Once We Went to Florida...

Back at the start of July, Puff and I loaded up the car with everything but the kitchen sink (more to come in a separate blog entry about traveling with a baby) and headed to Florida to show off Bimmer to my mom.

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned HERE, my mom is sick and she lives in an assisted living facility. Therefore, it was impossible for her to travel for the birth of the baby, so we had to take Bimmer down there. It was no big deal - we just decided that was our summer vacation. Although the thought of 12 hours (or more) in a car with a then 5 week old didn't sound like my idea of a vacation. (I normally have a strict 8 hour max for car trips!) So we did split it up into two days, which ended up being a great idea because 6 hours in a car seat turned Bimmer into one massively cranky wigglebutt!

 

 

 

 

 

We realized during the trip that stopping at a rest stop to feed Bimmer was our preference. It gave us some fresh air and changing her on a picnic table was much easier and cleaner to me than dirty bathrooms. Once we finally got to Florida, we spent hours each day hanging out with my mom. But we were determined to make the most of our vacation as well.

 

We took Bimmer to her first (but certainly not last) classic car museum...

 

 

We also checked out the Ringling mansion and art museum...

 

 

 

We took Bimmer to eat dinner at a shack on a rickety pier that Puff had read about in the NY Times...

 

 

 

We spent a few quick minutes on Anna Maria Island so both Puff and Bimmer could see the Gulf of Mexico for the first time...

 

 

 

But no trip to Florida is complete without some time at the pool. And while our hotel pool was closed the night we were going to take her swimming for the first time, that didn't take away from her totally looking the part of an adorable beach babe...

 

 

 

Our family loves to travel and we were stoked that Bimmer did so well on the entire trip. We already can't wait to start planning our next big adventure! We are contemplating St. Simons, Georgia, or maybe the Outer Banks for next summer. Let us know if you have any suggestions! Bimmer will be big enough to play in the sand. And even though her mommy has a serious sand phobia, I'll suck it up for her. I can't let her be like Puff and never get to play on the beach as a child. It's pretty much a right of passage.