As a birthday surprise, Dan took me on a short trip to Florida. This was especially sweet, since we moved from California to Colorado in 2019, and I’ve missed living near the beach. There is something about the salty air and the sound of the waves that brings an instant calm. Having a few days by the ocean was the best medicine for this tough year.

We stayed at the Doubletree Beach Resort by Hilton in Tampa Bay- North Redington Beach. I’ve traveled to Florida many times, but this was my first visit to the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. As much as I love the theme parks ( and I really, really do love them,) it was nice to have the opportunity to explore other aspects of Florida.

This was a typical Doubletree hotel, as far as room size and amenities. We were given the customary warmed chocolate chip-walnut cookies upon check-in. The only small changes were due to Covid, such as only taking the elevator with your own group and wearing masks while navigating the property. These were minor inconveniences that made us feel safe while traveling during the pandemic.

One of the funniest pictures was outside of the elevators. Look at those peepers!

Here are some pictures of our room. I appreciated that we had a refrigerator included. We drank gallons of bottled water!

The rooms with king beds were sold-out, but we did have an ocean view balcony. We bought parfaits and ate breakfast on our balcony both mornings.

Forty dollars provided us with a day rental of two cushioned sun loungers and a huge umbrella. This made our day at the beach far more enjoyable, than if we had been on beach towels or had to lug around our own beach chairs. An attendant came around periodically to adjust our umbrellas, and we could come and go as we pleased. As far as Covid, the lounge chairs were spaced apart, making social distancing a breeze. Even though it was mid-August, the beach was not crowded and we never felt like it was an unsafe vacation choice.

This was my first time swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was warm and clear enough to see small fish swimming around our legs. It was truly the perfect beach day and I look forward to coming back with my step-kids in 2021.

When it was time for lunch, we left our belongings on our beach chairs and headed to the outdoor cafe at our hotel. The cafe is just steps from the beach and we snagged a spot where we could keep an eye on our loungers. We didn’t use it, but the hotel pool is also adjacent to the cafe.

Lunch was fantastic. We shared a croissant club sandwich, a heaping platter of nachos, and tropical cocktails.

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Later in the day, we added some thrills by renting a Sea-Doo. Thirty minutes may not seem like very long, but it is plenty. Dan was the driver and I held on tight, getting some air-time as we bounced over waves. We didn’t tip over, which was my biggest concern. It was a blast.

Our beach day was fabulous and overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the Doubletree in North Redington Beach. The beach is beautiful and the area is filled with restaurants and activities. As much as I’m obsessed with theme park vacations, visiting the Gulf Coast is an excellent alternative.

I will end on these sunrise shots of the beach. I love the soft pastel colors and sense of calm. On our next visit, I want to wake up early and go for a walk on the sand.

As a birthday surprise, Dan took me on a four night vacation to Florida. Florida has quite a bit more covid cases than Colorado, so I was a little nervous about traveling. However, we took many precautions, and I’m thrilled to report that our first major trip during Covid seems to have been a success. We are going to be extra careful for the next few weeks, in case we did become infected, but overall, I feel like we were able to have a safe and wonderful vacation.

We flew first class on United from Denver to Tampa. The flight to Tampa was one of the riskiest parts of the trip. Unfortunately, the flight was full, and although we thought we were playing it safe by booking first class, I don’t think it mattered. If anything, it might have been worse, as everyone in first class was given a Tapas Box for a snack, and the guy across the aisle from me had his mask off for over an hour, as he leisurely enjoyed his snack. I was disappointed that the flight crew didn’t take a stronger stance on the masks. There were a few announcements, but little enforcement. When we landed, we were not dismissed off the plane row-by-row, which I had been expecting, and as usual, people jammed the aisles.

Our return flight was a better experience. The snack was just a bag of chips/cookies, so people didn’t remove their masks for an extended period of time, and we were dismissed by row. The airports were different too. Tampa was much better with signage and enforcement. Denver was far more relaxed, including several people at the United check-in desk without masks, and none of the employees enforcing or even asking them to put on a mask. This was frustrating.

Here’s a picture of the social distancing measures at Tampa. Tampa is a much nicer airport.

Originally, our trip was supposed to be four days at the Doubletree Hilton in Redington Beach. We ended up having enough of the beach after two days, and moved to a Hilton Grand Vacations near Seaworld in Orlando. Both hotels had signage regarding social distancing and required masks in communal areas, things that were followed by a majority of the guests.

On the stretch of beach outside of our hotel, we were able to rent a pair of sun beds for thirty dollars. This gave us bit of space at the beach, especially as the beds were spaced apart. The beach wasn’t very crowded and I felt safe. It was a similar situation by the pool in Orlando; the beds were spaced apart, and as soon as we finished, attendants sanitized them. People stayed with their own groups in the pool, spaced apart. It was actually a really nice vacation experience, as nothing was crowded.

The restaurants all had similar covid procedures to the ones we have been dealing with in Denver, so nothing seemed a surprise, except for the Seabreeze restaurant, which asked us to text before entering. I thought this was a great idea, as it eliminated unnecessary people entering the restaurant and crowding the host stand.

This trip was not about theme parks, yet, we found ourselves unable to resist the siren call of Seaworld. I had never been to Seaworld in Orlando, and Dan had not been since he was in elementary school, so it was a new experience for both of us. We are huge theme park fans and this was our first theme park in 2020.

With the exception of the Florida heat, it was a great experience. We arrived at opening and spent about two hours and then returned in the evening. Masks are required and hand sanitizer was absolutely everywhere: every ride, every store, every restaurant. Our temperature was screened prior to the ticket counter, and it was an easy process, just a sensor that checks for temps without even having us slow down. We went to Disney Springs on the last morning of our trip and they used hand-held thermometers, which took a few seconds longer than the scan at SeaWorld. Both were a painless, quick process that didn’t impede on our enjoyment of the parks.

The park maps are all digital. The shows were open with spaced seating, and at the end of the show, employees dismissed the theaters row by row. There were a few people trying to leave before their rows were dismissed, but it mostly worked well. The ride queues were spaced, and we only had to ask one person, a kid, to step back. It’s hard, I think people in general, especially young kids, are excited to be at the parks, and the instinct is to push forward/bunch up. This wasn’t a huge problem, but guests need to be a bit more aware of their surroundings and less in a rush. The park is certainly less crowded and the lines are shorter, but also things take a bit longer, and we all need to have patience. For example, on some of the coasters ( oddly, not all) we observed the seats/restraints being sanitized. This slowed the load times, but also, the lines were much shorter than average.

Overall, I felt safe at Seaworld and I would definitely return. The biggest obstacle was wearing the masks in the heat. We couldn’t do it in the middle of the day and had to take a pool break at our hotel. Also, if you ride Mako, hold on to your mask. Mine nearly came flying off!

On this trip, I got to check a dream off of my bucket list: Dan took me on an airboat ride to see gators. It was awesome, although we saw more cows than gators. The landscape was gorgeous and the ride was thrilling.

It was hard to return home and back to the daily grind. I hope another Florida vacation is in our near future. This week we have political news with the Democratic National Convention happening. It’s virtual due to Covid, but this election year is certainly an exciting one. I’ve never felt more invested in my making my vote count. I want to get a Biden/Harris t-shirt.

After our yummy vacation food, Dan brought out the pasta maker, which hasn’t been used in years, and made us some fresh spaghetti. It was delicious. It’s shocking that all of the months we were stuck inside this winter, we never attempted homemade pasta.

And the cutest of cute cat pictures, comes courtesy of Tom, and his new toy from Florida. We bought him his own purple stuffed animal, so he’d stop stealing Figment. He loves his new toy. We let him think that he was stealing it off of the shelf. Naughty kitty!