Vacation Tidbits

Jack and I recently returned from a glorious nine day vacation in Florida. Granted, it was *just* Florida, but we were both very much looking forward to spending time together, relaxing by the pool and on the beach, and recuperating from our lives.

Mission accomplished. We laid here several days:

Actually, this was just the "adult" pool. Kids were forbidden and the adults relaxed with their beverage of choice. I was okay with this until some lady took a glass (yes, GLASS) of wine into the pool with her. It was very relaxing and this was the view from our cabana. We managed to grab a cabana every day we pooled. After 2-3 hours, that Floridian sun burned our fair Eastern European and Irish skin to a crisp and we sought refuge in the cabanas. Plus, we felt like royalty as the pool boys waved us with huge palm fronds. Did I dream up the pool boy scenario? :)

When we grew tired of the chilled-out vibe and jazz music that played in surround-sound fashion at the adult pool, we escaped to the main pool around the corner. This pool was akin to a land cruise; Jamaican and reggae music set the atmosphere while fun and games punctuated the afternoons:

See that water slide at the top? It was fast and this is where Jack scraped his elbows on the bottom of the pool! We discovered that, as adults, we had greater velocity going down the slide! Apart from the splash-downs from the slide, we didn't spend a lot of time in this pool. They allowed diaper-clad toddlers in the pool and that's just, well, gross. I fought the urge to Purrell my entire body after taking a dip.

We did do other things besides bliss out by the pool and tackle the water slide. We went to the beach for sunrise one morning. Naturally, it was Cocoa Beach and we enjoyed every nanosecond of those crashing ocean waves: Cocoa Beach is just my favorite beach around. It's young and hip and fun with laid-back expectations. We basked in the sand, discussed our future (devising a new 5-year plan), and frolicked in the huge waves like kids. After a divine lunch at Grills, a tiki bar that serves Florida's best seafood, we returned to the waves at a Cape Canaveral beach for more wave action. It was a phenomenal day for bodyboarding!

On other days, we did some "inland" touring in Celebration and Winter Garden, Florida. Celebration is this town engineered by Disney and it's a picturesque utopia. We found so many restaurants in Celebration that we actually went twice so we could eat our way through the town. We visited the town tavern (lobster and stuffed clams!), Columbia restaurant (tapas!), and the token Irish pub. Here is the adorable town square from across the lake (hey, we had to walk off some of that food!):
Celebration reintroduced us to our old friend, Old Bay seasoning. Old Bay is simply wonderful blend of spices that makes seafood taste like it's straight out of Maine. Guess what we bought at the store as soon as we returned to Chicago? Yep, Old Bay! In Winter Garden, we visited dear friends of ours, Ralph and Lauren, who moved to Florida six years ago. They generously hosted us for dinner while we caught up on the last three years of our lives and played with their two adorable daughters. That reminds me, I really need to get Lauren's key lime pie recipe!

The two last things of note occurred on Friday (which was Jack's birthday). We watched yet another NASA shuttle launch. By some strange stroke of luck, I've witnessed five launches within the last year and a half. There's a launch each time I'm in Florida! All the launches are the same though; the shuttle goes up in about 60 seconds and then you're left looking at a smoke plume. However, it is neat to say you've seen one.

For Jack's birthday dinner, I decided to pull out all the stops. We scouted out a couple of special(expensive) places and ended up dining at Funky Monkey Wine Company. Funky Monkey is this decadent, sexy wine bar that's decked out in purple and yellow. Even though it's completely against my frugal nature, I tried a $14 glass of wine. It was completely worth it, but I chose to slum it with a $9 glass on Round #2. Jack followed suit and we noshed on fried goat cheese and scallops for an appetizer. I can't remember what we ate for our main courses because that's when the drag show started. See?
I'm not sure I can run for public office anymore because I ended up with a cameo in the show! She (I mean he) came over and "interviewed" me (thank you for giving me a stage presence, dear $14 glass of wine!). Then she (I mean he) went through my purse, announcing the contents to the entire place. Then she/he called me boring because she couldn't rifle through my cell phone and call one of my contacts!

Thank you, dear Lord. I could just imagine EVOO, Nurse Jackie, or Elvis getting a call from Dolly Madison!

It was SO much fun, though! Both shows were hysterical and made the extravagantly-priced food and wine worth the experience. The Funky Monkey was a great way to cap off the evening with the type of laughter that makes your stomach sore the next day. Wait, maybe that was the $14 wine coming back to haunt me! Whatever the case, it was a great trip and we are already looking to book our next get-away in fall.