Have I told you I like spontaneity?

When Luke's last day came on the 28th, I decided that we needed a little celebration. Well, I'm not sure if celebration is the right word, but something to kick off our new adventures -- whatever they might be. I was wracking my brain that morning and trying to come up with something special; some sort of surprise that would make the day a memorable one, and I had a brilliant idea! Granted, a little bit complicated idea, but with a little bit of reshuffling, it could work. I remembered that a friend had offered her beach condo in Florida to anyone who would like to use it. Since Luke didn't have to be back for anything the next week and my work schedule was flexible, I decided to give her a call and see if it was available. It was! As the ball got rolling, I rescheduled any prior engagements we had and made the necessary arrangements to head off to sunny Florida for a week (or however long we decided to stay!)
When I told Luke we were heading off to Florida for a week ('right now, so jump in the car!'), he looked at me like I was crazy...but, with a little bit of explaining he was onboard and we had a lovely week on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen!
It was just what we both needed. A little spontaneous vacation to relax, regroup and leave our worries behind for a while. The weather was a little chilly when we first arrived, but we used those days to explore the surrounding towns and relax in our sweatshirts on the beach with our books. ;) The weekend, however, was really nice and Luke even got some boogie boarding in. (I was a wimp and couldn't hack the so-cold-your-feet-freeze-in-10-seconds water.)
Hooray for road-trips and wonderful, generous friends that let us have such a memorable week!

Truly the best-kept secret of Florida:


Isn't the water and sand beautiful? The sand was so white it almost looked like snow.




We ate a few meals at this place just down the beach from the condo, and they started having some pretty lively volleyball tournaments at the very end of our stay:


The sun was a little bright -- which explains why I can't open my eyes:


Poor Luke had to go boogie-boarding by himself because his wife wouldn't get in past her knees (in my defense, the water was freezing! -- what do you expect in early March?)