I can’t think of a time when traveling has not evoked absolute excitement from my inner-most being. Seriously, I’ve been sitting in Caribou Coffee for about 20 minutes trying to think of a time that I wasn’t excited to travel and have come up with nada. Whether I’m in the car day-tripping to Wamego, KS or hopping on a plan and flying away on a new adventure, travel never ceases to be the piece of my life that makes me feel whole.
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As a new bride married to a man who has been in my life for (almost) 9 years, you’d think we would’ve had our share of travel while in-fact, the opposite is true. Our honeymoon marked our first vacation together. Ever. Crazy, right? Crazy (and unacceptable) which is why when we got married I told him that I hoped we would always make traveling a priority in our lives. It’s not about spending gobs of money or doing extravagant things or even going to incredible places. For us, it’s about continuing to experience the world together, saving pennies so it’s even more special when we get to go away and creating memories so strong we’ll be able to reach back into our love bank twenty years from now and recall the sights and sounds of these trips like they were yesterday.
Both of our birthdays fall in February and coincidentally it’s always the month where I am going absolutely sTiR cRaZy from being cooped up all winter. We’ve made a pact to ‘go big or go home’ every February from here on out. I’m sure that will look different some years (we joke about how victorious we will feel just to get a night away in the future when there are little Js and Lauras running around). This year, however, we went semi-big.
December delivered an unexpected Southwest airfare sale that allowed us to purchase our tickets for less than half price. Great friends offered to graciously host us and voila- our 2nd married couple trip was planned! Tampa called, we answered.
Ashley & Ben opened their beautiful home to us. I could’ve honestly sat in their house all day just soaking in the peace and comfort it exuded.
We explored like we were searching for buried treasure. No power plants (seriously), produce sections (I know, we’re exciting), Thai restaurants, Netflix cue lists and beaches were left unexplored.
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I never thought I would visit a power plant to see manatees. The surrounding water attracts pods of them, especially during the winter
So bizarre- but cool!
I can't ever get enough of February blooms.
Though the powerplant was not a romantic backdrop for photos, I fell in love with this tree covered walkway leading out to a pier across the water from the facility.
People thought I was so weird for making Ashley and Jordan stop to take photos but I knew I’d found something awesome.
Yes. I definitely don’t regret stopping traffic despite the surrounding skepticism. Life won’t stop to pose for you! (Sometimes I have to remind myself of that!)
In August I have the distinct privilege of photographing Lexi & Bryan’s beachside wedding. Ashley and Ben were up for a bit of beach exploration so we spent part of our Friday exploring Anna Maria Island. Ashley even ventured in to the visitor’s office to gather some maps and wedding resources for my next trip. The Motley’s were up for some camera time to commemorate their 1st wedding anniversary so I also got to introduce my Canon to the sandy shores of the Island. For more, visit this post (seriously, beaches and couples in love have to be the best combination i’ve found yet).
Although my husband looks pretty good with the beach in the background, too
I could soak in this view forever.
Anna Maria Island was amazing. We essentially had the beach to ourselves and we took full advantage. I was playing with my off-camera-flash, Ben was creating sand art and all of us did a bit of jumping around at the water’s edge.
And some of us rep’d our favorite school
K-S-U! Awesome.
After Anna Maria Island we ventured on to Siesta Key, Florida. The boys loved this beach just as much as Ashley and I, despite their tough guy appearance…..
Ashley and I didn’t fight to hide our love of the sand, sunshine and sea breeze (dose two of the day!). Who knew when we met (almost) four years ago that our friendship would carry us to all of the places we’ve been together. I am so thankful!
I hope some day our (future) kids look at the photo (below) and make comments like “When were you guys EVER that young?!” and “Whoa, look at your SUNGLASSES! Nice …” Oh yes, I can already hear the critiques of Aunt Ashley and Uncle Ben and of course, dad
As the afternoon sun closed in we left the seashell lined beach in search of good eats and treats around the town of Siesta Key.
The Siesta Key Oyster bar delivered. I’m still dreaming about the food we had there…..Not to mention it felt like we were in a little Key West Village. Time didn’t matter, the voice of a local musician carried throughout the open-air restaurant and sand covered the floor.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?
If you know me at all you know that in my world there is about a 5-minute window between the end of a meal and the beginning of dessert. Even though we were STUFFED from our seafood quesadillas, softshell crab sandwiches and oysters….my sweet tooth was calling. So, we ventured in to the local ice cream parlor for a sunset treat. Homemade ice cream in a dip cone was the absolute perfect end to our day.
The rest of our trip included exploring Ybor City- Tampa’s historic Cuban District and meeting up with our honeymoon friends for the best dessert I’ve ever had (thank you Berns Steakhouse!) It was truly magical.
Tampa, I love you and I can’t wait to see you again in August. Ashley, Ben, Megan & Adrian- we cherish your friendships dearly and miss you already!
Until next time,
Laura (& J)
by capturedinhisimage
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