Night Fishing in Florida

I am a rise and shine early morning person. My husband is a night owl. That has its pros and cons for sure. A big benefit for the boys on our Florida vacation was that they stayed up late with their dad to "night fish". Our pier even had a spotlight to attract fish and other creatures in the bay.
Each day they got their shrimp and squid at the local bait shop. After the two youngest and I turned in, their fishing adventures began. They were quite successful in catching flounder, pin fish, crabs, catfish, and more. I would hear all about their catches when they lazily awoke the morning after.
One night after midnight, my son Indy ran in to wake me up. He excitedly reported he had caught "the big one" and asked me to get my camera. I really was excited for him and happy he wanted to share this with me. His big catch was a Black Drum fish. We think is was 8-10 pounds. He was so thrilled! I was so impressed at their system. He reeled it in and the "net man" would help get it in.
One last vacation memory I will mention is beach volleyball. The kids found a volleyball in the container by the pool. We took it to the beach in the evenings and taught the kids the basics of beach volleyball. The six of us could play a mean 3 on 3 game, get totally sandy, and jump in the ocean to rinse off. The thrill of being together as a family, watching the kids grow and learn in a new environment, and just having fun at the beach was priceless. That's a good vacation! ~kathy

The Pink Palace

We took the kids to have a late lunch at The Don Cesar Resort. They affectionately named it "The Pink Palace". It truly is bright pink and massive with two pools on the beach. We munched on grouper sandwiches at the poolside grill. After, the kids jumped in the pool as BK & I sipped our icy piña coladas with dark rum floaters. We then ended up out on the beach for more body surfing, watching the kids bury themselves in the sand, and enjoying the sunset.

Like most evenings this week, a dark thunderstorm rolled in. Of course my kids were the last ones out of the pool and we scurried around collecting our things. Phoebe was distraught because she couldn't find her special gold rhinestone flip flops. We quickly searched together with no luck. We even thought she buried them in the sand and BK started digging around where our beach spot was. No luck.

The Pink Palace had an ice cream shop so we escaped the storm and ended the evening there as Scout wanted the "green ice cream" aka mint chip. They were all smiles but Phoebe glumly had no shoes on.

The next morning I woke up early and went to the beach alone for a run. Off in the distance down the beach was "The Pink Palace". I decided to run that way to search once more for the shoes, and now I knew where the restrooms were there.

I reached my pink destination sweaty and winded and looked around unsuccessfully. At the towel counter I asked the man if any rhinestone flip flops were found. He cheerfully asked me if they were tan. Gold and tan are close so I nodded. He led me over to a table near the beach and there they were gleaming in the morning sun. I gratefully thanked him and began my journey back down the beach. Phoebe was in disbelief when I handed her the sparkling shoes. It was a happy ending and the start of another day of adventure. Shark teeth hunting....

One on One Vacation Memories

Oh have we had fun in Pass a Grille Beach, Florida! We have had hot sun, clouds, and a few big storms. The best thing has been being together a whole week as a family.

I try to take the kids out for one on one excursions. The others stay with BK.One morning I took Phoebe into the little historic town of Pass a Grille for some art gallery and boutique shopping. I surprised her with her favorite mint chip ice cream for breakfast at the local ice cream shop. On vacation, these are the things I like to say "yes" to.

Indy and I took a hot and sweaty two mile walk through our neighborhood. We crossed a big bridge over the bay, got a Coke at Circle K, and then hung out together at the beach sipping the cold drink. He loves to talk and I just love the conversations we have together.

The biggest excursion was with my son Blaze. He is passionate about soccer and has been watching the World Cup games. He spotted an ad in a tourist flyer about a place called United World Soccer. We hopped in the van and drove up Gulf Drive in search of the store. We got familiar with many of the nearby beach towns: Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, and Clearwater Beach. My quiet and serious son helped navigate us up the coast and we finally arrived at the giant soccer store. He was like a kid in a candy store as he looked at each official World Cup jersey from all the countries. Since they were a little pricey and the tourist flyer had a good coupon, I told him to pick out his favorite one for an early birthday present. He immediately chose the bright red Spain jersey. He put it on, we drove home a quicker way, and the Spain vs. Portugal game came on that afternoon. Spain won!

My little Scout has not required an outing. He has been happy with me helping him chase lizards out on the patio. I feel like a kid as I run around and hunt for those fast and funny chameleons. His squeals of delight are priceless.

So far these are the one on one things I have enjoyed with the kids. On vacation, I feel like I can tune into them without all the duties and distractions of home. That's what I love the most.
K