Our dad had one brother, Dave, and he had one daughter, Jill. That side of the family has always been small, but when our dad, his mom (my Grandma in Florida), and our Uncle Dave all died, it literally left just us three girl cousins. Jill has always been younger and lived on the other side of the country. We know we could do better about staying connected. We got the invitation for her tropical wedding in Lido Key this February, and Heather and I made decision to prioritize going and representing our dad's side of the family. With the holiday weekend, I actually had 2 days off school, so the timing was perfect to not write sub plans. And coming from snowy Colorado, Heather was like, "Yes, please!" as soon as she heard Florida in February!
Heather and I picked flights that would have us meet in the Sarasota airport. She was a bit delayed, giving me about an hour to do the most fantastic airport people watching! 90% of the folks at the Sarasota airport were part of the retirement crowd. They were all fit and tan and happy-looking, stepping right off the pickle ball court to pick up their grandkids, I imagined! I texted Dave that this looked like a fun possible 3rd act for us! ;)
Heather and I unpacked and then strolled around the lovely downtown Sarasota, listening to all the live music and finding an outdoor table at a sweet little local restaurant to catch up. After dinner our walk continued around the marina, and all the glitzy hotels, and oceanfront parks. Florida is heavenly-- something affirmed in the daylight the next day as we explored the Lido Key beaches!
The sand is baby powder. The climate is warm with no wind. Even though it was an overcast day, Heather and I still got kissed with some sunburn (rookie mistake to not put on sunscreen, we should have known better)!
There are gazillions of shells and we enjoyed hunting for the perfect ones to take home as souvenirs.
The water is warm and the waves are gentle. We did see lots of jellyfish, though, so we passed on swimming!
I had a whole bag of these cool shells, I had to edit down to just what could fit in my iced coffee cup.
Cranes were parading past us. It was so picturesque and idyllic! A perfect escape! We ended up walking around most of the Lido Key island on this morning, over 5 miles. We had lunch at a grill on the beach, eating salads at a picnic table with our toes in the soft sand.
Then, back to the hotel to get un-sandy and wedding-ready! Jill and Tyler's wedding was at an aquarium! Their ceremony took place in a tropical grove of palm trees and bird of paradise bushes. From thatched huts we were served fun drinks while listening to live steel drums playing. The party bus my aunt arranged for all the hotel guests got us there early, so Heather and I chilled on Adirondack chairs by the water watching dolphins play!
This was a fun wedding! The DJ was amazing and we danced until the venue kicked us out. Our aunt is a riot and kept pulling us into kick lines and twirls! We had a little time to catch up with Jill, hearing more about her dad and sharing our memories of Grandma in Florida. She honored all these lost family members in such special ways. Jill's people are awesome too! We loved hanging out with her cousins from her mom's side of the family and her college roommate!
The party bus took us back to the hotel where the pizza/open bar after-party was! Here it was quieter and we had more opportunity to talk with Jill and get to know her new husband Tyler. We feel like this weekend was the catalyst to be more intentional about our relationship. We are all adults living in cool places. We'd like to commit to doing better than seeing each other every 20 years.
The next day was a little tricky-- unseasonably cold, rainy, and windy all day. The plan to explore another key's beach was blown off the table. We got creative and spent our day under umbrellas at two places-- the Save Our Shorebirds Rescue Center and the Mote Marine Aquarium. Heather and I are animal lovers, so spending a day, cold and wet as it was, with some of God's coolest sea and sky creatures actually ended up being really great.
We are Shedd and Monterey Bay Aquarium snobs, but this little aquarium exceeded our expectations! We saw so many works of art swimming around and even got to interact with a few in touch pools! These rays and guitar fish were like puppies, swimming right up to us with their tails wagging seemingly begging to be pet!
This rescued manatee, named Buffet (as in Jimmy) stole our hearts! He'd swim right up to the glass and squish his whiskered nose against it for a kiss!
An actual tank full of sharks entertained and terrified us-- their top fins slicing through the surface just like Jaws!
A lunch at the famous Salty Dog on the water, a little shopping in the many bougie boutiques, and a warm cup of coffee to thaw my now pruney, wet fingers completed this outing. We went back to the hotel and hopped right in the hot tub to release the muscles we'd been clenching in cold all day! Then it was jammies, ordered food, and TV in bed for a perfect finish to this rainy day!
What do you know? The sun was finally shining on our last day! We had afternoon flights, so we got to spend the morning revisiting the marina in daylight, strolling around and gawking at the muli-million dollar yachts docked here. Maybe this particular part of Florida, catering to the elderly elite, is not quite the place for Dave and I to retire! ;)
But, you sure can't beat those views! The long fingers of white sand and turquoise surf, making up Longboat Key, Lido Key, and Siesta Key, awed us all weekend, even in the rain. It was a weekend that was better than I imagined it would be in every way! Breathtaking scenery, fun outings, reconnection with my sister, a rekindled friendship with our cousin, and the honor to represent our small, but special family at Jill's big day made us coming home, not necessarily rested, but definitely recharged!
