Flashback Friday: St. Pete Beach with Mandy
Since this has been the week of Mandy here on the blog, I thought I’d continue the theme with a recap of our trip to St. Pete Beach we took in August.
This trip originally started when I asked Mandy if she wanted to go to Walt Disney World and somehow evolved into a beach trip! Mandy had never really been away from her two darling kiddos for very long, so I knew that the trip needed to be short enough that she would be able to enjoy it and not miss them too much!
Mandy met me in Bloomington on Friday and we flew to Clearwater/St. Pete Beach. It was an easy flight, no issues, and then we rented a car (I drove — those of you that know me know that this is a big deal!) and drove to St. Pete Beach. I love this beach area and it is one of my very favorite areas to visit. It’s relaxing, beautiful, and has some of the best ice cream!
As soon as we were checked in, we headed out for a walk on the beach. It was gorgeous and we were able to see the sunset. We were both thrilled to be at the beach and to be there together!
After our walk, we found dinner… and capped it with my St. Pete Beach favorite – ice cream! The lemon bar ice cream from Ice & Cream Creamery makes my world go round!
We spent Saturday morning at the beach. We grabbed coffee and headed out to the beach to lounge and relax for most of the morning. It was so peaceful. We talked, watched the waves, walked on the beach and enjoyed not being tugged at by any of our children. It was lovely.
Saturday afternoon, Mandy graciously went with me as I started the process (still ongoing…) of scoping out rental properties. This is a whole other post, but I am looking to purchase a beachfront property as an ultimate “Pineapple Escape” for my family and my clients (Mike and I went back to St. Pete Beach a few weeks later, went back and forth with the owner of the one we wanted and ultimately we are waiting it out and waiting for the right property… patience is not my virtue!). We looked at numerous properties and Mandy was helpful in helping me narrow down and consider the different options.
After our deep dive into real estate, we went out for crab legs. Okay, Mandy won’t touch crab legs — but she did eat hush puppies and chicken pieces. 😉
After dinner, we went back out to walk on the beach again at sunset.
Once it was dark, we found an outdoor bar and ordered Pina Coladas to enjoy. It was lovely! 
Sunday morning we headed back out to the beach and spent the entire day relaxing and chatting! We did break for lunch at Fo-Cheezy – which was amazing – but otherwise, we enjoyed a social distanced beach view for the entire day. And it was bliss! 
We eventually sat by the pool for a bit before heading to find pizza, ice cream and mini-donuts for dinner. 
We flew home Monday morning, so it was definitely a quick trip — but it was so nice! Mandy and I hadn’t had that much uninterrupted time together in ages. And somehow we never ran out of topics to discuss. Our weekend was filled with relaxation, beautiful views, and good conversation. It was just the reprieve we needed before Mandy launched back into school. I’m hoping I’ll be able to convince her to get away a bit more often now that her kiddos are getting older!
