Last week was spring break. I remember as a child being so excited for the time off school and it usually also meant a 2 week trip to see my Nana and Grandpa and spend some time in sunny Florida. As a parent, I was excited for the time to be able to go somewhere new, see new things and have new adventures. Unfortunately a combination of work schedules left our family with only 4 ½ days out of the 11 no-school days to actually go somewhere. With the addition of everything being over the top expensive (airfare, hotels, cruises, Amtrak; you name it, I priced it!) we ended up just going across the state, less than 2 hours from home, to Naples.
Hubby and I had been to Naples once before a few months after we moved back to Florida. We went away for a night to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and it was our first night away from the girls though technically we weren’t sans kids altogether (Doodle was a tiny little stowaway!) The entire time we were there we talked about all the things the girls would love so knew we would be back.
At first I was really agitated by not being able to actually get away but as time got closer I realized we just needed to go away from home for a while and make the most of the situation and in the end, we had a really great time! I found a really great deal on a stay at the Inn on 5th, right on the main street of Naples and while it’s not the type of place we would usually stay with our family (we usually go for cheaper suites with breakfast) we really enjoyed our stay. The hotel has a really nice pool, steps away from tons of amazing restaurants and just a 10 minute walk from the beach.
We arrived mid-day Sunday to find the street closed for an art festival (which is ironic because the weekend before I took my mom to a restaurant where the entire area was closed for an art festival!). It was a pleasant surprise (once we found the back parking lot!) because we were able to have a nice lunch and wander the market to use up some time before our room was ready. The girls went for a swim and we settled into our room before heading out for a sushi dinner (per Honeybun’s request!) and a long stroll through Trader Joe’s (which we do not have nearby yet).
The next morning we headed to the beach. While the girls have been many, many times and Doodles technically been, this was his first time in the water and with free range in the sand. He absolutely hated it, every single second! He refused to put his hands down in the sand and was kind of ok with his feet in the water until a wave splashed up his legs and he was done, we never recovered. BUT, the girls had a great time making a coconut sand castle, collecting shells and splashing in the water with hubby (and Honeybun couldn’t wait to go back to school and tell her friends she swam in the Gulf of Mexico!
We headed to Tin City for lunch, which is a very cute little area with touristy shops and a few restaurants right on the water. We wandered around for a while, browsing the shops and trying to get Doodle to sleep and when he FINALLY fell asleep, we had a nice lunch right on the water where the girls could watch the boats and pelicans.
After lunch we headed to the Naples Zoo. It’s a smaller Zoo, but we had a really great visit. In addition to the animal exhibits, the zoo also has live shows, animal feedings, and a boat ride which are all included in your admission. For an extra fee, you can also feed the giraffes or ride a camel. After our terrified Sugarplum experience with the camels in Tunisia, we decided to try again and both girls loved it this time! The zoo was not very busy and we spent quite a long time there wandering around and were able to see everything.
That night we ended up at IM Tapas, a really nice Spanish restaurant that we almost walked out of. The white tablecloths and dimmed lighting made us question if it was a good place for us but we were there, we were hungry and we decided to give our children the opportunity to make us proud and they really did! As soon as we walked in, another guest handed each of the girls a pen light which kept them entertained the whole time (this is the 2nd time another restaurant-goer has given our kids toys!) We’re lucky that our kids are used to eating out and have been to a good share of nice restaurants. We’re also pleased that they’re adventurous eaters and that night ate gazpacho, chorizo, spinach (per Sugarplum’s request) and duck and the manager/owner even came by the table and told us how pleased he was to see kids in the restaurant!
The third day was a bit colder and the weather was iffy but we decided to trek up to Ft. Myers and see the Edison Ford Winter Estates. I’d never been but hubby remembers visiting a few times as a child and really wanted to share it with his kids and I’m always up for visiting a historical place! As we walked in, a mom stopped us and explained how terrible it was and how bored her kids were but we decided to go through with the visit anyways, our kids have survived the Louvre, Dachau and a tour through a Spanish Monastery (in Spanish!) surely this wouldn’t be that bad and it wasn’t. Though Honeybun was in one of her moods we still had a nice visit and I THINK everyone enjoyed it.
We then hit a BurgerQue, great little local barbeque restaurant with beer garden and then we headed for a round of mini golf. I pointed out the ominous clouds as we approached but hubby wasn’t worried. Turns out we should have been and got stuck in a 20 minute downpour which ended with everyone except Doodle thoroughly soaked (he was in the buggy and I covered him with my sling which was soaked and unusable the rest of the trip.) Other than that, though, we had a great time golfing (I even got a hole in 1!)
Our last day there we went swimming after breakfast and before checking out of our hotel. We then headed to the Children’s Museum of Naples which was fantastic! The museum is bright, new and has tons to do and keep all the little ones entertained. They have a grocery store, restaurant, vet’s office, fishing hole, art studio and a room for every season (“Do you want to build a snowman?” Well, you can!) We spent all morning there and visited every single exhibit including a lot of time in their outdoor area which includes a turf hill, art area and water play area (which it was too chilly to do that day). It was the perfect culmination to our trip and wore out the kids enough for them to sleep the entire drive home.
