Blessed Beyond Measure: Florida Vacation Day 3: Sea Fog

On the third day of our vacation, we encountered a phenomenon called sea fog. Basically, we spent the day in a cloud blown in from the water. The sun was no where to be seen and the day was cooler than the day before, but that did stop us from enjoying the day and our time together as a family.

We started the day off with a delicious breakfast at the Sea Horse Restaurant nearby, where we got to eat outside and enjoy the salty air. Then we headed back out by the water, where the older guys enjoyed watching a fisherman throw fish to the pelicans and Eric's mom, Avery and I went for a walk around the Southern tip of the island.

Grandma & Avery

The view. The water is just across the street, but you could barely see anything.

Gramps, Asher & Eric watching the pelicans eat the fisherman's catch.

Notice the pelicans patiently waiting on top of the columns for another fish to be thrown.

Avery enjoying our walk.

When we all got back to the motel, we grabbed some sand toys and headed over to the beach. It wasn't warm enough to swim, but that wasn't going to stop us from enjoying the fresh air and abundance of sand to play in.

Asher working hard with Daddy

Avery hanging out in the shade.

Big brother always loves to entertain his little bro.

Avery admiring his big brother.

Avery and I wetting our toes.

Notice the sunburn on my arm after one day in the sun...yeah, I'm from Wisconsin...

I love those chubby cheeks!

<3 these piggies!

My & My Boy

Playing with Grandma

Concentrating Hard.

We made a "chair" for Avery...which the passersby found quite humorous...we had to take him out shortly after though, because the sand apparently looked too appetizing!

Just chillin'

We were burying his toes...and he seemed a bit concerned about where they were disappearing to.

When Gramps woke up from his nap, he came out to play on the beach with us too!

Video: Duck Duck Goose

Eventually the morning beach fun had to come to an end and we headed back to our room for lunch and nap time. Avery who is a TERRIBLE napper had no interest in sleeping, so we headed outside with him to give his big brother some quiet time to rest. Avery was quite content to have both Mommy and Daddy's attentions as we played by the pool for a bit.

Avery LOVED playing in the water...just splashing his feet wasn't enough...

...he would have liked to be all in, but this is the best we let him have.

Video: Avery Just Wants to Swim

While we played with Avery and Asher took his nap, Eric's parents went for a walk together. When they returned, they stayed with Asher for a while (as he continued to sleep) and we took Avery for a walk down the beach to the fisherman's pier on the South end of the island. Minutes after we returned, Asher woke up from his nap and then we all headed back outside and across the street to the nearest ice cream parlor for an afternoon snack...delicious!

Asher & Eric enjoying their ice cream...Avery enjoying the fresh air.

They say that a man will marry a woman that reminds him of his mother?... she may not like ice cream quite as much as I do, but I think she's not too far behind...AND she agrees with me on my love for s'mores! :)

When we had finished our ice cream, we embarked on a new adventure; a journey North to John's Pass Village & Boardwalk. 10 years ago (May of 2005) after Eric and I graduated from graduate school we took a vacation to the Sirata Beach Resort, which was just a few miles north of Pass-a-Grille. While we were on that vacation, we discovered John's Pass which has a nice boardwalk with some cute restaurants and gift shops. We enjoyed walking the boardwalk and checking out the sites, along with the harbor and the dolphins swimming nearby. Since this day (day 3 of our present vacation) was not sunny and was cooling off as evening approached, I thought it would be fun to ride the local trolley (really a bus decorated to look like a trolley) and go back up there to enjoy a family walk and dinner. Eric's parents agreed to the idea and we all set off for an adventure that turned out to be more than we bargained for.

Eric & I on our Florida Vacation at the Sirata in 2005

Because John's Pass was a ways North of where we were staying, it required us to take two separate trolleys to get there. Also, because we set off on our journey later than I had hoped, we ended up riding the trolleys at the same time that locals were getting off of work and using the transportation system to get home. Thus, what was expected to be a half hour ride turned into an approximate 1 hour-20 minute ride cramped on the trolley with A LOT of interesting people. Everyone was really nice to us and understanding of us having little kids, but for a small Wisconsin family, it was a bit of a culture shock. I couldn't help but watch Asher look around at everyone with a look of awe on his face as he took everything in and think, "we're not in Kansas anymore!"

Well, eventually we made it and overall it went well...just REALLY long. I hadn't anticipated the ride taking so long and the kids were both starving and needed diaper changes. By the time we were ready to walk around, it was getting later and we had to forego any real site-seeing and just skip ahead to dinner. There were a few restaurants that seemed to have a lot of character, but one of them had more non-fish items on the menu and won our (mine & Eric's) vote. It was a place called The Hut and had been the same place that Eric and I had chosen to eat 10 years prior. In my mind, I remembered that this place had character and decent food, but really couldn't remember much else about it. It wasn't until we got inside that I fully realized I had made my in-laws ride a torturously long trolley ride up to eat dinner in a bar with their two small grandchildren! On the bright side, the bar had live music consisting of a variety of music (largely 80's, along with some Charlie Daniel's Band and some island-type music), which Asher totally loved and allowed me some one-on-one dance time with him.

Eric & Asher waiting for the 2nd Trolley...Eric pulled a piece of bark off a nearby tree and Asher was pretending it was a space shuttle: "Three, Two, One...Blastoff!"

Gramps & Asher enjoying The Hut's music.

The family enjoying the live show.

When dinner was over, we did take a little bit of time enjoying the boardwalk and the shops before heading back to the trolley stop. Then it was two more trolleys (thankfully it really did only take 30 minutes this time), a short walk back to our motel from the Pass-a-Grille stop, and then bed...and man were we all ready for bed!!