Workcation

View from my hotel room.

One of the great perks of my job is getting to work the events surrounding our board meeting in January...in Naples, Florida.

Oh yes, its rough, let me tell you, but someone has to do it! My boss and I headed to Florida on a Tuesday afternoon. Matt came to join me on Friday afternoon and my duties for my "workcation" were completed on Saturday night. Sunday Matt and I along with our friends Kim and Justin headed to Ft. Myers until Wednesday. Eight days away from the bitter cold and snow of Indiana, it wasn't long enough!

The majority of our events and board meetings were held at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club which is a fabulous beach front property. They have a great pool area, beachfront tiki bar and multiple buildings that make up their family owned and operated property. Not to mention a golf course and fabulous spa (I had my first facial, and it was amazing! How have I gone so long without one of these?!). If you are looking for a family friendly vacation location in Southwest Florida, I would recommend checking this place out!

Kim's bloody mary garnish looks like a face!

Sushi Boat!

This was my third time going to Naples for work and I was determined to make sure we tried different restaurants when we could, as most of the meal functions were a part of the work schedule. We did manage to venture out a few days and found some wonderful places, that most importantly, had outdoor seating! We had lunch at two different places in the Crayton Cove/Naples City Dock area. Both the Boathouse and the Dock at Crayton Cover were delicious, and you can't beat watching the boats come and go while you dine! There was a poker run going on Saturday afternoon while we were there, it was fun to see the boats coming in. It looked like so much fun! We also at Randy's Fish Market and Restaurant - wonderful seafood and great keylime pie! Kim and I got great bloody mary's with a ton of garnish, including a shrimp, which is my favorite part. We had to get our sushi fix while on vacation. I'm usually hesitant to try sushi other places because I know what I love at the local place Matt and I frequent. But we went to Sushi-Thai and had a great experience. The boat that the sushi came on sealed the deal for me!

Before heading to Ft. Myers on Sunday, Kim and I convinced the boys that we needed to stop at the Best of Everything. This store really does have the "best of everything". You can find just about any accessory item you might be looking for and it is very reasonably priced, which is the best part! I love all the fun jewelry and scarves they have but there is a lot more to this place than just that. If you are ever in the area, you have to make a point to stop in. You won't be sorry, although your wallet might be!

After our stop at the Best of Everything, we headed to Ft. Myers for the rest of our stay. It was a little chilly out, which was the weather story of our trip (mid 60's), but not a cloud in the sky. Matt and I were anxious to get to Sanibel and take Kim and Justin to our favorite lunch place, Gramma Dots! So off to Sanibel we went. Although I had hopes of renting bikes and exploring the island some more and taking Kim shelling at Sanible beach, there were football games on, specifically, the Broncos (since the Colts lost the week prior) who were playing the Patriots, which we naturally dislike being Colts fans. It didn't take much convincing, but we headed to a bar to catch the game.

We rounded out Sunday by going to the movies and getting pizza after! We saw Saving Mr. Banks, which we all really enjoyed then headed to Grimaldi's for coal brick-oven pizza. Although this is a chain restaurant we decided it didn't break our no chain rule since we don't have any in Indiana, let alone the Midwest.  It was delicious, but I don't think I am the best pizza critic because I love it so much, I don't think I have ever met a pizza I didn't like!
Monday was the warmest day of the trip, topping out at 73 degrees. We decided this needed to be our beach day! Kim and I enjoyed laying out, although it was a little chilly, we toughed it out while the guys played corn hole. Matt's grandparents, Nanny and Pappy took us to dinner Monday night at Doc Ford's, another one of our favorites. Beside the waiter spilling a plate of food on Justin (okay, it was pretty much empty, but food and silverware went flying), it was an enjoyable dinner!


After dinner we played a very competitive round of put-put. We played at Smuggler's Cover Adventure Golf, which was awesome! The course was interesting, had a lot of challenging holes and the set up and landscaping was beautiful. They even have live alligators in a few of the pond areas that you can feed. Justin and I had a fun time in the castle, sticking out heads through the bars like we were trapped. I've only put-putted one other time while in Ft. Myers, but this course blows the other one right out of the water. As must stop and they have discounts on their website if you put tickets in advance!

Tuesday was our last full day and wouldn't you know it was overcast, chilly and even rained on us for a little bit! Kim and I went to the pool while the guys golfed. We stuck it out through lunch, but couldn't handle the rain and cold any longer. Later that afternoon it cleared up and we headed to Captiva for sunset at Mucky Duck's!

After sipping some wine margaritas and watching the sun go down, we went to the Bubble Room for dinner. They are known for their desserts which was right up my alley and the slices of dessert are huge! To be honest, I could have just ordered the cake for my dinner! The Bubble Room has a very eclectic decorating style which makes for fun games of i-spy if you get bored. I love that this restaurant has been a stable in Captiva since 1979 and started as a few tables in a private residence!


Wednesday was our last day :(  and it was cold. The high was only 60 degrees and was very deceiving with beautiful blue skies. We touched it out and ate our lunch beachfront with long sleeves on. Before we knew it, we were packing up and heading to the airport.

Getting off the plane and on to the jet way was a rude awakening that we were back in Indiana and 60 degrees wasn't as cold as single digits and snow. It was a wonderful get away and always great to see Nanny and Pappy in the winter.

Lastly, I promise, I'm going to try to keep up on my blogging. I'm sure you think I'm a broken record, but I'm working on it!

This view never gets old.

Hola from the Roman's!