First Beach Day of the Summer

Going to the beach with Emma reminds me that the best things in life are the most simple. She had a great time chasing the seagulls, touching the water, playing with the sand. She was too excited to nap or eat her lunch. I will take her more often. The only reason with don't do it is because we like to take a tent and it requires at least 4 people to put it together.  If we don't take a tent, we can't last in the heat and the sun.

We saw a family yesterday that had it all figured out. They used a wagon to carry the child and everything else that they needed. Their tent was a foldable one that was easy to assemble and they had a small umbrella to put near the water where the kid was making sand castles. We have a lot to learn and since we live less than an hour away from the beach I'm sure that we will learn fast. I took a few pictures of Emma yesterday that I love. Here are some of my favorites:

Rainy Day in Pass-a-Grille

When one of my best friends, Ana, was visiting from DC in February we had plans to go to the beach as much as possible. She had not seen the sun since November and we've had plenty of sunshine this winter. It never rains in February but apparently it does if you make plans. We still went to the beach hoping that it would be nice and clear there. We drove towards the south end of St. Pete Beach, an area called Pass-a-Grille. When we got there it was foggy and "cold". We ate the sandwiches and snacks that we took, Emma unsuccessfully chased a few seagulls, took a nap, and we came back to Tampa. We stopped at the Westin Hotel at Rocky Point where it was sunny. We had a coffee and went home again. Emma wanted to get in the water but it was not a good day for that. I can't wait for the weather to get better and for her to enjoy the beach.

        

                      

                      

Winter in Florida

February and March are my favorite (weather) months in Tampa. It is sunny, warm and it doesn't rain. We have been lucky and our winter has been warm compared to the rest of the Country with their record low temperatures. This explains why it is impossible for Floridians to find an affordable hotel room to spend a weekend at the beach right now. I started my search when Valentines day was near and I wanted to get away for a few nights. I tried different weekends and I couldn't find anything for less that $250 to $300 per night for a room that I could easily get for $99 in the summer. I gave up on my weekend plans but I decided that we could still enjoy the beach like tourist and headed to the famous Don Cesar Hotel in St. Pete Beach. Our plan was to eat lunch and have drinks by the pool with a few friends. The pool was full of snowbirds who didn't mind the windy afternoon and the cold water. After a few mojitos and lunch, we walked towards the beach. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon with sunny skies and in the low 70s. Emma enjoyed every minute at the beach walking by the shore and crawling around chasing seagulls. We have been going for 3 weekends in a row to the beach.  The next time we go to the Don Cesar, I plan to make a stop at the spa while Emma and Andre spend time at the beach. 

**General info for those driving to the Don Cesar for the day: The hotel has 2 other restaurants where they will validate parking. The pool's restaurant/bar does not validate it. Self Parking is $15 and Valet is $25. Drinks were $12 each and most of the lunch items were about $15 each at the pool. Everything we ate was great.  

Emma at the beach

Last Sunday, we took Emma to the beach for the first time. She LOVED it. She was a happy baby playing in the water. We went to Treasure Island, our favorite beach in St Pete. 

                               

                               

I got a tent to protect her from the heat and the sun. The 3 of us ended up spending most of the day under it. I also used baby sunblock for her delicate skin! (my mom asked if I did). We were lucky to find a few trees and a nice shade. It was a hot summer day and this tent was the best way to enjoy it.

                     

It was an "adventure" to get all set up but once we got comfortable it was probably the best Sunday of the year. I worked many hours for 2 weeks and it was our anniversary weekend. I really needed a break from the routine and I'm sure that Andre felt the same way. I can't wait to be back to the beach and I'm sure that Emma will continue to enjoy it more as she learns how to play with sand. 

I'm going to follow a good friend's advice and keep this blog open as a way to keep some of the activities that I enjoyed before becoming a mother. Motherhood is amazing but one thing that also happens is that the list of your priorities is endless. First comes the baby and your partner, your job, house work, and some social life to make you feel normal and after all that there is time for you and what you like to do. Please forgive my typos and lack of formatting since I will be using the blogger mobile app and I will have very little time to edit. 

Beach Day @ Ft. De Soto Beach

The best thing about having family and friends visiting is that they all want to go to the beach. I took my friends to Ft. de Soto Beach 2 weeks ago. This beach is a little farther away than most of the Tampa Bay area beaches, but after the tropical storm Debbie in June most of St. Pete Beach are still in bad shape. We are getting ready for another storm heading our way, Isaac, apparently it could be a category 1 hurricane. We have to go buy supplies today just in case that the storm comes our way on Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully, we will get some sunshine during the long weekend and Isaac's path will turn away from us in the next few days. 

Covered in Sand Head to Toe

Ft. De Soto Beach Park

Summer Day @ Fort de Soto Beach Park

Debbie, a big tropical storm visited Tampa last June. After reading the papers we thought that the beach was destroyed. My sister and I wanted to go to our favorite local beach, Sunset Beach, located south of Treasure Island near St. Pete. We decided to go to Fort de Soto because the articles didn't list this beach as one affected by the storm. The beach was a little dirty, but other than that it looked like nothing happened.

The beach was not too crowded probably because everyone thought that the beaches were in bad shape after the storm. There is a new $5 fee to get into the park so I'm sure that there are less visitors because of that. 

Ft. de Soto Beach

Ft. De Soto Fishing Pier

Protected Turtle Nests

Everytime I go to this beach I want to walk to the fort. However, we always park too far away and with the extreme heat all I want to do is relax. This time, we parked very close to the fort and before I got lazy I walked towards it. It was nice to learn more about the history of this place. 

Ft. De Soto Beach

I wanted to wait for the sunset, but it is extremely hot in the Summer and we couldn't stay any longer. We need to bring a big umbrella next time to take breaks from the sun. Fort de Soto has been named to America's Top Ten Beaches list by Dr. Beach numerous times. In 2005 it was number one in this list. I never heard of Dr. Beach before living in Florida, but this beach really deserves the title.