Florida - April 2016

Oliver, Amy, Rachel, Shawna, Keith, and Emma

Rachel, Oliver, and the girls were spending spring break in Florida so we decided to meet them for a quick weekend on Anna Maria Island.

We arrived late on the Friday night - the plane was delayed by an hour so we did not get to the Queens Gate Resort Hotel until after midnight.  The office was closed so we called the after-hours number on the door before we noticed an envelope with our name on it directing us to Room 1.  The name of the place is a bit misleading - the "resort" is a motel built with painted cinder blocks but is generally a nice, clean place.

With no Starbucks on the island we left the room and walked to historic Bridge Street to have breakfast at AMOB - an oyster bar that offered breakfast.  Bridge Street is where the original bridge to the island arrived - it now has cute retail, with the fishing pier at the end of the street built on part of the original bridge.  The island is really quite quaint - there are no large hotels or buildings so retains its more traditional feel as a family beach town.  We both had omelettes for breakfast before heading back to the room to wait for Rachel and Oli, who arrived just after 11am.   They had been in the states for four days, having spent that time in Clearwater to see the dolphins from Dolphin Tale (Amy and Emma's favorite movie).  

Emma, Keith, and Amy

We jumped in their car and drove to the north of the island after finding out that their rental was not ready yet.  We stopped on Anna Maria Pier to have a beer at the outside bar.  It started raining so we tried to wait it out then decided just to have lunch at City Pier Restaurant on the Pier where we had the seafood boil - it was really quite good.  The rain slowed down a bit by the time we finished lunch so we made a run for it with one kid getting a piggy-back each from Shawna and I.  By then their house at 207 75th street was ready so we obtained the key and checked them in.  They had rented a single-story duplex with Oliver's brother in the attached house, with pools in front of each.   We all chatted while the girls went for a swim in the pool.  Rupert (Oliver's brother), Jessica, Miles, and Jack showed up after driving down from Gainesville GA.  After they were unpacked Oliver, Rupert, and Keith went to get groceries for dinner via a tiki bar for a pitcher of Yuengling.  Oliver grilled the steaks for dinner as the rest of us consumed gin & tonics, margaritas, and beers before we Ubered back to the hotel.

Emma, Miles, and Amy making Keith a mermaid

Sunday morning we packed up and drove to Starbucks just off the island before meeting at Oliver and Rachel's place at 10:30.  Keith swam with the girls in the pool before we all went to the beach - just a couple of blocks from the house.  Rupert had bought a beach canopy that provided shade so we set that up and relaxed with a couple of beers and snacks in lieu of lunch.  The girls decided it would be fun to dig a hole and bury Keith and make him look like a mermaid - Keith was not as claustrophobic as he could have been and took it in stride.  Jack and Miles then dug the hole even bigger to bury Miles.  We helped the girls build some sandcastles and then the two of us went for an hour walk to get our steps in.  Everyone was packing up as we arrived back so we took everything back to the house while most showered (Keith and Miles played catch in the pool).  We all walked to dinner at The Sandbar restaurant on the water - we started with cocktails on the beach before dinner and then we shared the squash blossom, tomatoes, and swordfish.  Dessert was sea salt caramel ice cream at Dips as we walked back to the house.  We said our goodbyes and immediately drove to Orlando to stay the night at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport.  

Keith and Shawna back at Epcot

On Monday, Keith grabbed breakfast at the Starbucks in the airport lobby.  Shawna took a day off work so we could spend the day at Epcot Center.  It had been 30 years since Keith had been there and 20 since Shawna had.  In Disney fashion the place is still immaculate despite the age.  We arrived at 10am and went straight to the World Showcase - which we found did not open until 11am.  Shawna had the idea that we should at minimum consume something at each of the countries - we later found that a college game is to have a drink in each of the countries:

• Mexico - took the boat ride and ate fish tacos
• Norway - Lefka, no ride as the Frozen ride was under construction
• China - film and a beef bun
• Germany - Brat and Weisbier
• Italy - gelato
• America - show and BBQ hash
• Japan - Frushi (fruit sushi)
• Morocco - baklava
• France - chardonnay and a show
• England - lemon scone
• Canada - epic fail - nothing to eat and we could not handle a drink!

Traveling the World (Showcase)

Following the World Showcase we knocked out a few more experiences: The Land ride, Sea with Nemo, and then Spaceship Earth.  We left the park and caught the movie Eye in the Sky at the Point theater complex by the convention center before dropping off the rental car and calling it a night.  

On Tuesday, Shawna had an all-day meeting at the hotel so we grabbed breakfast at Starbucks before Keith went back to the room.  Keith got a late checkout and spent the afternoon on the phone in the hotel lobby before Shawna met his at 5pm.  We had a glass of wine in the lobby and then ate dinner at Macaroni Grill before going to the gate.  We both slept the whole flight home.    It was a really fun trip and great to spend time with Rach and Oliver - and the kids were just fantastic.