Babymoon!

We are back from Florida! We had an absolutely perfect Babymoon and couldn't have asked for much more. The week leading up to our Babymoon found us in the cat ER with our first child, Clyde. The poor cat was clearly in pain throughout the night and so at 4 AM on Monday morning, I called the animal ER to see what could be done. I woke Matt up, we loaded Clyde in his suitcase and traveled to the hospital. After hours of tests and ultrasounds, he was found to have a urinary tract infection. We had to give Clyde medication three times a day and a new cat food. This led to an interesting decision regarding what to do during our upcoming trip. Our incredible friend Kim, who happens to be a nurse (yes, for humans) offered to take care of Clyde, including giving him his medication twice a day. She saved the day and our trip!

Once we got to Florida, we checked into our hotel which was amazing! The hotel itself was located directly next to a pretty ritzy mall, which was also fun. We grabbed lunch and checked out the pool. Here is the view from our room:

The next day, we took the shuttle back to the airport to pick up the rental car. Somehow, I had entered a "discount code" when I made my reservation, which allowed me a 50 % off discount on my rental car for the duration as well as an upgrade. When offered the upgrade from a Corolla, I didn't hesitate (or ask Matt who was on the phone with his mom!) Since he left most of the trip planning details up to me, I was the one who's name was on the car reservation. Here's the sweet 2009 Ford Mustang that I alone got to drive along the coast. I think Matt got quite the kick out of me being so excited to drive that car. He knew to hold on when I was about to accelerate..there was no holding back! I think this was one of the greatest highlights of the trip for me!!Upon returning to our hotel, we asked the concierge, John, for suggestions of the best beach we could rent a cabana at for the day. He not only suggested going to St. Pete Beach, but made a phone call to his friend to "take care of us." After about a 30 minute drive, which of course I didn't mind in the 'Stang, we pulled into the Don CeSar Luxury Resort. We found the person we were to ask for, who quickly got us cold water, validated our $18 parking fee and walked us out to our free cabana. As we approached the beach, we found the cabanas to be $50 a day..SWEET! She later came back out to check on us, bring us snacks and offer anything else we could possibly need. We were amazed that 6 hours by the beach could pass so quickly. Thank God for SPF 50 sunblock!

The next day, we opted for a different beach, Sand Key Beach, near Clearwater. While there, two people got stung by stingrays, which prompted our decision not to stay in the water too long. It also didn't help that it was 90 degrees that day and our Midwestern bodies weren't quite adjusted to such heat.

When we got back to our hotel, John, the concierge asked us if we had dinner plans. Being our last night in Tampa, we wanted fresh seafood. He recommended and called a place called Mitchell's Fish Market. We arrived to find they had a "special" table for us and incredible food (and the best hand-squeezed lemonade I have ever had!). At the end of our meal, we found that part of our meal was "on John" from the hotel. Matt decided at dinner that when we win the lottery, he is going to hire John to be our personal assistant to make all of our reservations and trips for us, paying him a $1 Million a year. Anyone else interested in applying :)

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, as did our trip. Due to a mechanical issue on our first flight, we almost missed our second of three connecting flights to get back home. When we finally got home at midnight, we were welcomed home to reality: water in our basement, a Corolla that needed a new brake job and a cat so happy to see us.

Gosh, I miss that mustang....