Tag: siesta key

Hello…and happy first day of August!

I hope your week is off to a great start. I have one more post recapping our vacation in Siesta Key. I shared part 1 last week, and have two more days to share today.

Wednesday:

I enjoyed my coffee before going for a walk in the morning.

It was hot, but the views were pretty!

We had a quick lunch at the house before going to the beach. Hadley wanted a smoothie bowl, so we stopped for one as well as sweatshirt shopping

We went to Turtle Beach for a few hours that afternoon. I really do love that beach because it’s only steps from the parking lot to the sand…and it’s not very crowded.

A fellow beach-goer saw me taking the girls’ picture and offered to take one of the three of use. She probably thought both girls were my daughters. haha

I had a great time with the girls.

(How cute is my “beach” ball cap? Remember when we took the kids to the outlet malls…Hadley went into Simply Southern and I saw it…I think it was $6! I figured, why not? Also, sometimes I have a hard time wearing my favorite sunglasses with ball caps, so that one fits perfectly for that too.)

I finished a book and started a new one while the girls swam and floated on the boogie boards.

We were there a couple of hours before a storm started brewing. Truly, this view was behind me and I had no clue. It was sunny and blue skies while I watched the girls float on the boogie boards, and Hadley pointed behind me and said, “Mom look!” We stayed until it was obvious we should pack up.

We were at the house for a bit before heading to the Lobster Pot for dinner. This is Hadley’s favorite place to eat. I showed her the pic from 2019, and of course she wanted to recreate it.

After dinner, we went back to the house. The girls were tired, so I went and caught the sunset. When I sent them the pic of the rainbow, they wished they’d joined me…haha

…I sent Hadley a selfie…

I’ll never get over how the sunset at the same spot of the beach can look so different night to night…

and…the lighting can change so much in a matter of minutes…

Then, I picked the girls up, and we headed for ice cream at Orange Octopus.

Like every other night, I read and they hung out and watched tv before bed.

Thursday:

As many times as we’ve been to Siesta Key, we’ve never been on the water. I was able to book us on a morning two hour boat ride…”morning dolphin cruise.” So, we were at the marina early to check in and get on the boat.

The captain was funny and knowledgeable.

In the first thirty minutes we passed quite a few “famous” houses.

Top left: Prince’s former house (in the foreground, you can see the edge of the purple pool)

Top right: Andre Agassi’s former house. There’s a gold lion head until the second level windows.

Middle left: Urban Meyer’s current house.

Middle right: Tommy Bahama’s house (can’t remember if it’s his current house)

Bottom left: The guy who has the patent for the Swatch Watch built that house.

Bottom right: The most expensive house in Siesta Key – $30 million…and guess how many bedrooms it has—2!

…the view of Sarasota was neat.

They stopped at one point and let everyone go to the front of the boat to snap pics if they wanted.

Besides us, there was a group of four and then a family six.

I thought this was so cool…the captain said this dog walker/day care brings the dogs to play on this sandbar. The pups were having the best time.

So, we were on the lookout for dolphins with not much luck…and then, on our way back, almost to the marina, we saw three dolphins right in front of Prince’s house! It was cool to see…but hard to catch in a picture.

After the boat ride, it was lunchtime, so we headed to the village for pizza.

The girls were full and tired, so they hung at the house, while I went to the beach for a couple of hours. I was able to read my book, and enjoy the view.

For dinner, we ate Mexican food at the Hub which is another favorite.

Then, we went to catch one last sunset.

The girls played spike ball again, and…

Hadley found a sand dollar. It was alive, so she just showed it to me, and put it back.

We hung out for as long as we could.

I always hate saying “goodbye” to the beach.

There were clouds rolling in, and the girls were being silly.

The sky colors changed so quickly…

…and even the walk back to the car was so pretty.

On the way home, we stopped for gelato at another favorite place in the village.

Then, we tidied up and packed our suitcases before just relaxing the rest of the night.

Friday :

We were up around 7, so we could leave by 8.

It’s a family “tradition” to take a pic in front of the palm trees at the house before we leave. I took this pic earlier in the week because they both had their new sweatshirts on…haha

Our rental car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the week…and I really loved it.

Honestly, I was expecting a four door sedan, but at the car rental rep gave me a few choices and mentioned the jeep, so I went for it.

Side note — Hadley’s “dream” car is a jeep…(a real jeep), so I was excited that they had this Grand Cherokee option, so I didn’t tell the girls which car was ours until we got to the parking spot…but it was parked right next to Hadley’s dream car jeep…lol

Also, my dad drove a white Grand Jeep Cherokee for many years –actually 17 I think!…so this was a fun blast from the past.

We stopped in the village at Meaney’s Mini Donuts and Coffee House before hitting the road.

I can’t believe how seamless the trip was in regards to checking in/security flights being on time, picking up and dropping off the car, etc. Each way, from leaving the house, arriving at the airport one hour before departure, the two hour flight and getting home was five hours total…and no issues.

And…did I mention, for the first time ever, I packed a carry-on suitcase? This milestone needs to be remembered…haha

Thanks for following along on our little girls vacay. We had a great time.

Hello!

Well, we’ve been back a few days, so I’m recapping the first couple of days of the little vacay that Hadley and I went on last week.

We’ve been going to Siesta Key off and on for years. Trav’s aunt has a house there, and she’s so gracious to offer it to family whenever it’s available.

The kids have fond memories, favorite restaurants, and we always enjoy our time there.

While Hayden was a running camp, Travis suggested that Hadley and I go for a few days. At first I hesitated, but since Hayden had been to the beach with his friend, and Hadley wanted to go to the beach, I decided to go for it…especially when I saw easy flights to and from Lexington.

While we usually fly there, sometimes, the flights are really early or late, and these were just right. Hadley was able to bring a friend, so that was an added bonus!

Monday:

Our flight left Lexington at 1:30, so we arrived at the airport at 12:30.

BIG NEWS, y’all…I packed a carry on suitcase for the plane…for the first time ever! To be honest, besides being so convenient, it was thrilling. (I really I need a life. haha…This just felt like such a great achievement!)

The flight is less than two hours, we landed, got a rental car and drove the hour to Siesta Key. We were to the house around 5:30…just in time for me to receive my first ever Instacart order! I’d never done this before, and it was so great to arrive and have groceries!

I just knew we’d be there around dinnertime, and I didn’t want to get to the house and then spend an hour shopping. I’m so glad that I did this.

We unpacked, and the girls wanted to go to the beach quickly before dinner. It had just rained, but it was still so pretty out.

Then, we headed to the Daiquiri Deck which is a fave. We were so hungry, so we split some chicken nachos, and then ordered food for dinner too…as well a a daiquiri…(virgin for the girls, of course)

Then, Hadley suggested we drive to Turtle Beach which we discovered on our last trip there. It’s an easier beach to navigate with only a few steps from the car to the sand….and it’s just so pretty!

We were there about thirty minutes, and it was just so nice.

Look at the sunset photo Hadley took! Stunning.

….and a beach selfie before we left.

Once we got back to the house, the girls swam for a bit and then watched tv until bedtime.

Tuesday:

I ran to the grocery store for a few odds and ends, and then I worked out.

We had a quick lunch at home before heading to the beach.

We went to Siesta Key Beach around 12:30

The girls swam and hung out on the boogie boards for a couple of hours while I read.

Then, we went back to the house and swam a bit before showering before dinner.

We went to SKOB (Siesta Key Oyster Bar). While here, I did miss the boys…they love the oysters here.

After dinner, the girls wanted to shop a bit, and each got a t-shirt. Then, they got some ice cream. Ice cream at Olaf’s is a must. (According to Hadley 😉 )

We went back to the house for a bit before going to the beach for the sunset. They played smash ball, we went for a walk, and then went back to the house after the sun set.

There was a sandbar between the beach and the ocean, and they had fun going to and from the sandbar to play.

It’s always amazing to me how the sky looks different every night for sunset.

The girls watched tv, and I read until bedtime.

And…then it was time for Be Real…I made it in the nightly photo. haha

We had a really great start to our trip!

Hello and happy Friday!

Like most Fridays, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for their Friday Favorites blog post.

We’ve spent the past week in one of our favorite places: Siesta Key, Florida.

One of Trav’s aunts has a vacation home in SK that she graciously shares with the family. We come here most summers, usually after baseball wraps up at the end of July. Well, once we received the email that baseball will start back June 15 and go until the end of August, we decided to go ahead and take a trip while we could.

Of course, given the circumstances, we didn’t make the decision lightly. We took comfort in knowing we’d have a familiar place to stay and could space out at the beach and even get carryout from our favorite restaurants if we didn’t feel comfortable dining there.

**Warning: lots of beach and sunset pics headed your way! 😉

The trip started off very rainy thanks to Tropical Storm Cristobal. Friday afternoon and all day Saturday called for torrential rains, and Cristobal wasn’t playing around! We did get a break in the rain both Friday and Saturday nights allowing us to check out the beach a bit and eat dinner outside.

Friday afternoon we unpacked and got groceries while it rained. Before dinner, we walked on the beach.

Super cloudy skies but always good to get our toes in the sand.

As many times as I’ve been to Siesta Key, I’ve never noticed this little spot which was perfect for taking a picture before dinner.

Thankfully, his aunt’s house has a pool, so the kids spent lots of time in it…sometimes while it rained but mostly when the sun was shining!

Sunday called for more rain, but that never happened! That being said, the overcast skies included heavy winds. We braved the beach for a couple of hours anyway.

Travis is definitely the fun one on vacay. My kids know I like to sit and read my book. He’s the one to throw the football with Hayden and swim in the ocean with the kids. I do get in the ocean and love when the waves are calm.

Monday morning, we went for a walk on the beach.

and then the sun came out! That being said, we’ve never arrived in Florida so pale! 😂 So, I spent most of my time making everyone reapply sunscreen! After Cristobal moved out, we couldn’t buy a cloud in we tried!

Truthfully, I’m glad that we are less maintenance now when packing stuff to the beach. Also, the kids can help carry what we need. Hayden’s happy just to bring his football and shovel. They love to dig holes!

We were still able to eat at our favorite restaurants. I will say that at some restaurants the servers had masks and other restaurants did not. There were social distancing signs and tables we definitely spaced out at our favorite places. Also, on the sidewalks of Siesta Key Village, many restaurants had additional seating even if it was just two top tables.

We are not people who stay at the beach all day. We usually go for a few hours, then come back to let the kids swim in the pool and then shower for an early dinner. We’ve always done that most days because if we can make it back to the beach for the sunset, we try to do that.

So, most days we had dinner at 5:00 allowing for less of a crowd and no wait. Also, we usually just get carryout pizza one night when we are too tired to get back out, and we did that on this vacation too. We made adjustments and sometimes had our bigger dinner meal at 3:00 Happy Hour and I took the kids to their favorite ice cream place at 5:00 rather than later when there’s usually a line out the door.

Our favorite restaurants that we make a point to eat at (sometimes more than once) are the Daiquiri Deck, Siesta Key Oyster Bar (Hayden and Travis had 24 oysters for $14 at their Happy Hour!), Owen’s Fish Camp, The Hub, Phillippi Creek, Rip Fire Pizza, The Lobster Pot, and we tried a new place to us: Big Water Fish Market. It was so good.

Hayden could eat his weight in oysters. Travis loves them too. Hadley and I do not!

As I said before, we hit the beach for sunset as many times as we can. The kids always oblige with a few sunset pics.

Seriously, nothing puts my mind right like a beautiful sunset.

or 5! 😉

I joked that Hadley was easy to find in the ocean because she’s the only one out there doing Tik Tok dances.

Once or twice on vacation, we even pack up to go to the beach from 6:00 or so until sunset. It’s not so hot, the beaches are less crowded, and we can relax without sweating! On this night, the kids came out of the ocean and had been playing some kind of question game.

Eventually, Travis started asking them geography questions…Hayden’s strength and apparently, Hadley’s weakness.

Hayden said, “Hadley, in middle school, I’m worried that you are going to fail history and geography class.” 🤣

On Tuesday, the kids and I went to the Siesta Key Market for a few things. The grocery cashier asked us what beach we’d been going to, and I said Siesta Key Beach (closest to our house) and he said we should try Turtle Beach which was only about a ten minute drive.

So, on Wednesday, we thought we’d give that a try. We found the beach easily, found a parking spot right by a beach access point and saw the most beautiful waters ever! The kids ooh-ed and ahh-ed, and Hayden declared Turtle Beach as his favorite spot.

The SK waters never disappoint as the Gulf of Mexico is gorgeous, but these waters were like nothing we’d seen before. Hadley said, “It looks like Hawaii.” None of us have been there, but she may be right 😉

While it’s a public beach, there are no life guards but the waters were pretty shallow like we are used to anyway. The sand was different–darker and reminded me of when we go to South Carolina beaches. Also, this beach had a steep decline into the ocean rather than just walking in like we are used to. That being said, the location, lack of crowds, and gorgeous water made for a perfect day.

Also, Turtle Beach lived up to it’s name. The kids saw a turtle when they went to look for the shower. By the time I got there, the turtle had moved into the trees and brush.

We went back again the next day and there were hardly any waves at all. Also, we saw dolphins swimming in the distance. Well, Hadley & I saw them…Travis and Hayden kept looking at the wrong time!

Lots of family members take a pic (or force their kids to take a pic) in front of the palm tree in the front yard at the end of their trip. Each year, the tree seems to get bigger…the kids too!

While it was good to get away for a bit, especially after being home for so many months, we are still ready to get back to Lexington and see the Homster! We are thankful to be arriving home sun-kissed after another family vacation in one of our favorite places.

Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too! Have a great weekend.