Mini-getaway: Daytona

Yesterday, we were supposed to head down to Orlando to spend time with DH's brothers and their families. Unfortunately, one of our nieces contracted what was diagnosed as H1N1 and so we begged off.

We really needed to get out of the house though. A lot has been going on and we both needed a break. We put our thinking caps on and decided to see if we could swing Daytona. It's close, a beach town, and just perfect for a night away.

Our friends recommended The Shores Resort. We got a fantastic rate on an oceanview room, and so we booked it and headed out.



When we arrived, Turtle wanted to check out the bed. He has a ridiculous obsession with hotel beds. What can you do? There was a really cute stuffed bear as part of the decor, and he had some fun with that. Fortunately, he didn't have so much fun that bear had to come with us, so that was good.



Here he is, testing out the pillows.



So much fun, mom!



The view from our room. Absolutely perfect.



We decided to head to the OceanWalk for lunch. We walked along the beach a little while before hitting Bubba Gump's.



I thought it was adorable how Turtle's burger came in this boat - complete with blue jello cup. Of course, his favorite was a wedge of orange that the server brought us from the bar. The server also brought him two "boons" (aka "balloons"). He LOVES "boons" and every time he saw one, he started pointing and saying "boon! boon!"



After lunch, we tried to squeeze in a nap, but it wasn't happening. Too much going on, I guess. We gave up, threw on our suits and headed down to the pool.

They had this great shooting fountain on the pool deck, and Turtle enjoyed letting his dino get splashed.



We then played in the pool.



Afterwards, Turtle practiced blowing kisses from the chaise lounge.



We went back up to the room to rinse off and change (Turtle was NOT a fan of the shower), and then headed down to dinner.

Yum. That's really all I can say. They served a warm rosemary and asiago bread with our cocktails. Turtle had a pasta that was a cross between mac & cheese and penne alfredo, which he enjoyed. We got a fried green tomato salad with feta, kalamata olives, greens and pickled onions. Then DH ordered a pork chop with carmelized pears, pureed sweet potatoes and braised collard greens. I was daring and got the shrimp and grits with black eyed peas, ham and some kind of Southern Comfort butter BBQ sauce. Heaven.

Instead of dessert, we ordered the s'mores kit. It was a tin with a bag of marshmallows, and then packets of graham crackers and 2 hershey bars, as well as two s'mores "tongs" (please note, we got to keep these, and I bet they will come in handy at home!). We mosied on down to the fire pit, and DH toasted marshmallows for our s'mores.



Turtle was quite happy to munch on my graham crackers.



Daddy and Turtle, watching for the sunset.



My new pedicure: raspberry margarita by OPI.



Affectionate Turtle.



Spotting a flock of birds. Or a tree. Or something.



Sooooo tie-tie.



We got back to the room at about 8:30pm. A full two hours after Turtle's usual bedtime. It took him about 30 minutes to get to sleep: he dozed off, propped on the rail of the PNP and the plopped down.

At 1:30am, he woke up and flipped out. He didn't know where he was. We brought him into bed with us to calm him down, and he finally allowed DH to put him back down. Then, it took a good two hours for him to get back to sleep. He was just giggling and chattering away to himself. Crazy! I was kind of hoping that he would sleep in, but the drapes didn't pull over the sliding glass door, so the sun roused him at 7:30. Oh well.

We wanted to spend the morning at the pool, so we rented a cabana for 1/2 day. It was a brilliant idea. It was comfy, close to the pool and shaded, so it was a nice place for us to hang out. We also had a great server, who took excellent care of us.

Shoes are yummy.



Lounging with Mommy.



Yeah, so here's a child who isn't at all spoiled. Kicked back on his pillows, musing over the menu. After all, lunch is a serious thing to ponder. He ended up with the grilled cheese, in case you were wondering.



Yes, Mommy? Can I help you? Yes, he's going to have high expectations from here on out! :)



We left around 1:30, which was perfect timing as a storm was moving in over the area. Three thumbs up for the resort and for getting away together!