Organizers of tournaments and conventions aren't stupid. They always schedule these big events in locations where anyone would want to visit. The past three work trips I have taken have been to Southern Florida. Last weekend I went to the largest college recruiting trip of the year. I decided it would be fun to take Tom along this time. We have been anxiously awaiting this trip for quite some time and were so excited to see 80 degrees and sun in the forecast. We left early Thursday morning in order to arrive by noon.
Looking good on the plane :)
After we arrived, we picked up our rental car and checked into our hotel. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and walked to the beach. It was a beautiful afternoon. We spent a couple hours out there before heading back to the same restaurant for a little happy hour.
The Shady Palm Pub was a couple doors down from our hotel with a good happy hour menu and a patio. Couldn't ask for anything more on a beautiful November night in Southern Florida.
Tom showing off his Oregon brew for our friends in Portland
The next day we woke up to cloudier skies. It was raining a bit too. Just when I was about to get disappointed Tom suggested we drive about an hour to visit the Florida Everglades. Despite all of my time spent in Southern Florida I had never made this trip. When we arrived in Everglades City the skies had cleared a bit. First we took a look at this baby gator and then we waited for our airboat ride. It was beautiful there, but I had no idea what to expect.
We finally got on the airboat and went for a ride. This is the other airboat out on the water.
We got a glimpse of "yawny" gator.
We rode around for awhile then went into the mangrove trees.
It provided a narrow waterway for us to pass through. I absolutely loved it!
So gorgeous and a surprise around every corner.
The trees occasionally opened back up into a larger area.
One time we found a gator swimming around in there.
A couple pictures on the boat.
I am so happy Tom suggested a day in the Everglades. It made the rain much less disappointing and was a fun experience. When we returned we went to the outlet mall and then watched some games at the lacrosse tournament.
The next day we woke up to beautiful sunny skies. We packed a cooler and headed to the beach.
It was a perfect beach day mixed with clouds and sun.
We even saw a stingray swimming around.
After a morning on the beach I went to watch some more lacrosse games. It was a great weekend mixed with work and fun. We had a wonderful little tropical getaway. Perfect lead in to the holiday season that is upon us!
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