One of the main reasons I wanted to travel somewhere coastal was to be able to spend time at the beach. Growing up in the Midwest has made me infatuated with the ocean. In 2010 I got to see the ocean for the first time when I visited New York City for a school trip. We went to see Ellis Island and then the Statue of Liberty. However the ocean looked more gray that day, and not as magical as when I saw it 8 years later when I visited California. When I visited California for the first time it was mid December. I was able to look at the ocean but not go into it. I wasn't really able to do much swimming either when I visited 10 months later in mid October. In 2023 I went to South Carolina, and the first day we were there we got to swim in the ocean. All of the other days of that particular trip had been too cold to go swimming. This trip was perfect for swimming and hanging out at the beach each day. It was always sunny with temps in the mid to high 80's. (The mid to high 80's would usually feel way to hot, but in Florida somehow it didn't feel terrible. I'm guessing it must be due to the humidity???)
We discussed what we wanted to do over the trip that morning. Besides wanting to have a beach day my uncle thought it would be fun to go on a dinner cruise. With our particular AirBNB we were able to select a local attraction from a list to get one ticket free. You could get one free ticket per day. We didn't even have to attend a presentation, we just got the free tickets. We booked the tour for that evening.
Before heading to the beach after eating breakfast and having coffee in our AirBNB we headed down to the pool. I went into the hot tub, and then sat out in the sun on one of the chairs by the pool. A crow decided to come and stood on a ledge inside the pool.
We went up to the room to grab some beach chairs that were provided by our AirBNB as well as beach towels. The ocean was just across the street and the sand felt soft on my feet. We set our chairs down before venturing into the water. The water temperature didn't need any getting used to. There was a natural levy a few feet in where it was shallow, before getting a little deeper again. People were looking for specific shells on the shallower part. I found a shell with an iridescent/holographic shine on the inside. It was so amazing being out in the water, even if it meant salt water going up my nose. After being in the water for a little bit we went and sat in the beach chairs to relax in the sun. I applied sunscreen 3x that day and at first only part of my arms seem to have burned but it seemed like more and more red kept appearing throughout the day. I would get new sunburn each day, but thankfully I had a really strong first aid burn spray that help heal it quickly, and took away the pain.
After spending time at the beach we went back to the AirBNB for leftover spaghetti from the night before. We rested for a little bit after that, before stopping back down at the pool. At the pool was a group of college-aged kids. We again hung out in the hot tub, and then I actually went into the pool this time. After pool time we got ready for the dinner cruise.
The dinner cruise was at a place called John's Pass. John's Pass is a touristy area with a boardwalk on the intercoastal highway. It also has tons of shops, including some quirky ones. We had some time to kill before the dinner cruise so we explored some of the shops along the boardwalk. The ones we went to were gift shops, and not any quirky ones. While walking to the cruise, a fishing cruise had recently got in, so there were piles of dead fish along the pier with people cutting up the fish. Pelicans looked over while this was happening. Near the cruise was a machine with the title "Hurricane Simulator". I guess you're supposed to step inside it and wind blows around? I still think it's horrible to have something like that in the first place, especially after experiencing two super devastating hurricanes in the past year.
The cruise was 3 stories. We were assigned to be on the 2nd floor. The first and second floor were enclosed with the 3rd floor being open air. The food on the dinner cruise was buffet style with free beer, wine, and rum punch. You could order other cocktails for an extra fee. I ended up getting a pina colada and a small cup of the rum punch. The buffet food was tropical themed. Some of the foods included a type of rice, teriyaki chicken, baked fish, and pineapple. There was also a DJ on the cruise who played songs with ukulele music within them for the first part of the cruise. There are a surprisingly big amount of songs with ukulele in them. After dinner we went up and sat up on the 3rd level to look out at the intercoastal highway. On one side you could look at the fancy houses along the shore, and on the other side you could look out at the water. On the side with the houses I spotted a dolphin fin appear above the water before disappearing and appearing again. It's so interesting that they swim pretty close to shore. You could also see some of the hurricane damage to the houses. I also spotted a dog playing out in the yard, and going onto the pier of it's house. On the water side you could see pelicans belly flopping into the water. That is literally how they get into the water even when not diving for a fish. They dive face/body first into the water and make a big splash. It's a pretty silly sight to see. The DJ ended up playing different songs throughout the cruise from all different genres. At one point it looked as though there was a whale floating in the water. (Google says that when a whale dies they float on the water before sinking to the bottom). It was gray and appeared to be the size of a small tin boat tipped over in the middle of the water. The cruise was 2 hours total, and the temperature in the cruise boat and on top of it never got cold. The cruise arrived back at the pier right before sunset. I was able to get a picture of it from the car. John's Pass was only a 10ish minute drive from our AirBNB. A cruise you could have also taken while at John's Pass was a boat painted like a pirate ship. Treasure Island really leans into the whole pirate thing. We ended the night back at the AirBNB relaxing for the rest of the night.
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