Marco Island: February 2021

February 1-5

Monday

Our whole family tested negative for COVID so our trip to Florida was able to go on as planned!  We dropped the boys off at school for the morning and then headed for the airport.  Warmer weather...here we come.  The flight was uneventful and only different because we needed to wear masks the entire flight. It was a direct flight which took about 3 hours. 

By the time we arrived at the condo that we rented, the sun had already set.  We dropped our bags and went out to find fresh fish to eat for supper.  

Tuesday

It was super windy and in the low 60's.  Nathan, not surprisingly, found New York bagels for breakfast which we ate at the condo.  Nathan needed to wrap up a few things for work so we enjoyed the view of the ocean and enjoyed a low key morning.  We took a walk to get lunch and I enjoyed the palm trees and flowers along the way!

On our way back we walked on the beach.  

There was a baby octopus in that shell!

The wind was so strong that the sand was blowing up at us.

I put my winter coat on to watch the sunset from our balcony.  What a view!

Wednesday

We took a walk on the beach again and then decided to go for a drive to Everglades National Park.

It was exciting to find an alligator but also a little frightening.

We thought it was funny to see these signs alerting us of Panthers in the area.

After watching the sunset from our balcony we went out for supper to an Italian restaurant.

Thursday

After finishing the movie that we fell asleep watching the night before, we drove to the New York bagel shop and to Starbucks for coffee and ate our breakfast out at the beach.  It was a new spot that we thought would be good for finding shells!

What a view of that little octopus.

We waded in the water and collected many pretty shells.

It was the warmest day and there wasn't any wind so we each read a book and soaked in the sun for the entire afternoon until the sun set.

Friday 

It was an early morning and we made it back to Sioux Falls by 11:30am.  One highlight was noticing that we were flying right over Sioux Center and had a perfect view from our window.  It was less exciting to see all of the snow and return back to cold weather.

It was a blessing to know that our boys were well cared for by Grandpa and Grandma Bolkema while we were gone and we were excited to pick them up from school!

It's not always easy to leave and carve out time for just the 2 of us, but we're thankful for this opportunity!