Vacation!

Brandon and I were able to take a much needed vacation last week. We both don't remember the last time he had a day off so he and I were very excited to spend some time together. We left for Sarasota, FL early Wednesday morning and after some flight issues, we got in that afternoon. When we arrived, we quickly got changed and took a shuttle to the hotel's beach club since the hotel was not on the beach. We were excited to just see the ocean and so we took a walk on the beach. That night we ate at a restaurant called Cha Cha Coconuts on St. Armands Circle. Sr. Armands Circle is an area that has a lot of shops and restaurants. Beware for lots of photos below!

Our hotelSt. Armands CircleAt the hotel beach clubThe pool at the beach clubThe next day, we took a cab to Siesta Key which is why we went to Sarasota in the first place for our vacation. I had googled best beaches and this one came up as #2 in the U.S. It was overcast the day we went but it was still warm. We could see why it was one of the top beaches because the sand was the softest sand we had felt. It was pure quartz and it never gets hot. It was really nice! Even though it rained a little, it was still nice to lay out on the beach. However, I didn't really think about the fact that pregnant women can't lay on their back or stomachs so laying out was kind of difficult!Siesta Key BeachThe sand felt so nice!

On Friday, we took a kayak trip in the inland waterways and mangrove tunnels. It was a perfectly sunny day and it was very relaxing for me to be in a boat. Brandon thought it was much easier for me to not paddle so I just relaxed and took pictures! ;) We got to see some manatee and a lot of different birds. We both really enjoyed it and I did end up helping a little!Laying out before the kayak tripThere were huge houses along the waterOne of the mangrove tunnels - Brandon did a great job maneuvering through themA live tulip shellAs we were getting out of the kayak, Brandon's flip flop broke, so he played McGuyver and found a piece of a tree to tie it together - he was pretty proud of his invention and ended up cutting off the long pieces once we got to the beach club. In case you are wondering, we did end up buying him some different flip flops for the rest of the trip.That night as Brandon was waiting for me to use the restroom (a usual occurrence now a days!), he heard a familiar voice and when he looked over, he saw Dick Vitale eating outside at a restaurant. We were going to ask for a photo once he was done eating but we had to catch the shuttle back so we just took one of us instead!Watching the sunset from our 9th floor hotel roomRelaxing after eating dinner at the hotel's burger place and secretly watching the wedding taking place at the hotel!

We didn't do much besides sleep in, relax at the pool or beach and eat but we had a great time. It was a much needed vacation!