Flashback to Florida

In April, I headed to Florida with the Crew for 9 days of beautiful sunshine. We don't travel much due to our work schedules and finances, but when we do, it's usually to Florida. We have relatives to stay with there. My mom and her husband own a condo there. It's warm there. This year, JD's step-brother was getting married there. A destination wedding which just so happened to be 20 minutes from my parents condo, on a weekend that I had off from teaching, at a time when my parents would also be there to watch the kids. Perfect. My sister, "Dolly", flew with us to Ft. Lauderdale where we stayed for three days with my aunt and uncle.

My little swimmers

The kids splashed in their pool all day long, and we were happy to watch them have fun and enjoy the warmth after the longest, snowiest Vermont winter ever. Then we drove to Ft. Myers where the condo is and the wedding would be. We stayed at The Pink Shell on Ft. Myer's Beach with JD's mom and step-dad.

Their Mama and Daddy

The welcome bbq, rehearsal dinner, and wedding/reception were all very nicely done. After the wedding we headed to the condo for three more days, which included beaches, shopping, pools, mini-golf, a sunset sail on a catamaran for the 30th birthday, and more shopping. We drove back to Ft. Lauderdale on the final day to catch our flight home.

Tips to cheaper travel: 1-Be willing to drive farther to an airport (We had a direct flight on a low budget airline out of Plattsburgh, NY). 2-If you can, rent a vehicle away from the airport (We saved $400 on our minivan by getting it off-site). 3-Don't feel like you have to go to expensive attractions (We decided not to try Disney and are glad we didn't spend the money. The kids had a blast at the beaches and mini-golfing and would have hated the lines there).

I love Florida with the kids. It's a vacation, but not a super-relaxing vacation. I think I will love Florida without them too. We're hoping to go back kid-less in the fall with friends. I'm watching airfare. :)