Setting Sail for an "Old Florida" Road Trip

I'm bacccck! And wow! How I have missed you!
I took a little hiatus so that I could be with my children and my husband for spring break. In that time, we traveled down the west coast of Florida all the way to Sanibel Island and stopped just about everywhere in between. I also made a quick trip to New Orleans for a girls trip and finally celebrated my daughter's birthday. Thirteen. I now have an adult child, a teen and a "tween".
Happy Birthday, Sister Sledge!

My how time flies when you're having fun!

Speaking of fun, I want to share all about my stops..and there are quite a few, so it might take me a couple weeks to get it all in, but I think that you will enjoy reading the information, it might inspire you to pay the expensive gas and hit the road. Life is a one time deal, right? You can't take it with you.

A little background on our trip. My husband, our oldest son and I lived in Sarasota Florida in 1996. We lived there for a year. At the time we didn't know it was only going to be a year, but we still made the best of it. It was like a vacation everyday. And my oldest child, "Bama" still has vivid and fond memories of our time there. So much so that for a time our younger two children have heard so much, they think they've been there. Well, we thought it was about time they made their own memories. (Bama took his own spring break with the college crowd. I am sure his vacation with quite different than ours, but I digress).

I went to my computer, mapped out our road trip and some places we thought we'd like to stop on the way. Our "theme" was "Old Florida". You know, before the mouse and  like theme parks moved in. Not that we don't love "the mouse", but we really wanted to experience those long ago tourist draws that today are mostly all but forgotten. And what we discovered is that the towns they are in are rich in quaintness, culture and a large dose of hospitality. Aside from our map, we did allot of asking of locals.....from where we should eat and what we should eat to where we should go and do. We made a promise of no chain restaurants just to make it more interesting. And I have to tell you....we had a blast!!!!! So I do hope you will join me in the days and week to come on our road trip of "Old Florida".

Better Yet.... Lets Sing it in a Song!
(Sung to Gilligan's Island Theme)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this southern port
Destination a tropical trip.

The mate was a mighty tech savy man,
The skipper brave and true.
Two more passengers and they "set sail that day
For a one hundred ninety two hour tour, (yeah you heard me!) a one hundred ninety two hour tour.

The minivan passengers at times, it could get rough,
Especially when the potato chip dip got tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
Momma's mind very well would be lost, momma's sanity would be lost.

The van set ground on the shore of many uncharted charming isles

With Momma Leigh.......Big Daddy too.....

Sister Sledge (and her cell phone plugged into social life)

J Smooth and his gaming pad,

Here on Bloggerita----isle.


So this is the tale of the Funky Town crew,
They're in store for a long, long drive,
They'll have to make the best of things,
Believe me, It's an uphill climb.

Momma Leigh and Big Daddy,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In the tropical destination minivan with zest.

No Mickey D's, no Taco Bell , not even Chic fil a
Not a single fast food restaurant would be visited along the way.
So join us here each day my freinds,
You're sure to get a smile,
From the very close confined, that grows closer mile by mile

Here on "Bloggeritaville Isle."






A teaser to tomorrow's post:
I hope you will "bring your tail" back to Bloggeritaville tomorrow!