Father's Day weekend getaway

For Father's Day this year, we thought we'd get away a bit to the other side of the state in order to enjoy the fine, soft sandy beaches and calm surf.  As much as Caleb enjoys playing tennis, we thought we would sign him up to play a tournament on the West coast of the state, instead of the typical tournaments he plays in the central part of the state.  That led us to hitting up Sarasota.  We headed over Friday evening...in a torrential downpour.  At one point, we had to pull off of the highway.  And when we did, Patrick remembered that he left the hose running that he was using to fill the pool back up a bit because the water level was low.  We were a good hour away from home, which meant quickly texting our neighbors to see who could get over to the house to turn the hose off.  Fortunately, one of them was able to help us out, and we were able to continue on our way.  Once the rain let up a bit, I took my camera out to try to capture some of the scene.

We were heading west, into the sun, and a lot of the rain was behind us.  So I managed to capture this rainbow in the mirror and then some of the sunset in front of us.

We finally arrived at our hotel about an hour after we originally thought we would.  So we quickly settled in and climbed into bed.

Thankfully, Caleb had only one match on Saturday in the middle of the day.  So that meant we could enjoy a nice, relaxing breakfast out and then head to the tennis tournament.

Although he only played one match, he had three lightning delays.  That meant our plan to hit the beach afterward was a goner.  On Sunday, he played in the semi-finals, and although he didn't win, he played a great match.  We're so proud of him.  And since his tournament finished up earlier than he was hoping, we decided we would hit the beach.  And boy, are we so glad we did.

Apparently, everybody else thought that Siesta Key beach was a good idea too.  We couldn't believe how crowded it was.  But oh, we didn't care.  The sand is so white, soft, and fine compared to the sand on the east coast. And the waves...or the lack thereof...just glorious for relaxing in the water.  It was funny to see people using pool floats and noodles, but that was because the surf was so calm.  Even Havi was floating on her back and swimming (though I warned her not to open her eyes under water because it might hurt.)

It was truly an awesome time.  We decided that Caleb needs to play more tennis tournaments over that way. lol  We absolutely loved the beach.

Anyway, we love you Baba, and we hope you enjoyed your Father's Day at the beach.