A Week in Words (and pictures) – Day One

Saturday – we arrived INSANELY late to my parents. By the time our trip was all said and done, our flight was about an hour late getting into the St. Pete airport, we ate a sandwich at a divey Irish pub and watched the ND/Washington game and then had an hour drive to my parents in Bradenton. I don’t think our heads finally hit the pillow for lights out until 1am. My parents were asleep by the time we got there but my mother, so excited for our visit, woke herself up once she heard us let ourselves in and wrapped her familiar arms around me for a full 5 minutes. Not much better than that for a warm welcome!

Sunday – BEACH DAY. I made it every clear to everyone that I wanted to r-e-l-a-x during my first days in the Sunshine State. Luckily, my brother was on the outs with his bitch girlfriend and she was visiting family in the Keys so he had their beach house, all to himself for the entire day. So – we packed up after sleeping in rather late and headed for Bradenton Beach. We found his place with little trouble, parked on the beach side and headed down the rocks for the sand. I saw my tall brother’s head peek up from the beach and a huge smile across his face. He had worked hard before our arrival and we had QUITE the setup! 2 beach chairs, 2 beach umbrellas and a big lounge chair basically dug right into the sand. It was really very sweet. We walked across the street for a tour of the beach house and it really is quite amazing. Only 450 square feet – TOTAL – with one living/kitchen area, 1 bedroom and 1 bath. But once you see the view, somehow, you would make it work.

Right out his front window.

To the right, out the window right by his front door.

My brother and Brian catching up.

His gorgeous, remodeled kitchen.

The front of the tiny, little thing with his motorcycle in front with the sheet over it.

The view down the alley right by his house – the Intercoastal water in the background.

My brother had some friends coming that day too and they showed up about 15 minutes after we got there. The man worked with him at Tropicana and he brought his wife. They were probably in their late 20s and both SO nice, especially the wife. We even overlooked the fact they both were die hard Florida fans. They brought the spectacular beach spread with them including tail gate tent, fried chicken, all kinds of salads and beers.

My parents eventually showed up and we spent a lazy afternoon together – the men sat around, tossed the football and softball for a while and us ladies waded in the Gulf, looking for pretty shells and shooting the breeze as well. To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded a few moments to myself to just sit and read but the company was so great, it was easy to overlook. Brian left for an hour or two for his first bike ride of the week (yes, he flew his bike down with him) but really, none of us barely even noticed and he had a great time.

I had to snap this picture – just looked so odd seeing his super duper bike laying on the sand.

My brother, heaving the ball.

Happy 1st day of Vacation!

Sorry, kids – I gotta run for now – hopefully, I get the rest of my days out during the coming week!