Directly next door to our super cute hotel are two of the biggest surf shops in Florida--actually maybe the Ron Jon (a company we were familiar with in California) is the biggest in the world? Well, as a more pertinent fact, the Cocoa Beach Surf Company had a Starbucks inside, so that short jaunt became a daily trek for Buck. Sometimes we would tag along and wander the surf shops. In the first photo, the Gs were rocking out to a song pumped through the speakers near the massively giant surfboard display.
As soon as we could, we headed for the beach to see what today's slightly sunnier weather might have in store for us. The wooden pathway created the sensation that we were walking from one world into another . . . and in many ways we were! Nothing but choppy seas, a cruise ship or two practicing up for when the tourism industry is back online, and miles and miles of sand took over where the wooden walkway turned into a shifting path to the sea.
It is hard to see in the above picture, but the sand was blowing so sharply that it created a dusty fog across the surface of the beach. It hit so hard it scoured our skin and scratched our phones! Gabby's flip flops disappeared in minutes, with only the tips sticking out from the tiny hill that formed over the top. While I kept track of abandoned shoes and bags, the kids followed the slant of the surf until they realized how far they'd actually wandered up the beach. It happens every time to everyone mesmerized by the waves and the changing tides--follow the flow of the water :)
Our original plan was for two sets of friends, all from the office in CA (now in FL) to drive over from Orlando to spend some time on the beach. However, it was just too rough for little ones and too chilly to be in the water anyway. So, we asked the desk if we could invite friends to use the pool area, and they said, "Sure! Have them stop by for a parking pass and a wrist band." Well, that was awesome!
Scott worked with me in the writing department. His epic collection of action figures was always a stop on the tour of our office. I've been Facebook friends with his wife for years and years, but we'd never met in person. It was so great to connect, get to know her personality, get to catch up with Scott, and to meet two of their three kiddos. The pool and sand area were perfect for little visitors!
Our boys found endless opportunities to toss around a football, it seemed. In the pool, on the lawn, at the beach--Graysen even chose a surf shop football as his souvenir (I chose brand new Rainbow sandals--dressy ones, which Gabby spotted for me. I super like them and haven't had new Rainbows for a decade!) We might have broken some posted rules about having outside food in the sand area. Buck made sure to take a picture of Brennen eating by the sign. Ooops! Ha! I think it was because the hotel had a restaurant in it (not that that improved the plastic-gloves-for-everyone breakfast much). However, no one said a word to us about our miscreant ways :)
Oh, and a bit later my CA roomie and her husband stopped by to spend a couple hours as well! They visited us on their way back from their big ministry conference two years ago, during our summer of company. We only had a couple years to catch up on, rather than 20 like with Scott and his family. Funny enough, Scott is my roomie's husband's boss, and this was the first time they'd seen each other in person in over a year (because COVID). They both thought that was pretty funny--look at us, bringing Floridians together!
Originally, we'd booked a bioluminescent kayak trip for that evening. Of course we did this weeks in advance not knowing what the weather would be like. We were walking out the door when the tour company called to say, "You will be tipped by waves into the water. You will be wet. You will be cold. You will want to reschedule." They were right :) We did reschedule for the next evening, but now found ourselves needing to fill the remainder of this day . . . no time wasted :) We decided to walk down the beach (despite the sandblasting wind) and check out the pier. The pier, was closed due to COVID. Oh well, at least we got some pictures by it :) I think piers are cool! Oh, and then we headed to dinner at a place the aforementioned friend (last blog post) recommended during our planning chats. A restaurant by a name my dad would have loved: Fishlips!
"Sit upstairs," my friend said. "You'll see where the cruise ships usually dock and the giant sea birds fly right by your table and you might even see dolphins!" It was cold, so the window flaps were down, but we did see the giant brown birds--herons? fly past the heavy, plastic coverings. "Try the calamari," she insisted. "It's good and not rubbery there." Well, okay! We settled into the hopping restaurant, with extremely loud live music, and ordered calamari. Because we had to shout, the waiter's eyes got big and said, "You want SIX calamari?" No! Ha! When our fried squid arrived at the table, we all took the brave plunge (well, except for Buck because we couldn't guarantee he wouldn't flare up his shellfish issues if he partook). I mostly tasted the crunchy breading, which was very good! But I could only eat the little circles. The piece (like the one in the picture) with the little tentacle fingers--nope!! Brennen had no problem with that though :) We didn't finish it all, but I'd say we had an adventurous appetizer experience nonetheless. Also, for dinner--I ordered grilled mahi. Of course! Apparently Florida is big for fishing mahi mahi--Buck even got a hat to prove it :) Here I thought it was a Pacific fish. Happy me!
Buck and Graysen caught some sweet waves as we waved goodbye to Fishlips :) Such style and technique! I think we stopped at the grocery store, Winn Dixie (there's a book called that that we read for school a year or two ago), that night for PB&J sandwich makings and some hot chocolate. Although it wasn't exactly warm, it was still Florida. It still felt different, and smelled different--like vacation and flowers. Looking back, I think I could have happily moved into that little Beachside hotel (although their laundry situation was something else, which I did not enjoy--I started laundry at 8 PM in three washing machines, at 1 AM I gave up on getting everything dry and headed back to the room with a bag of damp denim. We dried that in shifts on the balcony chairs the next day, sigh. I think I used up all the pressed penny quarters I brought with us, and met some very odd characters in the middle of the night, but we didn't see any pressed penny machines--not one!--the whole trip and I knew who to avoid at the hotel the next day, ha! It was a late night . . . but it was in Florida!!)
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