Friends for life...

I feel so lucky to have such good friends in my life.  And thankfully since I'm not able to see many of the them as often as I'd like I feel grateful that when we do see each other, it's like no time has passed.  So how fun it was to reunite with Heather, Pilar, and Dan here in Florida. We had talked about it for years but finally we made it happen. And with Jack being away so much of the time it's especially nice to have the company!  I hadn't seen Heather and Dan since July of 2015 when we met up in Utah, and the last time I saw Pilar was back in March of 2014 when I met up with her and Heather for a girl's trip in Beverly Hills while simultaneously tagging along with Jack on a business trip.  No doubt this visit was long overdue!

While Heather and Pilar both have access to beautiful beaches where they live, Dan not so much.  And it seems like a crime to come to Florida and not spend time at one of our many fabulous beaches so that first morning after everyone woke up we decided to head to the Tampa Bay area in search of a beach!  With it being a Saturday and in the midst of spring breaks across the country we decided against some of the more popular beaches and instead focused on finding parking close to any public beach which put us in the St. Pete area.  It wasn't an area of the beach I had been to and with the wind the water wasn't looking as beautiful as it normally does but we were all just happy hanging out together.  By far the best part of the day was spending the evening walking around downtown St. Petersburg near the pier, something I hadn't done before.  It has a vibrant and fun night life with all sorts of shops, restaurants, and music. It's definitely a place I need to return to with Jack.

The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive seemed like the perfect way to spend a part of our Sunday.  I really can't think of a better place to admire some of God's not so beautiful creatures. It's usually a crowd pleaser and sure enough this visit did not disappoint with the dozens of gator sightings we experienced. In fact, it was Pilar's first time seeing an alligator in person!

After seeing enough gators to last a lifetime, we made our way to 'The Wheel' at Icon Park.  This seemed like the perfect way to see all of Orlando in a few minutes and it was something that I had wanted to do since moving here but just hadn't gotten around to.  Little did I know Pilar had never ridden a ferris wheel in her life! Another first!

Aside from beaches and alligators, Florida is also known for it's beautiful springs. So the next day we were off to go tubing down Rock Spring at Kelly Park. It really is such a beautiful place and a relaxing way to spend a few hours. If only I had been able to capture a photo of everyone trying to get into their tube at the top of the spring. Let's just say some were more graceful than others! Thankfully no hats, sunglasses, or cell phones were lost in the process. haha!

And I guess you can't come all the way to Florida without experiencing some sort of Disney experience so off to Disney Springs we went for our 'last supper' together. Not only did we experience some great food at Raglan Road Irish Pub but they also had some great entertainment.  It was hard to believe our time together was already coming to an end.

Originally when we were planning this trip I assumed we'd spend a day in our backyard soaking up the rays and enjoying riding the jet skis but we just ran out of time! We did manage to get in a quick ride before it was time to head to the airport. I was hopeful that maybe one of our resident lake gators would make an appearance but no such luck. Once again though Pilar can check something off her bucket list...riding a jet ski!  Yes, this too was a first for her! :)

From learning new card games to sharing life updates, it was so nice to spend time together and as an added bonus Pilar at the last minute decided to extend her stay and keep me company for a couple extra days! Secretly I think she just wanted to hang out with her new best friend Nova a bit longer! But either way I was happy to have her a few days longer!

Thanks for the visit and fun memories Heather,  Dan, and Pilar. Until next time...