Venice

After our quick Disney visit the fam had a whole week left in the Sunshine State. Venice, FL is a spot my family has visited every summer for as long as I can remember. Over time we've developed our usual go to spots, and after twenty something years we've developed so many it's hard to fit them all in. I've been campaigning for a longer vacation to solve this problem, I'll let you know if I succeed. We spent the majority of the trip boating and eating, which makes for a pretty stupendous week in my book.

 

Camera wars.

Captain Dave

Our schedule went a little like this: boat a little, stop for lunch, boat a little, swim a little, boat a little, stop for sunset.

Sharkey's is Venice's only beachfront restaurant and became one of our regular spots early on. Over the past year they have built a whole new fine dining restaurant connected to the old Sharkey's. On our last night in town my parents and I eagerly hit up Fins.

I had some sort of watermelon/tequila/spicy concoction that I can't quite remember, but it was good!

I mean, the grilled watermelon salad was good, but look at that backdrop.

I was so indecisive I couldn't even land on one appetizer, so I just ordered a few different ones and shared with mom. My "main" appetizer was the lobster and gouda nachos.

Both key lime pie and creme brulee are family favorites, so when we saw key lime creme brulee on the menu it was a must. This was gone in a second.

Fins gets two thumbs up and will most definitely be on our go to list from here on out. So sad to have to leave Florida but maybe next year I'll get that longer vacation I'm campaigning for!

XO,

Lo

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The Happiest Place on Earth: Part 2

Our second day at Disney World was a busy one. We kicked it off with a morning in Animal Kingdom.

I thought that safari ride would be a bit cheesy but I was pleasantly surprised with all our animal sightings...and Liam's photography skills. He took over the camera for this ride.

Expedition Everest is hands down my new favorite ride. Up, down, backwards, in the dark, it does it all. We got a bit nervous while listening to other riders scream while in line, but after getting off we were ready to do it all again.

After we finished at Animal Kingdom we hopped on over to Epcot. It's not my favorite Disney park, but I have always liked the world showcase. It's essentially a bunch of mini versions of countries all packed in together.

Our hotel gets it own special shoutout because it was so charming. We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn, a throwback to the Atlantic City boardwalk in the early 1900s. The hotel itself has its own actual boardwalk and is made to look like a bunch of different buildings put together.

Notice the Mickey head towel art. No detail goes unnoticed when you're at Disney

Lounging in the lobby.

Our last morning at the hotel we decided to rent a surrey bike for the full boardwalk experience. They were lots of fun but a little harder to maneuver than I expected. Lets just say I wasn't allowed to sit in front where all the real effort took place.

A Disney wedding complete with a Cinderella carriage to whisk you away? Talk about magical.

XO,
Lo

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Florida Cont...

Day two of fun in the sun consisted of the crew piling into the minivan and day tripping to St. Pete's to visit Ma's cousin who just happens to own a jet skiing business.

The children (Dad, Jared, and myself) reaped the rewards of the family business venture. Dad took it more as a relaxing exercise where Jared and I looked at it as a competition. Who can go faster and who is better at soaking the other.

You don't need to ask…I'm the clear winner.

Just thrilled about having to take a test as I wasn't quite old enough to be trusted. In hindsight I should have studied a tad more. I passed by the skin of my teeth.

 Open sesame!

I'll be the first to admit that I need a little work at pulling up to the dock. You just can't win em' all.

A real family affair.

Taking tests, soaking up rays, and holding on for dear life meant ice cream was the only logical reward for such a long, strenuous day.

Yuuum!

We are a pretty easy bunch to please if you couldn't tell.

We slept quite soundly that evening. The gals decided to spend our last day working on our tans and dabbling in a little outlet mall shopping. Overall we were quite successful.

I would also like to introduce our neighborhood gator friend, Gary. Let's play where's Gary? Do you see him?

Frederick the frog was trying to find some shade.

Elizabeth the lobster.

Sun and books. My cup of tea.

Back to reality. Time to plan the next adventure.

XO,
Bee

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