Anniversary Florida Trip

This year for our anniversary, Chad and I went to visit friends that moved to Florida a little over a year ago. We were hoping that we would be escaping the cold when we booked the flights about 6 months ago, but that was not the case. In Colorado, we have had a fairly warm winter with a few exceptions. We left nearly 60-degree weather to go to temperatures in the 40s and 50s. When factoring in the humidity and the breeze, it felt cooler than that, and we were not prepared. The good news is that there are fun things to do even in cooler weather. 

On Sunday after church, we went to Blue Springs state park to see the manatee. They congregate around the springs which are consistently 72-degrees because they can't be in water less than 68 or they will die. With Sunday being in the 40s, there were over 800 manatees in and near the spring. This made for great viewing! It was fun to watch them swim around and see the groups of moms and babies. 

Monday, we went to Sea World and Disney Springs. We had a lot of fun at Sea World. We went to all of the shows, viewed the aquariums and habitats, and rode the few rides they had going. (It was too cold for most of the roller coasters.) This was my first time going to anything like this. I haven't even been to the Denver Aquarium. The shows were amazing! I clapped and squealed in excitement multiple times. Going to Sea World was not on our original list of things to do. I'm glad the weather didn't cooperate to do the other things because I loved seeing everything there. 

Disney Springs wasn't that big of a deal to me. This part of Disney has no entry fee. It is kind of like an outdoor mall area with shops and restaurants lining the "streets." We went to a cookie shop, hat shop, the Star Wars shop, Marvel shop, and a chocolate shop along with the restaurant we ate at. The restaurant was way overpriced for what we got. I had a club sandwich with fries and a Cherry Coke. Chad had a grilled grouper sandwich with fries and a coke. It was good, but not something particularly memorable. Of course, we may just have a problem with fancy food. Who knows? The cookies were ok. Again, they were a bit overpriced for something that wasn't particularly memorable. At the chocolate place, we got a big s'more to share. That was fairly good. It was definitely fresh and had a hint of cinnamon. This was the only Disney type thing we really saw, too. I would say, I'm glad I went to know what it was, but it's not something I would really seek out now that I know what it really is. 

Tuesday morning, we went to a French bakery, bought a variety of pastries, and brought it back to the house where we all shared them. They were so good! It was a wonderful breakfast!

Then, we ended our trip with a boat tour of De Leon Springs where we learned about a lot of different birds. We say how the trees adapt after storms and how interconnected the water systems are. I wouldn't say it was the highlight of the trip, but it was fun to learn about the vegetation and wildlife in Florida. It was a good, calm way to end our trip before heading to the airport for the long trip home. 

Cruise Report

This last weekend, I went on a cruise with one of my best friends. I loved it! It was one of the best experiences of my life! I enjoyed it so much that Chad and I are planning to go on another cruise in a few years for our 15th anniversary, and my sister and I are hoping to book one once her kids are all grown (probably in about 10 years).

We rode on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. It was a nice ship. All of the crew members I came in contact with were very friendly. 

They had fun activities and great shows each day.

We mostly ate from the buffet. There was such a good variety of food. My favorite part was the cheeseburger bar. I also had soft serve ice cream after each lunch and dinner. They had pretty desserts other than the ice cream. I tried a few, but I'm not a big cake fan, so I didn't eat much of them. 

The view of the ocean was amazing from almost anywhere on the ship. Our favorite place to go was the deck at the back of the buffet, especially at sunset.

The best part of the trip by far was our stop in Nassau, Bahamas.  After the planned excursion was canceled due to a boat malfunction, we booked another excursion directly through the Sand Dollar Resort. Rather than just going snorkeling with the turtles and over the coral reef, we were able to go snorkeling over the coral reef, swim with the pigs, go turtle watching, and enjoy a wonderful lunch of barbeque chicken and rice with spices and beans for the same price. (We were refunded by the cruise line for the original excursion.)

What would I have changed? I would have packed as soon as we got back from the excursion and gone to the show the last night. I liked the shows and should have just gone alone since my friend was too tired to go. I would have also spent more time at the pool. We went one morning and didn't go back. I would have gladly not gone to some of the trivia events and gone to the pool. The last thing I would have done is go to the restaurant that was included in the price other than the buffet. I wanted to see what they had to offer with the hope of having something a bit different. I enjoyed the food we had, but it would have been nice to check out something else for one meal. 

Overall this cruise was a great experience, and I can't wait to do it again. Maybe I'll book a longer one when Chad and I go.

Considering It

At the beginning of 2020, Chad and I had decided we wanted to do a "no buy year." I am not totally sure what made me want to do it. I'm guessing I had listened to an audiobook about it. (Knowing me, this is probably the reason.) This didn't last long because I sought retail therapy during the pandemic. Also, we had a few appliances break that had to be replaced. 

I am considering trying it again. We have gone too far into debt and need to find a way out. I think this will help us do that. We also want to lower the amount of waste we create. This is why we recycle and compost. We started cutting back on our consumption earlier this year, but I want to do it even more. 

What rules will we follow? First, we are canceling subscriptions we don't use or rarely use. I canceled an eBook subscription that was about 70.00 a year realizing I was not using it enough to justify the cost. (I buy paper books for the most part.) I am also going to cancel my gym membership because I rarely go across town to work out alone. If Planet Fitness still offered classes with a trainer, I would go more often and consider keeping my membership. We will have to look at other subscriptions to see if we use them enough as a family to keep them. Next, we will once again cut back on how much we eat out. Obviously, we will go out for birthdays if that is what the birthday person wants. I will also be going out with Michelle once a month because that is what is helping me keep my sanity while working from home. We will have to decide if we want to allow one outing a month for date night, but we haven't made that decision yet. Chad and I will have to sit down and decide on our other rules for this "no buy year." 

What will this not effect? We will still be traveling. One of my trips is already paid for and another trip will be to visit our parents. We have already told our friends in Florida that we will have to postpone our trip out there. Hopefully, we can find another exciting trip for our anniversary. 

If this year works well, we will review our rules and continue into the next year. 

Preparing for Next Year's Travels

Within the last four years, I have been traveling a bit more than I ever have. Most of the trips have been within Colorado, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist in my own state. I know there is more to see, but I also want to branch out more. 

I have exciting plans underway for next year. First, we will be going to Florida for our anniversary in February. Chad wants to do something big for lucky 13, and we have friends that just moved to a lakefront property that have asked us several times to come visit them. Since Chad works for Comcast and can get free tickets, we will also be going to Universal Studios while we are there. Then, we will be going to Utah in June. We will visit his mom for a few days in southern Utah before heading North to visit my dad and (hopefully) run a marathon. Later that month, I will be going on a cruise with one of my best friends. She got some kind of killer deal through her job and has invited me to go along. I'm sure we will fit in at least one camping trip later that summer, but that is yet to be decided. 

I am so excited for next year! Now, all I have to do is save the money to make all of this happen. Wish me luck!

Camping with Friends

 Thursday afternoon, I left with some friends to go camping at Dewey Lake I the Red Feather Lakes area. One friend had a camper that we brought up, and we had a plan to go paddle boarding that night and the next day. We planned this for several weeks. Unfortunately, the weather did not agree with our plans. 

As we drove up, the rainstorms came in. There was rain and snow and more. By the time we got up there, it was only 45 degrees. We were all wearing sandals and were cold by the time we were done setting everything up. The decision was made to turn on the heater in the camper and play games. 

I loved Thursday night. Sitting at the table that would later be my bed, eating good food that one of the ladies brought up and carefully prepared, playing board games, laughing, and talking was the highlight of me week. 

The following day, we got up and tried to make a plan for the day. A fire was built with wet wood and the help of a fire starter log from our neighbors. We had a delicious breakfast prepared by one of the other ladies and hot chocolate in cute mugs that I brought. At this point, the other three ladies decided to go paddle boarding. My board was accidentally left behind, and I was already very cold and struggling to get warm. I decided to sit in a camping chair and crochet near the shore. It was a bit lonely, but I felt like a made the right decision. I would have taken way too long to warm up after going into the water. Even though I know this, I am sad that I didn’t get on the water. 

After a delicious lunch, we drove around in the mountains for a few hours before we were on our way to dinner and home. I was dropped off around 8:30 or 9 last night. It was a long day. My daughter and husband called me as we drove home. My body was tired. My emotions got the best of me at one point. In the end, I was glad to have gone and glad to be home. 

Dating My Husband

When Chad and I started dating, we went out in Tuesdays while the kids were with their dad because that was the only day we had off and I didn’t have to pay a sitter. Within a few months, Chad was laid off from his job and my regular sitter had health problems, so he started wanting the kids while I worked a late training shift at a new job. Then, we got married and jumped into life as a married couple with three kids. At some point, we stopped dating as we struggled to survive paying for daycare and other household bills on $11 an hour each as the child support payments stopped for a few years. We simply stopped making our marriage a priority. 

Within the last few years, we have started to realize that we need to rediscover who we are as a couple. This time we need to figure out who we are separate from the kids. In the meantime, I have become more social and realized that other couples are able to take trips and do other things without their kids. 

In 2020, we started taking trips without the kids. It started as a few trips to the mountains while Sean and Noel were with their dad and Eric got to stay home with the dogs. Since then, we have gone to Mesa Verde, Mount Rushmore, and the Great Sand Dunes. Each trip has been good in a different way. 

Recently, we have established date night again. Once again, we go out on Tuesdays. With Chad’s work schedule, it is the best time for us to go. Most of the time, we play tennis or pickle ball at nearby courts. We have also gone car shopping and out for ice cream. We have a deal that the person who loses the most weight over the past week gets to choose what we do, and it works out for the most part. He is much better at planning dates than I am. (I seriously chose to go fan shopping at Walmart last week.) 

I’m not sure how this will evolve when it starts to get cold, but I am glad that we have set aside time to be with each other on a regular basis.