I got in on Wednesday after Joel had already been there since Tuesday for his games. Travel actually went pretty smoothly, without have kiddos to wrangle. I listened to an audiobook, started a Steve Cavanaugh book I just got from the library (perfect timing for the trip!) and even watched a little bit of Hamilton.
Once I got there, I laced up for a run. I had every intention of knocking out my workout, but the heat was no joke. Within a few minutes I knew it wasn’t going to happen, so I pivoted and just did a short, easy run instead. Not glamorous, but honestly the right call.
Then Joel and I went to the pool for a little bit. I read my book. Joel watched his phone a little. Went back to the house and got showered and then we went out for Mexican food for dinner. We grabbed some ice cream after dinner and watched some Netflix stand-up comedy when we got back to the house and went to bed.
Joel had an early match Thursday morning, so we headed to Naples first thing. My parents very graciously let us use one of their cars, which made everything so much easier.
Joel and his partner played really well, but ended up losing in two to a super solid team.
After his match, I headed out for my workout. It was supposed to be 4 x 1 mile repeats, but with the heat, I cut it to three. Honestly, still felt like a win. And the biggest highlight was my hip. I had just gotten an injection on Tuesday, and I could already tell it was feeling better.
After I finished, we drove down to Marco Island. Easy drive, and we started listening to The Anxious Generation on the way. We had started it a couple years ago, but feels so much more relevant now that our kids have gotten older.
We checked into our hotel and changed and then went for a nice long walk. We probably walked about 6 miles. We walked and got some Chinese food for lunch and then headed to Tigertail Beach and then walked the whole beach down to South Beach and had a drink at the Marriott. Then we walked back to the hotel and got showered and headed to the movie. We went to the movie theater on Marco Island and it was kind of cool, it was a dine in sort of theater. We watched Project Hail Mary and we both loved it. Then we went and grabbed pizza to bring back to the room to eat and watch some Schitt’s Creek before going to bed.
Friday morning we slept in a little and then did a 30 minute Matt Pilates workout in the hotel room, which was kinda hard because it’s a tile floor. We then went to Oris bakery and cafe for breakfast, it was so yummy! Their cinnamon roll was 👌. We headed the 40 minute drive for our Everglades tour. We chose to do the Captain Jacks Total Everglades tour.
The Boardwalk was very underwhelming. We were also scheduled to start at 10:30, we got there at 9:50 since it said to be half hour early. They scheduled us only a 10:45 boat, so a lot of waiting around. And silly me, I forgot my book!
The airboat tour was cool! We didn’t see any gators or really any wildlife, I guess with the time of year the water is only saltwater so the animals are gone. It was still a super cool ride. Once we got off the boat, we hopped in the car and drove about 5 minutes down the road to Wootens for the rest of the tours. We did a second airboat tour though private grasslands, it was crazy that the water there was only 2-6 inches deep! Birds were just standing in it. After that ride, we went and watched the gator show, I was so stressed the whole time. Those mouths chomp! I cannot fathom doing that as a job! After the alligator show, we did a sand buggy tour. Crazy that just across the street you go from the water to the grass and other plants and things (which we learned that that portion is how the Everglades got their name). After that portion of the tour, we went and held a baby alligator named Jellybean! That was so cool, she was like a heavy, leathery feeling.
After the tour, we drove back to the hotel. I laid by the pool and read for a while. Then we went to dinner at Prime 844. It was a fancy dinner… Joel thought that by specials, they would be the same price as things on the menu and accidentally ended up with a $120 steak. He was definitely upset about that, especially since we didn’t notice til we paid.
We got some ice cream and went back to the hotel. I went to bed early, I was tired!
Saturday morning, we woke up early. Joel still had his cough so it was not a good sleep night. I got my long run in, and felt awesome! Love that feeling after crushing long run. Joel had gone to Marco Island hideout restaurant for breakfast which was just down the street. Once I got back from the Run, I walked over there too for a diet Pepsi, and some breakfast tacos. Joel loved it because he had a breakfast burger, which he thought was pretty cool, mine was very underwhelming, but good to get some fuel in my tummy.
We laid by the pool for a bit, I read my book. Joel got is signed up to rent paddle boards for a couple of hours. The sun was HOT, even with ample sunscreen, we both got burned. We paddled through little tunnels and into a very choppy bay, it was so hard to not get swept away! My arms were tired, I was tired… we didn’t see any wild life, unfortunately.
After paddle boarding, we went to the beach. Joel walked up and down the beach for about an hour while I read. We borrowed an umbrella from the hotel but it was one of the cheaper kind so I had to hold it the whole time.
We went back to the hotel to shower and then find some dinner. We tried an Italian restaurant but they were completely booked. We found a Mexican restaurant and it was yummy! They even had the pickleball tournament playing on the TVs.
We headed back to the hotel for a relaxing evening and to get packed up. We woke up early Sunday and packed the rest of our things and then drove to Fort Myers. We met my parents for breakfast at First Watch, it was great we got to see them a little bit longer before heading back! They’re also coming up to visit in a few weeks.
We got to the airport waaaaaaay too early. The rush from the shut downs and spring break crowd were definitely gone…
It was so great to get back home to the kiddos! I’m off to Arizona for the week for work tomorrow, so I won’t get to be back in my routine for a few more days.
I’m so glad we got to do this trip together. It was equal parts relaxing and adventurous. I can’t wait to do it again, hopefully soon!
