Journal – cocktails & gratitude

We are spending this winter in Florida. Last year we worked remotely from Scottsdale, AZ for February and March. Shortly after we arrived back in Saint Paul, MN we had an early April snow storm. So, this year we extended our travels by four weeks; we are working remotely from January 12 – April 12.

Our first vacation rental was in the community of Carillon, Florida between the towns of Panama City Beach and Rosemary Beach. It was a lovely, quiet, gated community with a bell tower that chimed and played songs at the top of every hour. Our house was very “Gone with the Wind” with two wrap-around verandas. The beach was at the end of our block and since the beach had a Southern exposure, we could watch both the beautiful sunrise and the amazing sunset. The towns along the coast: Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Seaside, and Grayton Beach were all adorable. There were some really good restaurants; although several restaurants were closed for renovations during January (their quietest month of the year.) While we were here, both of our children visited and I celebrated my birthday. It was a little chilly in January, but it was a great month and the community we stayed in was wonderful!

The Carillon Bell Tower (guest appearance by Sadie)

One of three community pools, this one overlooked the beach

Our second vacation rental was in Naples Park, Florida. We were about a mile from Vanderbilt Beach and a mile from Tamiami Trail (Highway 41.) There was a Whole Foods nearby and an abundance of amazing restaurants within 15 minutes of our rental. This was big city beach living. The beaches were lined with large hotels and high-rise condos. Luckily, our house had a beautiful new pool with a hot tub and a tanning shelf in the backyard where we could forget we were in the city once in a while. We were always busy in Naples – our neighbors from Saint Paul have a winter home in Naples and my parents visited as well as my cousin and her husband (from Lauderhill, FL) and several Minnesota friends. We didn’t visit the beach very often here but we spent a lot of time in our pool, shopping, boating, drinking and eating out. Very fun!

I spent many mornings drinking coffee in an Adirondack chair on the tanning ledge

Morning walk on Vanderbilt Beach before it was filled with people

Lunch and a little wine tasting at Cooper’s Hawk Winery

Our third and final vacation rental is in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island. We are two blocks from the beach and walking distance from several locally owned shops, restaurants and bars. This town reminds me of a small lake town in Northern Minnesota. A lot of people get around the Northern part of the island on golf carts and beach bikes. We work during the days but once in a while we take a break to float in our little pool or take a walk on the beach. Everyone is very casual here… it’s a big night out if I put on make-up and I don’t remember the last time I saw John wear anything other than shorts. Sunsets on the beach are amazing and we rarely miss one. Around the second week in March we noticed an increase in traffic due to spring breakers. Since there is only one main road on the island and it can easily take 45 minutes to drive just a few miles, we agreed to utilize the free Island Trolley and Monkey Bus as much as possible. We’re really enjoying the slower pace of island living, but I must admit that I’m excited about stopping at our apartment in Chicago for a few days on our way home. Small town living is fun for a while, but I’m still a city girl at heart.

Misty Beach is the name of our little beach house in Holmes Beach

Sylvia, the flamingo, travels with us as our pool mascot

Getting ready for sunset at The Beach Bistro

Boating on the Gulf was so surreal… just water and sky as far as the eye could see

The dolphins entertained us in Tampa Bay

The three locations were very different and none of them are perfect, which is why we will continue our search for the next several years. Hopefully, after a few more years of travel and exploring, we’ll find a place we want to return to every winter. But until that time, we’re just grateful that we are able escape the cold and snow for a while.

I’ve had so many people ask us about our travels that I thought I should post an update. Everyone asks “what was your favorite part of the trip?” Of course, it was in Copenhagen as we came out of baggage claim and saw our daughter’s smiling face; followed by a long hug.

After that, it was the little moments that were the best.

We woke up early our first morning in Copenhagen due to the time difference. John and I got dressed and headed out to explore. Nyhavn (pronounced: newhoun) was so quiet and peaceful at 6 AM, much different than when we arrived the afternoon before. We just wandered and saw wonderful daily activities: people going for their morning swim in the Copenhagen Harbor, restaurant staff setting up sidewalk tables and chairs, and people biking to work in suits and dresses. We didn’t consult a map but instead turned down random streets and ended up walking by amazing architecture (at every turn!), past several well-known churches and Amalienborg – complete with Royal guards. It was perfect. We ended our morning by showing up to The Union Kitchen, which Kaitlyn recommended, shortly after they opened and we had such an amazing breakfast that we made it a point to go there for breakfast again the day we left Copenhagen.

We had so many great moments in Copenhagen, such as dinner with Kaitlyn’s local host family on our first night. The relaxed conversation in their kitchen was so insightful. We learned things about the Denmark community and culture that we would never have known if we had not met them for dinner. Seeing Kaitlyn receive hugs from her host family’s daughters brought a tear to my eye. Most likely they will never see each other again, but they have a bond and experiences together they will remember forever.

Seeing Kaitlyn’s flat and meeting her roommate Carley was surreal. I had seen photos and videos of the place our daughter called home for four months, but to actually visit it was incredible. I quickly learned why Kaitlyn spoke so highly of Carley. She was very personable and fun. We had a wonderful dinner together and I really hope Kaitlyn travels to Boulder, Colorado to spend time with Carley in August before school starts.

I could feel that Kaitlyn was struggling in Copenhagen. She wanted to show us around to all of her favorite places, but she also wanted to spend her last moments with friends that she may never see again; and she had to pack up her room and help clean their flat. I think it helped that John and I were fairly independent and flexible and only took up the middle portion of her days so she could spend her mornings packing and her evenings saying goodbye to her friends.

STOCKHOLM

Once we arrived in Stockholm at our amazing Airbnb in the heart of Norrmalm, I could feel Kaitlyn’s stress decline. She even said at one point she was glad we didn’t fly directly home so she could have a transition time from Copenhagen to Saint Paul.

We did not plan anything in advance at any of our stops, but I had a list of places of interest and we consulted travel guides at each stop to determine what we wanted to do each day. Our time in Stockholm was a little bit of a recharge for all of us since we covered a lot of ground in Copenhagen. We walked to many sites including the Stockholm Concert Hall, Gamla Stan (old town), the Royal Palace and the King’s gardens but I think we all enjoyed going back to the Airbnb for some quiet time each day.

AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam was amazing. Another beautiful Airbnb.

This one was located on the canal with amazing views and sunsets!

We had no idea it was a city of canals – very similar to Venice. John even got involved in the planning here and on the day of our arrival he found us an early evening canal boat tour. It was perfect. On that first day, we figured out the public transportation (which was amazingly easy thanks to Kaitlyn), then we explored and learned about the city on the canal tour with limited walking (bonus.) Fun Facts: There are over 31 miles of canals
with 1,281 bridges in the city of Amsterdam. There are 850,000 people and 847,000 bikes. Also, 12,000 – 15,000 bikes are pulled out of the canals each year.

We visited and toured many amazing places in Amsterdam including the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijks Garden and Museum, the Anne Frank Museum, the Royal Palace and the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. In Amsterdam, Kaitlyn announced she was tired and ready to head home. Good thing it was our last stop.

Our Kaitlyn turns 21 later this month. It’s funny how turning 18 might seem like a big deal, but as a parent, I feel 21 is much more significant. Not only are our children able to legally join us for a cocktail when we go out to dinner, but at this age they seem to have a little bit of a grasp on who they want to be as an adult. I know it will take many more years to really figure it out (who am I kidding, at 51 I’m not sure I’ve figured it out!), but at 21 they seem to be on their way.

Happy 21^stBirthday, Kaitlyn, and Welcome Home!