Paradise Vacation

Sitting in Dallas at work, it's hard to believe that just a few days ago I was thick in the middle of arguably the best family vacation ever...

We took off last Thursday for Sanibel Island, Florida for 5 days of relaxing and celebration -- It was our 10-year anniversary! We hit the airport early and were in the air before the kids would have been in school on a normal day. We got to Tampa at around noon, ready to cruise along the coast for the 2 hour or so drive to Sanibel.

NOT SO FAST!! First there was the little issue of baggage -- like the kind they left on the runway back in Houston instead of sending along on our plane... We (especially Katie) were more than a little pissed off, especially since that was NOT the way we hoped to start the vacation, but after we agreed that a little swimsuit investment could cure the issue, we were back on track. The bags finally arrived after 1AM, but by then we had settled into island life for a few days.

That night we hit a restaurant that we enjoyed last time Katie and I were down there -- the Island Cow. They had a guitarist playing and singing on the back patio while we waited for our table, and the kids climbed around on the Banyon tree and the Tiki Bar. That's when the crash came: Porter was trying to get down from the Tiki Bar and face-planted directly into the concrete. Long-story short, he ended up with a huge knot on his forehead [about the size of a golfball], black and blue; scraped his chin and upper lip, just below the nose, and generally didn't like how he ended up feeling.

That was the worst of it, though, and for the rest of the trip, I couldn't have asked for a better time. We chartered a boat on Saturday that took us out of a marina on Captiva out to Cayo Costa, a fairly deserted island north of Sanibel/Captiva that was full of shells just for us. The boys loved the boat ride and once on the island had a great time just being free on the beach. We found tons of awesome shells and sand dollars that we brought home.

When we got back to the marina, Katie broke out the picnic lunch she packed up for us and we ate under the palapa dockside, watching manatees play in the shallow water around the piers. The boys had never seen a manatee so they got a real charge out of that -- and so did I.

The rest of the days were filled with bike riding along the trails throughout the island, seeing the sights (lighthouse at the end of the island), shopping, cooking out at the cabin, and watching the sun set each day.

The boys loved the pool and made friends with some girls just about their age or a little younger. Katie and I had a good time getting to know their parents, Chris and Natalie, and we remembered that one of the best parts of an island vacation is the people you meet.

Sunday we even dropped in on the Taste of the Island festival in the city park -- complete with live band and all. Monday we headed into Ft. Meyers to the Imaginarium [hands-on museum] and then back to Tampa for our flight home.

The rest of the week pales in comparison -- back to the daily routine of work and school and business travel. But that's what makes vacation time special -- the fact that each of us, kids included, earn it in our own way.

I want these types of memories forever.