We just got back from a nice long 5 day vacation to Cape Coral, Florida….kid-free! Now, before anyone gets all up in arms about me leaving my children for that long, please go read this post. My kids are my life, and honestly, I missed them nonstop and even wished they were with us for most of the time, but the fact of the matter is—time away from your children is OKAY and is healthy for your relationship with them, and your spouse.
We don’t have a ton of family who are able to help in the childcare department so trips like this won’t happen very often, like ever. So while all the coordination with sitters and schedules were hectic, it was worth it in order to relax, enjoy ourselves, all with piece of mind knowing our babies were in the best hands! Now, all this didn’t come without a cost which is another reason why we can’t take kid-free trips often. Though, part of what this trip was lacking were the laughs and smiles of my girls and seeing things through their eyes, so I’m totally fine with family trips only for a good while! Josie is already talking about the beach so we are hoping to check out one of the Delaware beaches this summer. 🙂
Okay, so back to Florida.
Ahhhh, Florida. Just thinking back makes me smile….The warm sunshine. The palm trees. The house. The pool. The boat. The laughs. The drinks. All the drinks. It was great to relax with good company and just soak up the warm Florida vibes.
We flew into Ft. Myers and had about a 30 min drive to our house. I had never been to that part of Florida before, but it was beautiful.
We’re ready! T-shirt- Old Navy
Flying above the clouds is such an amazing sight.
Our group decided on a house in Cape Coral right on the canal, Villa Paradiso. The house was awesome and had just about everything we needed. It had a great patio area with a pool, hot tub, and plenty of seating to go around.
I forgot to take pictures before we had to put the covers back on, but you can still see how seriously sweet this house was.
Celebratory “We made it!” shots!
The first couple days were spent chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool by the pool. We whipped up some watermelon margaritas, caught some rays, grilled some steaks. Life is good.
Obligatory poolside selfie with drink in hand. 😉 Bathing suit is a good mom friendly option. Slight plunge in the front, but full coverage on the behind which is what this booty needs!
After some tweaking, this finally worked out and every bit was consumed by Saturday night. Yum!
Watermelon margaritas! Anyone else have a big ol’ toe gap? No, just me? Ha!
The dudes.
The babes. <3 (and some crazy photobomber!)
Aaron and I tried to be at least a little active during our time there and were able to get in two quick runs around the neighborhood. Though, those 4 miles alone were not enough to fight off the 7lbs I gained in five days!! It’s amazing how you can really pack-em’ on when you are doing nothing but eating and drinking and sitting on your butt!
It can be hard, but learn to love yourself. ALL of yourself. I’m definitely a work in progress.
Bright and sweaty AF. Tank Top- Reebok
One of the friends we traveled with is from Florida which was a good resource to have! He has a few friends from the Orlando area who came to visit and brought their boat along. It was so fun to spend some time out on the water taking in all the beautiful scenery.
Friday was spent lounging by the pool and then we took the boat out for a cruise and then to dinner at Rum Runners. A fun little spot with some good eats. They were doing some construction outside at the time so no good photo ops, unfortunately. Though, I had a toasted coconut margarita and some yummy fish topped with crab that made up for that. 😉
We could seriously get used to this life. Anyone have a couple million laying around so we can move Cape Coral and buy a boat?? Tank top- Old Navy. Sunnies- Target. Earrings- JBloom My FAV Necklace- Kendra Scott
On Saturday we got in a good breakfast at The Omelette Shop, packed up the coolers (Publix subs are apparently a must when you go to the beach in Florida and I now know why—soooo goooood!), and headed back out on the boat.
Don’t judge me by my love of Miller Lite. Its the best “light” beer in my opinion, perfect for day drinking on the boat. But I also love me some craft brews! Hat- Calia by Carrie Nailpolish- Essie Pre-show Jitters
The destination that we were hoping for turned out to be a ways out and the water was a bit rough, so we stumbled upon this little gem of a beach that ended up being North Captiva Island. It seemed pretty secluded, so we just pulled up, tied off on a tree, and hopped out into the water. Super beautiful and relaxing way to spend the afternoon. I think I was sore for a good 3 days after the boat ride back from all the bouncing on the boat when hitting the waves. I’ve literally not laughed that hard in a while!
Our little piece of paradise for the day.
Searching for shells for the babes.
Bye-bye little beach.
Sunday was an early morning of packing, getting the house in order, and getting some friends to the airport. The hubs and I had some time to kill before our flight so I found this sweet brunch spot, Fancy’s Southern Cafe, that was seriously amazing.
Thank you Google!
They make these homemade cinnamon-sugary donuts that are fresh and warm and covered in a glaze that literally filled the plate for extra dipping.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
We also had chicken and waffles, and crabcake benedict. You guys–SO GOOD (and it’s no wonder those 7lbs snuck up–probably from this meal alone-ha!). We stuck to water and coffee, but their mimosas and bloody-mary’s were looking dang good too! Great way to end our trip, with full bellies!
We made it to our flight with plenty of time to spare, however since we forgot to check in on the earlier side, we were literally THE LAST people to board the FULL flight, which meant sitting in between two strangers instead of my hubs who was two rows back. Womp-womp. Lesson learned for the next flight!
We really enjoyed the time away, though, as great as this trip was, nothing beats getting back home to my girls and my bed! I would recommend this area for a fun getaway with your spouse, friends, or your entire family. I’d love to come back someday, but the Destin area is next on my list to visit in Florida….oh, and Orlando too! I have a little girl who talks about a certain place there ALL. THE. TIME. 😉
Where is your favorite Florida vacation destination?
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