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Florida, Winter 2001 |
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Saturday, December 15 - Saturday, December 22 : Family fun in the sun!
Yes, Florida--land of the manatee, the divorcee, and the retiree. (And my former home for a year, to boot.) Despite our misgivings, we reserved our rooms, booked our flights, and crossed our fingers. As luck would have it, the choice was fortunate, inspired, or both. The Colony is one of the top tennis resorts in the country (ideal for me and David, tennis nuts that we've become). It's located directly on a long, sandy beach (great for Mom and Dad, who love basking in the sun for hours, and for our nephews Sebastian and Harrison, who love splashing and sand castles). And it's got a four-star restaurant and a full spa--just the ticket for my brother Miki and sister-in-law Colleen, who appreciate the finer things in life. David and I left cold, rainy San Francisco at the crack of dawn on Saturday, and landed at Tampa International Airport to steamy temperatures and brilliant sunshine (oh joy!). An hour and a half later--after crossing the spectacular Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, heading south on I-75, and weaving through Route 41--we crossed a couple of causeways from Sarasota and Lido Key onto Longboat Key. It's a little spit of land surrounded on one side by the Gulf of Mexico and on the other by Sarasota Bay and is lush, tropical, and secluded--there's one main road on the entire key. We found the Colony with ease, but ran into some challenges when we checked in. They gave us the wrong room configuration for our condo then seemed baffled when we asked how to get time on a lit court for evening play. Then they gave us the keys to the wrong condo (luckily, it was empty, thus sparing us some potentially serious embarrassment!). Then they also mixed up Miki's condo. It wasn't until the next morning that the condo situation got resolved to our satisfaction; all this made for a somewhat shaky start to our relaxing vacation. However, everything got worked out, and we were soon soothed by the spectacle of 22 tennis courts, a gorgeous pool, excellent (and free!) buffet breakfast, and the gleaming sapphire sea steps away. David and I spent the next few days playing as much tennis as our bodies could take--between clinics, playing each other, and playing arranged doubles matches with other couples, we were very happy campers indeed. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad enjoyed the beach and the outdoors, and Miki promptly scheduled massages for almost every day of his trip. As for the boys: they were happy as clams (which, we assume, is quite happy!) playing with Auntie C.C. and Uncle Monkey-Hat Dave (don't ask--a toddler nickname that stuck), harrassing Namo and Napo, jumping around the tennis courts, wave-jumping and splashing in the ocean, building sandcastles, playing on the swing sets, hitting the tetherball, and collecting the colorful plastic monkeys that the waiters hung on their drinks. The resort also provided a variety of beach equipment, and David rented a catamaran and took us all sailing, in various combinations. The boys thrilled to the speed of the boat and Dad, the former Navy man, seemed completely at home on the water. David even took his life into his hands and handed me the tiller a few times--I must say that I was quite successful at keeping us afloat, however. The next day, in choppy seas, David took out the sea kayak and entertained those of us on the beach with a series of dramatic wipeouts. (He did get the hang of wave riding pretty quickly, though, and provided me some great photo opportunities.) Midway through the week, we took an expedition to Busch Gardens. I'd been there once, about 10 years ago, and was happy to find that memory had served me well--the place is great. It's a combination amusement park and zoo, with the majority of the animals housed in their (somewhat) natural habitats. Thus, you can ride a flume log in sight of the white Siberian tiger's lair, hop a rollercoaster with a view of a herd of zebra, or skip from the bumper cars to the aviary with ease. The boys, of course, had an amazingly good time, marred only by a few crying fits and Harrison's unrequited wish for a pair of pink swimming shoes (the request was granted later that week in a shopping trip). Sebastian was especially enamored of the lorikeets, which were so tame they'd perch on a person offering them food. The boys rode the log flume several times with various combinations of Miki, David, and me, and couldn't seem to get enough. Meanwhile, Mom and I were awed by a lioness who pressed her face up against a glass barrier right in front of us, the baby hippo, and the sheer variety of animals in the park. Back to the Colony, where we continued planning a combination of solo and family events. David and I caught the premiere of "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings," Miki and Colleen had a romantic (and expensive!) dinner together at which they wowed the sommelier with their wine knowledge, and Mom and Dad visited friends down the coast. We had breakfasts together, spent an evening or two playing cards and eating way too much guacamole, and lolled around the pool with excellent margaritas. David and I met a couple from Boston, Maeve and Louis, and met up with them several times for some tough tennis (we won, heh heh). I also discovered the tennis shop, where I augmented my tennis wardrobe with a few choice items and bought tennis-ball keychains for the boys. I can't say that we were ready to head home at the end of the week--we not-so-jokingly kidded about returning in the spring!--but all good things must, of course, come to an end...and so it was with our Florida getaway. |
What's the perfect destination for a (1) birthday trip for Dad, (2) family reunion, and (3) activity-filled--and warm!--vacation? After months of tossing around ideas (Bahamas, Virgin Islands, a cruise), we finally got everyone on the same page when we chose the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort in Longboat Key, Florida.