Weekend in Florida!

Be prepared for a picture overload... it cannot be helped.

This past weekend I was down in Fort Myers Beach, Florida! Why you ask? Well my Mom and Stepdad Lee were down there for a vacation for a couple of weeks and somehow one of us had the idea that I should come down for a weekend. Suddenly there was a Monday booked off work and a flight to Fort Myers booked! I flew out Friday after work- have any of you been to Terminal 1 at Pearson lately? Holy guacamole...instead of a bunch of chairs at the gate they had all these plush leather seats with tables in front with individual Ipads. And you could order food and drinks from your Ipad to be delivered to where you sit. WHAT?!! You better believe I overpaid for a simple sandwich and pop just to experience that.

Of course, the good times never last and my plane was delayed over an hour! Sigh. I luckily did get a get exit row seat so once I got on I just sat back and relaxed and watched The Great Gatsby (ps- I loooove individual TVs on planes and I get so sad when there isn't one). Mom and Lee stayed up late and picked me up at the ungodly hour of 1:30am! YUCK. But they did bring me a rum and coke, which is kind of tradition now in our family.

The next morning Mom and I slept in (Lee had plans) and then we had french toast for brekkie and went for a walk along the beach! Fort Myers Beach is really cheesy and awesome. Kind of reminds me of a big Wasaga for all those Ontarians out there.

When we got back Lee had returned so we headed to the beach! I think at one point this day I talked everyone into homemade ice cream from a nearby ice cream shop (wasn't hard). We just relaxed and had such a nice afternoon! For dinner that night my Mom and Lee made Shepherd's Pie for me. It is a tradition that my mom makes me this when I visit- why should it be different in Florida? :). After dinner we went for a walk and got some drinks on a patio. On our walk back someone was lighting fireworks on the beach. I assume it was a welcome gift for me :)

Sunday morning we all woke up at 6:45 and hit the beach for a 7:00am run. We all took different routes and I headed to the north end of the island. It was a great run and I think I went about 4 miles. I loved to take the odd walking break just to take photos. It was a cool and foggy morning- just perfect for a run because the rest of the weekend was sunny and hot hot hot!

After a post-run breakfast we watched the end of the men's Olympic hockey game (GO CANADA!) before headed to the airport. Not the international one- but the smaller one! See, Lee has his pilot's license and he and mom actually flew themselves to Florida!! We originally planned to fly to Key West for the day, but the weather down south wasn't cooperating so we ended up doing a scenic flight along the coast. It ended up all being for the best because I get plane-sick pretty fast and was totally ready to land again after 30 minutes- despite downing some Gravol before hand. So the long flight to Key West probably wouldn't have been great for me!

After our flight we hit up the beach for a few more hours before dinner. That night Mom and Lee took me to a really nice upscale seafood restaurant they had found earlier in the week. We had an amazing table on the balcony overlooking the ocean. The only sad part was that they were out of Key Lime pie!

We all headed to bed and Monday we spent the day at the beach. Except we didn't spend all day ON the beach...We went parasailing!!!! SO MUCH FUN. None of us had been before and we were all game for this adventure. It was totally secure and comfortable (I had been skydiving 5 years ago and found the harness very uncomfortable). They even dipped us in the ocean! I brought my camera up with us (you don't get that wet as you take off and land on the boat), and my parents left their camera on the boat. There was a hilarious photo on it when we got it back of the spotter pretending to cut us loose with a big knife :). I wish I had some of those shots, but they are on their camera so I won't get them until they are back!

Oh, I also want to mention that I loved all the wildlife in Florida. Besides the lizards, which we don't have up here, I loved all the beach birds! In Ontario we only have extremely annoying seagulls. I should also mention that when Mom and Lee were running on Sunday they saw a WHALE from the beach! And the following day we small a shark that a beach fisherman accidentally caught (and released!). And on our flight I think I saw dolphins. :)

Finally on Monday night I packed up and headed back to the airport with a heavy heart- this trip was NOT long enough!! It is very sad to be back in cold and miserable Canada. Bleh. But I simply loved my trip and it was an amazing weekend and so worth it :) Thank you Mom and Lee for having me!!