Farewell Florida

Our two year stint in South Florida has finally come to an end. Although Hoor and I are excited to be moving back to Chicago, parting is still bittersweet.

As the school year came to a close for me, I found myself with more time on my hands and an urgency to say farewell to my favorite places and also visit new places in the sunshine state.

One of our favorite getaways in Florida is Marco Island. We spent 6 days on the Gulf Coast relaxing and shelling on the gorgeous beaches. We visited Marco Island last July with my family and were hooked. Since we had more time this time around, we were able to drive around the island and go where the locals go. One of Hoor’s favorite stops were Leebe Fish in Old Marco. This small restaurant serves up the freshest fish on the island. Once all of the caught fish has been served, the restaurant closes for the day. Luckily, we beat the lunchtime rush and Hoor was able to enjoy a generous helping of fish and chips.

While in Marco Island  I enjoyed a day at the spa while Hoor played a round of golf in Naples. We also saw dolphins playing in the water and witnessed the most beautiful sunset!

We drove up to Sanibel Island for the remainder of our trip. We stayed at the gorgeous Sanibel Harbour Mariott Resort in Fort Meyers. Our hotel room overlooked the harbor and the causeway bridge that connected Fort Meyers to Sanibel Island.  Our dear friends Sarah and Tony joined us in Sanibel for the weekend. Together we enjoyed a beautiful day at Bowman’s Beach where we saw dolphins once again!

 

After the beach, we drove to Captiva Island where we cooled off with drinks. Sarah and I snuck away to the Bubble Room down the street to get a couple of slices of the world famous cake. We made our way back to The Mucky Duck to sample the delicious cakes and listen to live music while being surrounded by gorgeous views of Captiva Island.

 

After our lovely dinner with Sarah and Tony

Our last day in Sanibel included breakfast at The Island Cow, shopping for souvenirs, and swimming at the hotel pool. Sarah and Tony, thank you so much for joining us and treating us to a wonderful dinner. We loved spending this time with you both and we look forward to future trips with the Perez Family!

Last week we continued to prepare for the move and we watched Miami Heat’s amazing championship win against the Spurs. Even though deep down I'm a Chicago Bulls fan, I enjoyed watching games 6 and 7 with Hoor. Talk about having anxiety during both games (thank you Ray Allen for saving the day)! Regardless, we had a blast watching the championship game while sipping on homemade mojitos! Thank you, Kelly, for the ingredients! While watching the championship parade on Monday, Hoor mentioned how much he will miss watching the Heat in South Florida, but from what I hear, the Bulls will be the team to beat next season!

We also said farewell to our South Florida friends. Danielle, Ryan, and Kelly, thank you for dinner at S3 on Fort Lauderdale Beach that included delicious tapas, beautiful views of the ocean, and wonderful company. Asif and Stefanie thank you for dinner at Rocco’s Tacos. We had a blast paddle boarding with you as well!

Since moving to Fort Lauderdale, I always wanted to go on a sea turtle walk through the Museum of Science and Discovery and this week we finally did it! We started off at the museum where we learned about the seven different species of sea turtles and their nesting habits. After the lecture we were taken to a dark and quiet section part of Fort Lauderdale beach where loggerhead turtles are known to lay their eggs. It wasn't guaranteed that we would see one because nature can be so unpredictable, but I was feeling optimistic! We waited quitely on the beach, in fact with the gentle breeze and moonlight, Hoor and I fell asleep on the beach chairs. It was a little after midnight when a loggerhead turtle was spotted by the museum staff. Unfortunately, some people from our group startled the turtle and she never made her nest. Instead, she made her way back to the ocean, but we all were able to catch a glimpse of her before she disappeared into the dark ocean. It was a sight to see and made this turtle-lover very happy! We're hoping she came back later to lay her 100 + eggs, but Hoor wasn't willing to spend the night at the beach.
Happy Nesting, sea turtles!

These last two years definitely had their ups and downs (far more ups). Perhaps I even had a love-hate relationship with South Florida. While I loved all the wonderful people we met and the memories we made, I hated not being close to my family and other petty things, like the construction site that now blocks our view from our balcony and causes mini-quakes throughout the day!

As this chapter in our life comes to an end, we are over the moon for the next chapter!