The One with Florida in {10}

My husband and I just got back from the most blessed week of vacation. We still have yet to vacation to a "far off" land, just the two of us, since our honeymoon, but this was awesome-awesome. Kevin's grandparents invited us to spend a week with them. They wanted to spend some time with us and basically spoil us to death. They succeeded--and we had a great time. 

This trip--the driving to and fro, the sitting around and doing nothing, the eating out all the time, the sunning ourselves--took up all of my time, and I subsequently found myself "unplugged" from the internet. It was simultaneously hard to stay away and deliciously relaxing to not feel that tug of responsibility. 

Here are Ten Memorable Tidbits from our week-long vacay:

1. We got incredible gas mileage on the first leg of the trip, hills and all. 42 miles per gallon totally excites me. You go, little '98 manual Civic. 

2. That trusty car of ours surpassed it's 200,000 miles mark on the odometer--a milestone we eagerly anticipated with this most thrilling footage. (It's sideways for some sad reason. bummer.)

3. We spoiled ourselves (or rather, the grandparents' gift of spending money enabled us) with multiple Starbucks coffee runs. This was an exciting treat, given that we haven't had a Starbucks to visit since we moved to our tiny town. Sorry, friends, Tim Horton's just does't cut it for us. 

4. A switch finally flipped in my brain and I magically understood how to successfully order my own cup of coffee at Starbucks. Kevin has been teaching and teaching all these years. He's proud. (In case you're interested, my favorite was the grande iced coffee with non-fat milk and caramel. Heavenly.)

5. In all 40+ hours of car-time we had, I didn't accomplish half of the things in my travel bag. I brought 5 books, multiple crochet patterns, and some games, but occupied almost all of my time with my audio book. Man, oh man, was that the best invention ever. I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club within 5 minutes of pulling in our driveway. Perfect. 

(I totally recommend reading (or listening) to that book. Fascinating character(s) development. Plus, the narrator is great. However, there are numerous swear words dropped. So be forewarned.) 

6. Speaking of travel time, I became a little driving machine on this trip. Normally I'm all of turning the keys over to Kevin and sitting in the passenger seat for the majority of any trip. But with my audio in my ear, I just wanted to keep driving. I realized it was much more enjoyable than anxiously sitting in the passenger's seat, alternating between reading, napping, snacking, talking, and complaining about the heat (in our ac-free car). Kevin loves just reading and reading and reading for hours, so it's a perfect match. Win.

7. One of my first (and favorite) shopping trips in Florida always has to be Goodwill. The stores are almost always more impressive than any up north, and the selection is completely unique. My husband surprised me by being willing to tag along to BOTH (yes I both--as in two trips) to Goodwill. He helped me decide on a beautiful selection of summer tops plus easy-to-wear/everyday dresses and skirts. I plan on wearing a lot more dresses this summer. yay! 

I won't tell you how many items I got for $50 because it'll just make you jealous. ;) 

8. Old Navy flip flops=2 pairs for $5.00. Enough said. 

9. On Wednesday, Kevin and I spent the most glorious day together at the beach. It was surrounded by a couple successfully shopping trips, a Starbucks stop, and dinner at Texas Roadhouse, but our hours in the sun were perfect. It took me far too long to finish the last few chapters of Mockingjay, and we had fun snacking and alternating between dips in the cool water and sunning our pasty skin on our beach towels. 

10. The best attraction we visited was the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. Oh. My. Word. That was an incredible afternoon for all four of us. The beautifully colored tropical fish, the penguin show, petting the sting rays, the otter show, and the frightening sharks or crocodiles kept things interesting.

Oh! And did I mention that one of the fish in the "Aquarimania" portion of the place JUMPED OUT of the tank onto the floor right next to me. Oh my gosh, totally freaky experience. But the poor little guy! Luckily a worker was nearby to save him. (There was a crack at the top portion of the tank. YIPES!)

check out these cute little mini seahorses
(there's a tiny guy by my fingertip)

Aren't those incredible aquarium pictures?! Our trip was amazing, blessed, and relaxing. We ate too much, tanned too much, and bought too many DQ Blizzards. We spent quality time with the grandparents and had some great husband-wife conversations on our long drive. Yep, it was a great vacation.




linked up with Many Little Blessings "Top Ten Tuesday"