Thawing out in Florida

Loads of snow in Idaho and photos of Baby Owen in Florida got us thinking that maybe a trip to Florida to visit Tori, Ryan and Owen (with the excuse that we needed to thaw out) might not be such a bad idea. Lucky for us, we have a very kind and supportive husband/father who had several frequent flyer miles and hotel points that he was willing to share with us. Voila', our escape to Florida was born! Jim scheduled the trip for a week he'd be out of town (so he wouldn't miss us so much). Before we knew it, Sariah and I were flying to Tampa!

Our stopover in Chicago was an adventure! Our flight to Tampa was delayed an hour. Meanwhile, the airport kept changing the gate our flight was to depart from. We got a bit frazzled as we ran back and forth between gates trying to figure out which was the correct one.

We finally arrived in Tampa at midnight. Bleary eyed, we called our hotel from the courtesy phone to request a shuttle to come and pick us up. I was embarrassed (but relieved) to learn that the hotel was right there, connected to the airport. All we had to do was retrace our steps back up to the third floor and take a few more steps to the hotel lobby. We slept in luxury!

Tori and Baby Owen picked us up at the hotel the next morning and, while we were waiting for the arrival of Elly and little Maggie, gave us a mini tour of Tampa including Channelside and the Florida Aquarium. I was really impressed that Tori only got lost a couple of times. Downtown Tampa was a traffic-filled maze!

We loved the acquarium! Owen didn't share our enthusiasm. It may have something to do with the fact that he is only four months old. He was a good sport, though, and so-oo cute!

We couldn't resist a few shots of Sariah in action.

She even touched the stingrays!

After collecting Elly and Maggie, the drive to Gainesville took forever. The traffic was heavy and crawling at a snail's pace. Thank goodness, we had a good escort--Tori. Maggie kept us entertained with her chatter. Dinner at Wendy's provided a welcome break. We finally made it to Gainesville in one piece, albeit exhausted. After a brief respite at Tori's house, Elly, Maggie, Sariah and I settled into our tiny hotel room. Maggie had to watch some "carcoons" before turning in, a nightly ritual while we were there.

We had lots of adventures over the next couple of days. I must admit that the weather wasn't quite as wonderful as anticipated but it was certainly warmer than what we had been used to! We couldn't complain. We just enjoyed having the chance to be together. Even the rain at the beach at Anastasia State Park couldn't dampen our spirits. We soaked up the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean while watching Maggie play in the water and build a sand castle. Maggie was thoroughly enthralled, until she "fell off the water" and got soaked to the skin. Luckily, her mom had brought a change of clothes. Maggie was ready to go anywhere but back to the beach.

We drove through St. Augustine, the oldest settlement in the USA. It's a fascinating place. We were frustrated by the fact that we didn't have the time to explore it's historic buildings and museums. Maybe next time?

Another day, we explored the Gainesville mall and bought some jewelry. Maggie loved the jewelry store and thought the playground was great fun.

We all got pedicures, even Maggie!

Some of us went on a hike through the woods and saw some stunning azaleas. As evidenced by the lack of photos, I had left the camera behind.

We had a great time laughing, talking, eating, not sleeping much, and enjoying the little ones. I even got to give Owen a bath! It was the perfect vacation....

...until the drive to the Tampa airport. It took us three hours to make the two hour drive. We drove past 8 wrecked cars in stop-and-go traffic through pouring rain. We concurred that the next time we come to Gainesville, it won't be through the Tampa airport.