Florida part two!

Part one of the Florida vacation.
-----------------------------------------

Here is where things got interesting.

Don't get me wrong-- the whole trip was an absolute blast from start to finish, and I wouldn't change a darn thing.

But it's almost like... you know how certain popular book series' (ahem, Harry Potter & Twilight) are made into movies so that Hollywood can collect milk from the same cash cow? And how the last movie has to be milked for all it is worth, in the hopes to gorge us silly Americans of our $12/film? Well, usually the first part is the intro, the build-up. Then the second is where all the hardcore action and excitement takes place like part two of the seventh Harry Potter movie.

It was kind of like that... except less end-of-the-world, and more civilized. Basically, this is where things got a little bit funnier. <--- Now that I've built this up to be some epic conclusion to a vacation, let me bring you back down to Earth. I just wanted to be dramatic and use the phrase "cash cow". :p More just, the first part was "ooh, Florida, pretty sunsets and thunderstorms." and this part is more "here is where we come in." More activity-based than sights... know what I'm sayin'?

Anyway...

Monday morning, Anthony's dad told us about a dream he had. He was walking through a basement with a crucifix and he was supposed to exercise a demon or something. He said it was really creepy and the demon thing was pushing him.

We didn't think much of it, figuring it was just a nightmare, and I continued to munch on my bagel. Then Anthony's mom came in, asking what kind of a crazy nightmare he had had. Apparently he had been moaning, and at one point he sort of grunted her name and said, "help me." So she tried to wake him up, and it took a few good shoves to bring him out of his sleep.

Then Anthony's brother comes out of his room talking about a dream where he was giving someone an exercism, but he couldn't see who or where. He just remembered saying "leave this body" or something, haha.

After that Anthony's mom claims she felt the bed shake. No one believed that because it was such an afterthought. She swears it was true, but, we concluded it was probably her imagination, or Anthony's dad rolling over or something, haha.

Anyway, after that, we went about our day joking about how there was a demon in the condo. That night though, for Anthony's brother and sister, I think it was more than just joking. His sister slept on the floor by my couch, and his brother opted for the balcony, lol. Dreams can really unrattle someone, I guess, haha.

For the record, I may or may not have heard little things during the night, and did get a creepy feeling from that bedroom on our first day, but beyond that, I don't actually believe the place is haunted. Maybe there was a visit, but nothing more than that, haha.

Tuesday we beached and clubhoused for most of the day, and, erm, returned to the Chinese Buffet place like a bunch of fat Americans. Haha. But man was that food good!

Wednesday was my birthday. I remember the night before, while sitting in the parking lot waiting for his parents to grocery shop, asking Anthony not to mention it, because I'm not big on a lot of attention on myself. So of course, he ran into the store claiming to go figure out what was taking his parents so long, and he let them in on the info. The day of my birthday, we went for a nice little walk on the beach. :)

That they were having family over to the condo for dinner anyway, and incorporated a freaking ice cream cake into it all. Ahh! Please understand: ice cream cake is the sole reason for birthdays, people! I know I said don't mention it, but I thought it was super sweet that he did it anyway, and nice of his family to make it special :).

Thursday was our last full day there. Anthony and I went to breakfast at this adorable little French bakery literally right in front of the condo. It was probably a 3 minute walk-- which was great, because it was always so hot, even in the mornings. Man I wish we had places like this up around where we live. It is my mission to find one.

I was starting to get bummed that it was the last full day. We decided we'd make it a nice full one. We beached it for a while (and the waves were awesome), and then finished up our final game of monopoly (we squeezed two into the trip.. they got pretty intense, hehe). Afterward, we headed back to Anthony' uncle's again so that we could print our boarding passes for Southwest. Since it's pretty much a cattle call free for all, the earlier you print, the earlier you get on the plane. The ticket pickup turned into a 3-hour visit that ate up a decent chunk of the day. After that we went to Anthony's cousin's house to check it out. Where we saw their fat cat (so cute!) and their extensive TV-show collection... impressive!

The final day, I was determined to get at least one picture of Anthony and I together. The down side of being obsessed with taking pictures is, I never get to be in any. So Anthony got his sister to take a picture, and then we got on a roll with a fun little photo shoot, hehe. Some of my favorites...

Sorry for the darkness.. we wanted to get the beach in the background.

Me smiling, Anthony making a crazy face. Hehe. :)

We were going to send these two to my cousin to piss him off... But don't worry, we thought better of it. Note the foot pop. :p

Anthony's sister Olivia and I had been mimicking Aaron Goodwin's (from Ghost Adventures) "big steppin'" thing that he does on Instagram. We did one in the grocery store, and then did one good one on the beach on our last day.... and? Not only did he like the picture, but he also commented! Win? I think so! Even if it's nerdy. Hehe! :)

And sadly... after this, we left. Plane ride was good, getting home was not. But all good things must come to an end right?

Here are some miscellaneous pictures that I didn't include before...

Me and Olivia on our second day with almost-matching sunglasses. And then on our second to last day, bored at Anthony's uncle's during the 3-hour visit.

Another view from the balcony.

Anthony cleaning something off my shirt. Like a true loser, of course I took a picture! :p Forgive the ugliness.. it was early and I didn't have any makeup on. Ew!

The monopoly game I mentioned. See all those houses on the far right side? Mine. :p hehe

One last picture from the little "photo shoot". It was too dark to do anything with. Wah.

All in all, it was an amazing trip, and I am so so so grateful to have been included!

xoxo