Thanksgiving in the Sunshine State

Wednesday afternoon my dad took Garth and I to the airport. Surprisingly, it was not crowded at all! We got right through security and had over an hour to kill before our flight. So we went to a restaurant for a drink.

Our plane was on time and we were off to Florida!!!

We were a half hour early, SCORE! We picked up our rental car and were off to my grandparents. It was an amazing reunion! We haven't seen them in over a year so it was fabulous to be reunited.
My grandma had dinner ready when we arrived and we ate and talked until past midnight. We woke up early Thanksgiving morning to watch the parade and enjoyed Grandma's pancakes and bacon breakfast.
Afer the parade Garth and I went for a long walk and enjoyed the sunny, 70 degree weather! Then we hopped in the golf cart for a grand tour of the retirement community. It's no ordinary retirement community though. It's full of beautiful homes, golf courses, lakes, pools, and beautiful downtowns in various themese - Spanish and nautical. There are so many restuarants I couldn't possibly name them all! And transportation is this community is by golf cart! Love it! Garth and I have decided this is where we will retire. It's full of things to do and people in your life stage.
At 3:00 the neighbors arrived and we had our Thanksgiving feast. I did not get a picture of all the yummy food, but here is a shot of us with the grandparents after dinner:

After our feast we learned a new card game (Hand and Foot) and instantly became addicted and played every. single. night. Ha!

Friday we headed to Daytona Beach. When you're only an hour away from the ocean you need to see it. It's good for the soul.

After a great time enjoying the view, walking in the sand, and picking out shells we headed home to my favorite restaurant, Pasta Faire.

Next, Garth and I headed downtown for a concert and dancing in the square.

We also enjoyed checking out fancy golf carts like this one:

And we found Santa!

Here is our lovely little rental PT:

My handsome hubby and I on our way home for more card games:

Saturday my grandparents took us to Sumpter Landing (the nautical downtown). Soooo pretty.

Pretty bird:Garth was afraid we were going to run into a gator, so it was this ongoing joke the whole trip. When we spotted this gator statue we couldn't resist getting our pictures with it:

My family has been going to visit my grandparents since they moved down19 years ago. A long time tradition has been to take a picture at the street sign where my grandparents live (it's my name! Cool, no?) So, Garth and I continued the tradition!

We headed to the pool for the rest of the day and enjoyed the warm sunshine and the nice water. Bliss!

Sunday we woke up way too early to catch our flight back. This was quite possibly the worst flight EVER. First, Garth and I weren't sitting remotely close to each other. Second, a large man sat next to me and took up his seat and most of mine. Third, a large man in front of me put his seat back giving me less room. Fourth, I was in the isle and people kept hitting me as they walked past to use the restroom. Fifth, the flight was so bumpy and we kept dropping suddenly causing my stomach to drop as well. It was like an hour long roller coaster ride. Sixth, I'm getting sick and my ears wouldn't pop which caused my ears to hurt so bad I thought I would cry.

I survived the flight and, most importantly, we're home safe and sound. My parents picked us up and we ate dinner with my WHOLE family. My youngest brother was home from college and stayed to see us, yay!

We came home, unpacked and relaxed. It was so quiet and so good to be home. We found ourselves missing my grandparents though! We got along so well with them and had so. much. fun. together.

We also learned some valuable lessons from them. They have been married 64 years so it was fun watching them interact, hear their experiences, and watch them communicate. We also realized just how important it is to stay healthy! My grandparents are both 84 and they are so active - they are more active than people 10 years younger than them! INCREDIBLE! It really shows you how important it is to eat healthy, exercise, and have community with friends.

We had a wonderful holiday and will always cherish this first Thanksgiving as a married couple. And thank you, Michigan, for the lovely snow storm to welcome us back home.;)