Florida Vacation

We took our first family vacation as just our family of four the week before Labor Day. We traveled by plane from Indy to Tampa and stayed just outside Clearwater on Sand Key. We picked that area because Karl and I have been there a few times and just love it there. Very easy to get to, lots to do, great beaches and affordable. We weren't ready to try Disney World yet but this offered a lot of options for us if we wanted to get ambitious with the girls or just relax close to the hotel.

Living close to the airport definitely helps and we easily made it through security with no issues. Opting for late morning flights was also strategic on our part and worked out very well, we were able to get Ally lunch in the airport before we left and Hadley was awake and alert right up until we got on the plane when she ate and fell asleep during take off.  Ally was entertained with movies, book and coloring and its a quick1 hour and 40 minutes direct into Tampa.  We stayed at a Marriott just off the beach with a suite room so the girls could have the living space and we could close the door to the bedroom as needed for us. Ally loved the pull out couch and Hadley did great in the pack and play the hotel provided.  We had the option of taking the provided golf cart ride to the nice clean beach or hanging out at the awesome hotel pool so we did a lot of both! We spent another one of the days in Tampa visiting the aquarium. It was a great way to keep cool inside for a few hours and then play on the giant splash park outside before we headed back to the hotel pool.

We only had one stormy morning but it cleared up in time for us to do a pirate cruise in the afternoon. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for Ally! It was a 2 hour ride on a 3-story pirate ship with lots of kids activities perfect for her age. They got hats, squirt guns, face paint, hunted for treasure, read a story, fired a canon, played musical chairs and had a dance party. It was really hot and humid but Hadley slept most of the trip in the shade and Ally played the whole time. She even finished 2nd in the giant game of musical chairs!

All in all it was a very nice trip. Less stressful than I expected and we really planned perfectly because the area got very crowded on the weekend. We came back on Sunday and had the extra holiday on Monday to relax and recover at home. Both girls did very well, loved the pool time and ate and napped better than usual for the most part. I wish we would have been able to get a nice family photo on the beach but maybe next time.

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