Hooray for the beach!
What a fantastic nights sleep, often I notice if the bed is uncomfortable but I have not even given it a thought here, such a comfy bed and a great nights sleep. We had a really good catch up and we got up at 6am.
I made Grace some pancakes for breakfast which Daddy also helped her to eat and they microwaved some Chips Ahoy cookies to go on top as I had forgotten to get anything...inventive I suppose
We had our breakfast out next to the pool which was lovely, it was another fantastic morning and very relaxing and great to not have to watch the clock.
I had some porridge with fresh fruit, it was lovely.
Our plan this morning was to get a walk on the beach done so we were out of the house by 8.10am which was pretty good going seeing as my DD and DH were actually swimming in the pool at 7.15 in the morning.
I have to admit that today is very very photo light, firstly because I did not take my phone out today and I still have not got the lead I need to upload my photos from the camera...I will add them later when organised.
I was not sure of the way to the beach and we decided to just get in the car and find our way rather than me sitting and working out where to go and how to get there and wasting another half hour.
We ended up on Boca Grande passing our $6 toll over along the way, we certainly drove the long way round but saw some sights along the way and soon enough we were parking up and getting on the sand which was absolutely beautiful. I went in to the sea and it was so warm I couldn't believe it...bliss.
We walked along to the lighthouse, it was boiling hot but there was a nice breeze and there was just no one on that beach, it was so nice.
To prove we did go I have included a picture of a massive shell I found, it is so thick too and the first one of many I am sure for our collection by the end of the holiday.
We drove home and were in the pool by 11am. We had decided that we would do a couple of hours in the pool and the get ready to go our and do a little bit of shopping locally and then have some food in Grandad's favourite restaurant, Longhorns.
We had another great couple of hours in the pool, Grace again spending every minute in there. We made some coffee in the percolator which was good and some light snacks, toast for Grace and fruit etc.
Daddy and Grandad also nipped out on the bikes provided in the villa for a little cycle up the road, every bit of exercise helps
We got showered and dressed and were back in the car for 1.30pm and drove to the mall at Port Charlotte, only just 20 minutes away. We went in to Bells first and Grandad spent ages trying on some jeans and got a pair of Wranglers and a belt for $44. He was over the moon that he got in to a 32" pair as he has been dieting hard since the 1st January and has done so well by loosing 3 stone so his jeans were a treat.
I looked through the Levis reduced rack and could have got some but none of them were the right style so I passed, but they were only $30.
After Bells we had to go to Kay Jewellers, if you have read my last report you will know that we always take our wedding and my engagement and eternity rings in to be rhodium plated again and inspected. It takes nearly the whole 2 weeks for them to come back so we try and get them in as soon as possible.
It took a while to get the paperwork together and to fill all the forms in for each and Grace was really flagging so as soon as they were all booked in we walked over the road to Longhorns.
We had a coupon for a free appetiser here so we ordered the Wild West shrimp and the Texas Tonion...old favourites of ours, even Grace tucks in to the shrimp
I had the grilled shrimp with a house salad and one of their Moscow Mule cocktails (the drink was the best thing for me today, it was a vodka and ginger syrup thing, lovely)
Daddy had the fillet with rice, Grandad the fillet with chips and Nanny the Parmesan crusted chicken. Grace had chicken tenders and to be honest her portion was so huge I don't think even I could have finished it, the left overs went in a box.
Nanny had a cocktail similar to mine and Grandad chose a beer. He always says to the server you are going to tell me a long list of beers, can I have no3 on that list please. Today's no3 was Yuengling, I have no idea what that was, but he said it was good and he ordered 3 so they must have been
It was 4 o clock by now and we noticed it was absolutely tipping it down outside! We decided to order dessert (not because it was raining but because we were on holiday
Nanny, Daddy and Grandad shared the chocolate stampede, which to a practically non chocolate eater looked disgusting and should be banned...they loved it and polished the whole thing off no problem. In fact I had to make them put some in a box for Grace for later! Grandad rarely has a sweet but he even helped them out tonight. I was also very naughty and had a small carrot cake which was only $2.99 and delicious but small...really...it was massive! We also had a round of coffees to go with it. A very enjoyable meal and the bill came to just under $150.
We left and it had dried up nicely, we needed to walk back round to the shopping centre but went to Aldi next door to pick up some milk first. For some reason I thought there was an Apple shop in the centre but I was mistaken and I really wanted to get this lead for my camera, so we had a little wander in Macy's ...they didn't have the lead in there either, but they did have some nice dresses and we are on the look out for outfits and my Brother In Law is getting married next year. Nanny and I both saw things we liked so we are going to go back tomorrow, we were all too tired and full up for trying things on today!
We got back in the car and were home in 20 minutes and then it just started to rain so we watched some to before I put Grace to bed. She was out like a light today again.
I am just finishing this report before we go out to the pool for a glass of wine and to watch the sunset.
Another lovely day in paradise and a hot 93 degrees today, join us tomorrow and thanks for reading