This trip was definitely kind of planned last minute so we didn’t have set plans but it was so so nice to just get away and relax. Before I get into the deets of my trip, I just wanted to quickly say….Yes, I know about the global pandemic we are living in….I took every possible measure to be safe while traveling. After coming home this past Monday, I started my 14 day quarantine. So cheers to day 4.
Before heading to the airport, I tried to do some research on how things were flying which ended up being all wrong. I had the assumption that the middle seats for Allegiant were not being sold but it turns out that both flights to and from were basically full. I had someone in the middle seat on both flights which made it impossible to social distance.
We almost missed our flight going down because I had to work late so the plane was pretty much boarded by the time we got to the gate. But I still tried to wipe down my area on the plane with a wipe. I also used A LOT of hand sanitizer throughout the trip. Social distancing was non existent on the flight though especially when we landed. Everyone stood up to gather all of their belongings and it really just felt like a normal flying day. They served food and beverages on both flights which in turn had people with their masks off their face. On the way home we flew out of St. Pete so it was a much smaller airport. However, they did have every other seat marked off to help with social distancing. Again, no distancing on the flight as it was pretty much full. The only advice I can give if you do fly is wipe as much of your space down and everything you touch and use hand sanitizer before touching food, drinks, phone, etc. ALWAYS wear your mask.
Now for the trip recap. Seriously y’all, I had the BEST DAMN TIME. I’m so happy I went and didn’t let the pandemic scare me off. It was so so so needed for a reset with staying home and having a shitty year. As for Florida and the pandemic in general, there was not much of social distancing but for the most part people had their masks on. Some chose not to in restaurants and stores but I made sure to always have mine on aside from eating and drinking while out.
I took a half of dat at work since our flight took off at 1:30. It was about an hour and a half flight. The second we stepped off the plane outside, I was beyond happy. It was about 80 degrees when we got there. It was a very small airport which made it easy to grab our bags and get our rental car. Once we had all of that done, we headed to Public to get groceries. At this point, I was so hungry and starting to get a major migraine from not eating. So after the grocery store we stopped at Chic Fil A. Nuggs for life! After that, we checked into our motel. Yes, you read that right, I stayed in a motel. I grew up coming here but it’s been about 10 years since I have been back. Unfortunately, not a dang thing changed so that was a little disappointing but for $80 a night and the convenience it was fine. The room was like a 5/10 but we didn’t spend much time in there and I brought my own sheets, pillow and blanket because of covid so I made it work. For reference, we stayed at the Long Key Beach Resort. It is a one level motel that has an apartment style room with a kitchen and sitting area. It also had a little garden in the middle and a really nice pool area right off of the beach. It was literally like 20 steps to the beach from our door so I definitely can’t talk it down too much!
Hotels are a pain since you have a lobby, elevators, etc. making it not the best option when traveling in a pandemic. I figured since this was mainly an outside motel, it was safer. It was so convenient for my mom who has MS being all on one floor. They also have two renovated rooms on the upper level so next time we’ll aim for one of those! After we got settled in, we met up with my aunt and uncle who were also at the hotel with us and chatted for a little. Then my mom and I ordered Shells on Doordash. I highly recommend Doordash if you stay here. It was SO easy and they left it at our hotel room door so if I was at the pool I just walked a few steps to get it and had no contact. We both shared a salad, clam chowder and crab cakes. I highly recommend the clam chowder. It was SO GOOD! After eating, I ended up going to bed because I was not only beyond exhausted but I still had that pounding migraine.
On Saturday, my two cousins were coming in so my mom and I Doordashed IHOP Swedish crepes and then headed to this really cool coffee shop called Grove Surf and Coffee. It was like half a coffee shop and half a boutique. I got so many cute pieces!
After that we went to Starbucks and then hung out at the pool until my family came. Once everyone settled in, we went next door for a drink (beach bar) and then walked a few blocks down the beach to a restaurant on the beach. It was so hot and they had no tables with umbrellas so I ended up going back to our hotel while they got food and my mom and I doordash again. Haha. This time we ordered from Odis Mediterranean Kitchen. I ordered their turkey avocado wrap and it was amazing. So yummy an fresh! My mom ordered one of their salads. Once I finished eating, I went to the beach for the rest of the day.
For dinner, we all went to Crabby Bills which I grew up going to so it was cool to be back… It was a blast! But it was really packed! I ordered a glass of wine and some crab cakes. They were pretty good aside from being spicy lol! We didn’t finish up until around 9:30 so we headed back to the hotel, went for a walk and then went to bed!
On Sunday, we woke up and I of course ordered IHOP again from Doordash. There Swedish crepes are so dang good and I grew up getting them here at the beach so I made sure to get them as much as I could this trip haha. After eating, my mom, cousin, and her daughter drove to a little beach a few minutes down from our hotel. I went there years ago to go shelling and ended up finding a lot of good ones. Again, hit the jackpot!
After we got back to the motel, we went down to the beach. I ended up getting FRIED since we were on the beach for like 5 hours. Even though I constantly applied sunscreen I guess it wasn’t enough lol!
For dinner, we went to hurricanes which was a super cool place! It was right next to the beach we went shelling at. We sat outside under draped lights and all had such a fun time. I ordered a margarita which was one of the best I’ve ever had! For dinner, I ordered their salmon salad with jasmine rice. It was so fresh and really good. We then all met at Uncle Andy’s Ice Cream Parlor at The Don CeSar for ice cream. Another super cute place! Then finally after doing all of that, we went back to the hotel and passed out.
On Monday, I went to the pool area around 10:00 and hung out in the shade for a while to soak up the last bit of the ocean. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was fried lol! Once everyone came to the table, we went for a little walk on the beach which was nice. I saw so many cool things!
We also got pictures on the swing at The Don CeSar! Because you know…blogger things. The aesthetic of this place is unreal. I definitely want to stay here next time I come down.
After the walk, I of course ordered IHOP again on Doordash since we were leaving in a few hours. And before you knew it, it was time to leave. It was so sad to leave them since they are staying for a few more days but I was slammed at work so I had to get home. But I can truly say, I took full advantage of this trip. Every morning, I woke up around 630/7 and sat by the pool looking at the ocean and all of the pelicans. I even was able to see dolphins a few times. All in all, traveling during a global pandemic is a little scary, but it was so worth it! As for the current state of Covid 19, I would never travel so I was glad to get back when I did. That being said, if you made it this far in the post, god bless and stay safe!
withlovefromjordyn.com 