(Continuing where I left off months ago...)
It truly was the best vacation with my family over the holidays last year! We spent a week in south Florida, a week in Orlando at Disney World, a few days in Key Largo, and then finished off the adventures with three nights on Marco Island at the GORGEOUS Marriott resort. Dallas wasn't able to join us with work and sickness and Stuart and Gel had to fly home to get back to school. It was a lot of fun to end our adventures with just my parents, Dax, and I.
Marco Island is about 1.5 hours west of where we live. It is just south of Naples and is such a beautiful island. It is very peaceful and mostly populated with retirees and tourists.
The second we walked into the lobby, we knew we were going to get spoiled! My dad has been a loyal member of the Marriott family for decades now and since it was their off season, they royally hooked us up! They upgraded mom and dad's room to a massive suite with wrap around balcony and even gave us an adjoining room for Dax and I. It was stunning!
The lobby looking out to the ocean and pool areas
It truly was the best vacation with my family over the holidays last year! We spent a week in south Florida, a week in Orlando at Disney World, a few days in Key Largo, and then finished off the adventures with three nights on Marco Island at the GORGEOUS Marriott resort. Dallas wasn't able to join us with work and sickness and Stuart and Gel had to fly home to get back to school. It was a lot of fun to end our adventures with just my parents, Dax, and I.
Marco Island is about 1.5 hours west of where we live. It is just south of Naples and is such a beautiful island. It is very peaceful and mostly populated with retirees and tourists.
The second we walked into the lobby, we knew we were going to get spoiled! My dad has been a loyal member of the Marriott family for decades now and since it was their off season, they royally hooked us up! They upgraded mom and dad's room to a massive suite with wrap around balcony and even gave us an adjoining room for Dax and I. It was stunning!
The lobby looking out to the ocean and pool areas
Our views from the wrap around balcony!
Mom and Dad's room
They even had a TV on their bathroom mirror! Daxton's mind was blown.
More views from our rooms
The resort was located right on it's own private beach lagoon. The weather was still pretty cloudy for most of our trip, but we loved it regardless. After getting settled into our room, we walked out onto the beach. It was such an interesting texture, very compact and easy to walk across. Once we got closer to the water, the sand broke up into soft white powder.
Even with cloudy skies the views were still gorgeous.
We brought sand toys and found some empty beach chairs and set up camp. Daxton immediately made himself at home building sand castles and looking for shells.
Aren't my parents the cutest!
Gotta love Daddy's leg kick :)
I loved watching Dax and Grandma play in the ocean waves.
This little man belongs by the sea.
He is such a little beach bum! I love those golden waves in the wind.
Grandma and Daxton had so much fun searching for cool shells to bring home. Much to mom's surprise though, the second mom would show Daxton a shell he would grab it out of her hand and throw it back into the ocean. Then he would tell her it needed to go back to it's home. Needless to say, she started to hide them in her pockets :)
As I was relaxing on one of the beach chairs, I looked over to find Daxton like this...
I guess the 70 degree temperature wasn't cold enough to keep him out of the ocean...clothes and all!
Mom and Dad snapped these pics while I was off playing. It was fun to actually be in some pictures for once since I'm usually behind the camera.
After a "chilly" couple hours, we walked back to the hotel and checked out one of their large pools. We were super excited to find that it was heated to almost hot tub temps. Dax immediately got in, wearing his regular clothes, to warm up.
The next day we decided to drive around and explore Marco Island a bit. Mom and I were both very excited to see all the different Florida Panther crossing signs. We had no clue there were even Florida panthers!
We decided to get out and explore Tiger Tail beach a little. Dax and I didn't take mom and dad across the lagoon to the actually beach, but we had fun exploring the boardwalk paths and checking out the fresh water lagoon.
These two buddies are everything to me!
Dax loved running up and down the boardwalk.
I love my parents so much.
They are truly the most amazing examples of unconditional love, support, and generosity. It is the most amazing feeling, watching them build such strong relationships with Daxton. He really loves his Grandpa and Grandma!
After exploring Marco Island a bit, we went back to the hotel to relax, play on the beach, and catch another gorgeous sunset. Daxton loved kicking his legs over the balcony for a better look at the landscapers below. I still can't get over how stunning that view was from our balconies!
First glimpses as the sun descends
Grandpa and Daxton exploring as the sun sets behind them.
More playtime at the beach
One of my absolute favorite shots from our trip...
I love these two together so much!
As we drove back through Alligator alley the next day on our way home, we made a few pitstops to look at the unique scenery and use the bathroom...or in this case...for Grandpa to teach Daxton how to pee on all the fish in the everglades!
And yes...Daxton still talks about how much fun it was to pee on the fish.
It was such a fun trip with Grandpa and Grandma. We loved having them in town and all the fun adventures we were able to do. There's nothing I love more than creating lasting memories with the people we adore.
Thanks for coming to visit us!!
Thanks for coming to visit us!!
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