Sunday Mark and I went to church, then on to Des Moines and few to Florida. Jake was home sick with cough, cold, and fever. I felt so bad leaving him home when he was sick. He was the worst Sunday and Monday, then went back to class and worked a full day Tuesday. Our flight got in at 9:30 at night and it was after 11 when we arrived to Dan and Angelia's home. Abigail was up and so excited. She greeted us and showed us their new fabulous home. It is gorgeous. The landscape is pretty, the interior rooms and decor is so neat. We all stayed up until 1 before calling it a night. We had a perfect guest room for our stay.
Monday we started the morning taking a walk around the block, then Angelia made us giant pineapple pancakes, what a treat! Us girls sat in the hot tub and pool while the guys talked. We skipped lunch and went out to eat at 4:00 beating the crowd. It was an ideal time with very few people at a popular restaurant in Sarasota. By the time we finished eating, it was time to watch the sunset. The restaurant was on the beach in the sand, so I sat with my feet in the sand. I ordered a drink not knowing it literally was a bucket. The food was good and we sat in the sun which felt amazing. People in Florida all thought it was too hot to be in the sun and sat under umbrellas. I chose the spot in full sun and thought it felt amazing. I have been cold for so long, the warmth felt great. Dan an Angelia brought chairs for us to sit and watch the sunset on a prefect night. Close to the shore, we saw and smelled the dead fish. There were so many! It was gross and I was so thankful I couldn't smell the dead fish. The red sea tide had created a mess and killed off so many fish. It was really sad. We could see the fish floating in the water near the shoreline.
Wednesday was Mark's birthday #49. We took our morning beach walk. It was sunny and warm at 7:30 in the morning. It was perfect. There were quite a few dead fish here and there and the smells that went with them. It was still a nice walk. I walk bare foot and Mark wears flip flops. I never got in the water with the red tide, it wasn't recommended. We ate a late brunch at the hotel. We spent the rest of the day poolside in a lawn chair and a couple hours out on the beach in a beach chair. Mark's prefers the poolside over the beach, I prefer beach. We had a snack and stayed in the sun until around 3. I got a lot of sun and had some good tan lines and got a little pink. Dan and family met at our hotel. Abigail and Lizzy stayed in our room, had room service and watched movies. The 4 of us went to the Chart House where reservations had been made for Mark's birthday complete with a personalized menu. It was a beautiful restaurant with a view over the bay. The food was great and we finished with a chocolate dessert. It was a great night. Abigail even drew a birthday card for Mark.
Thursday we tried to get in as much as we could on our last day. We were up and walking the beach by 8AM, then to the poolside to sit in the sunshine. I stayed by the pool until 10:30. I went in the pool and swam some laps and made one last trip to the beach. Mark used that time to shower and pack and look at his phone. It was another perfect and lovely day and hard to leave sunny amazing Florida. We ate at a fish and chips place over the water just before we headed to the airport. I had mahi mahi fried and it was great. I also saw several dolphins in the water. Our flight was at 2:30 leaving a sunny 84 and back to Iowa at 20. It was nice to get home and see the boys. Luke had been home sick all week by himself. he couldn't even be around his grandparents so as to keep them from getting sick. I think he was bored and missed us. Jake got home the next day.
By evening I noticed a few more bug bites. In the night at 1 and 5 I was itching and burning so badly I had to get up and put cream on. I woke to find hard red bumps on my legs. I counted 34. By Saturday morning I counted 56. I think it takes awhile for them to show up, but I react so bad to them. I had fears of bed bugs, but all the information doesn't match up, thankfully! FOr whatever reason, I am highly allergic to whatever was biting. The Florida noseeums and I do not get along. It was awful on Friday and Saturday. My nerves would be tingling and I would itch and burn from head to toe. It was an awful constant feeling of intense itching everywhere. I was so careful not to itch and I used every form of cream, medicine, ice, and oatmeal bath I could. I was miserable. I often get bites in Florida and react like this. Mark gets a few bits and they go away overnight.
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