to eat next was just the ticket.

One of the benefits of having a husband who is travelling Monday through Thursday or Friday every week is that we get to stay in amazing places like the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa for free for a weekend. And, since he is a platinum member, we got free parking, free towels, and free internet and we got upgraded to an ocean view room. Like I said, it does have it's perks.

Recently on the weekends we have unabashedly been sleeping the day away. We might get out of bed as late as 11:00 am on Saturday or Sunday, which is not something we have done since we were in college really, but we have both been so busy at work we really need the sleep. Not this weekend. No alarms, no nothing we were up and at 'em by 8:30. We got dressed and started walking down the beach. We found a cute little place with some open tables outside and had a good, hearty breakfast and enjoyed the scenery (see photo at the top) before heading back to hit up the beach.

Now, since I've gotten older and have a "real" job, and because I am so white to begin with, I really do not ever get much color, no matter what time of year. So it is always interesting to go someplace like Florida, where many people go tanning before they even get there, and show off my uber white body. However, the sun was amazing! I think I got enough vitamin D to last me until at least May. And I only got a little bit sunburnt.

Saturday we stayed on the beach until it was time to eat lunch. Then we went to Aruba's and had an amazing, mostly deep fried feast of conch fritters, bread that was dripping in this sweet honey glaze and seafood quesadillas. We then rolled ourselves back home and took a nap by the pool until the sun went down and we got cold.

Ooooh! And I forgot to tell you about my pink hat! Charlie forgot his flip flops, so we went to the hotel gift shop to find some that weren't ridiculously expensive (hopefully). And we found this hat. I put it on, and my ever frugal husband said, "That looks awesome. You have to get it." I think that is the first and maybe the last time I will ever hear him utter those words. So, $16+tax later I am the proud owner of a new fushia hat that is super cute.

Saturday night we went to dinner in Delray Beach at a place called Dada that Charlie had been to before and really enjoyed. It is in a residential neighborhood and used to be a house that they turned into this trendy, bohemian restaurant. It was also very delicious.

On Sunday it was up and at 'em with no alarm whatsoever again, this time we decided to go for a run. We ran until we got tired and then we had another breakfast feast. We then headed back, packed up, and went to the pool to enjoy our last few hours. 

We had a quicker lunch complete with a strawberry margarita before taking me back to the airport to go home. Considering that we had only a few more than 36 hours there, I think we did a good job using our time wisely. I got home around 9pm on Sunday relaxed and not all that willing to go back to work on Monday. But it's always easier to go back to work in February with a little bit of a sunburn:)

I saw this little girl helping her parents out in their ice cream truck by the beach on Sunday when we were walking around. All I could think of is "How cool would that be?" As a kid, I'm sure she is never wanting for friends. EVERYONE wants to be friends with the girl who's parents own the ice cream truck!!!

So, this is what a state park in Florida looks like. Everyone comes to the beach to sit at picnic tables and use the grills to cook out. They do pretty much the same stuff we do at the park in the midwest, only it's slightly more awesome because they have the ocean to swim in instead of a slightly icky lake.