So the morning after Jonathan's wedding, we all hit the road in various fashions and directions. My Uncle Brian and cousin Emily headed out EARLY to drive back to Mississippi - their goal was to make it by evening, which I believe they did accomplish. My Aunt Gloria, along with my cousin Andrew and his girlfriend, took to the air to head back to Pennsylvania. The rest of us jumped in our cars and made the four hour trek back across the state from Miami to Bradenton.
I am so grateful that my mom, dad, and two brothers were willing to do so much extra driving to spend more time with Robert and I and see our new home. We made good time and got home around 1pm, hungry and tired! But I was prepared - Within a few minutes I had hotdogs ready to eat and we dug in! After hanging out for a bit, we decided to go out and do a little bonding at the shooting range. Boy was that fun! We've been wanting to do that for a long time and I find it ironic that my dad and brothers had to fly 2700 miles for it to happen hahaha. My mom opted to stay home and rest, which was just what she needed; after all, it is quite exhaustive emotionally to give away your first born!
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| watch for flying casings |
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| muzzle flash! |
After an hour or so at the range, we headed back home with a quick stop at Bradenton Beach so my dad and brothers could catch the sunset. Sunsets over the Gulf are incredible and we didn't want them to miss it! The credit for these sunset shots goes to Geoffrey and picnik.com - he took them, picnik processed them!
We stopped by the apartment to pick up my mom and then trekked on up to Brandon to hit up Skipper's Smokehouse. It was worth the extra driving - about 1 1/2 hours each way! Skipper's offers some amazing eats, including gator and fish and the most amazing hush puppies...mmmmm!
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| Dad (Bruce) - gator ribs |
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| Jordan - gator bites |
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| Robert - Ahi burger |
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| Geoffrey - blackened wahoo |
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| Mom (Nancy) - crab cakes |
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| Me - Skipper's platter (little of everything) |
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| She tried gator! |
My mom stayed with us that night while my dad and bros stayed next door at the Holiday Inn, joining us the next morning for breakfast. Of course I took advantage of having family in town to make some SCRAPPLE! Robert hasn't acquired the taste yet so I have to wait until there are others around who will eat it hahaha. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast then headed back to the beach for a bit before the fam had to head out, back to Miami for their flight. What a nice time being able to show off our local Bradenton Beach and enjoy shell hunting and picture taking together. After the beach it was back to the apartment for some quick PB&J sammiches before they got on the road. I won't go into it much because I will start to cry so let's just say it was a little teary at the parting. Anyway, they made it back to Miami safely and from there they got home in due time.
Thank you so much for spending that 24 hours with us! It meant the world!
<3
Christine and Bobert
P.S. Sorry for so many photos, perhaps I should have done separate blog posts lol
We stopped by the apartment to pick up my mom and then trekked on up to Brandon to hit up Skipper's Smokehouse. It was worth the extra driving - about 1 1/2 hours each way! Skipper's offers some amazing eats, including gator and fish and the most amazing hush puppies...mmmmm!
My mom stayed with us that night while my dad and bros stayed next door at the Holiday Inn, joining us the next morning for breakfast. Of course I took advantage of having family in town to make some SCRAPPLE! Robert hasn't acquired the taste yet so I have to wait until there are others around who will eat it hahaha. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast then headed back to the beach for a bit before the fam had to head out, back to Miami for their flight. What a nice time being able to show off our local Bradenton Beach and enjoy shell hunting and picture taking together. After the beach it was back to the apartment for some quick PB&J sammiches before they got on the road. I won't go into it much because I will start to cry so let's just say it was a little teary at the parting. Anyway, they made it back to Miami safely and from there they got home in due time.
So glad you guys got family time!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I like all the photos :)
Thanks Jenn! ANd I'm glad you converted me to blogspot!
ReplyDelete