Ah…vacation.  You never last as long as I would like.

It’s our annual vacation spot.  One week in a rental house on the beach.  It’s perfect.  I just wish it would last longer.

Days are filled with bike rides, fishing, eating, drinking and pooling.  That’s about it.

There’s a great spot the boys love to fish close to our house at the dock:

Each year, we have to check out my dream house.  It sits on a point technically on the Isle of Capri.  It’s beautiful and perfect for my family.  And is worth about $2.72 million according to Zillow.  The owners obviously take great care of it.  There’s a pool that’s not screened-in…and I love that.

One of my favorite stops is Tigertail Beach.  Now – I love and hate this beach.  But essentially, the area in the red box below is Tigertail.  You can park (which costs a fee) or ride your bike in.  That’s where the red circle is below.

So then you walk over one of these beautiful beach access boardwalks….

And apparently you’re expected to see things like on this website.

Lots of blue waters, people paddle-boarding in paradise.  Kind of amazing.  Instead…this is what it looks like.

Just kidding – it really looks more like this:

So see where those people are? You can either sit here and relax in this buffered lake sort of area.  But it’s not really relaxing.  Especially during low tide.  So you have two options to get to the actual beach with waves.  You can walk around – that’s the red line on the map above.  Or walk through.  PEOPLE ACTUALLY WALK THROUGH – especially after this happened there.  I know – I’m a wimp.  We actually walked through it the first time we went there because we didn’t know any better and I almost died from a panic attack.  I just don’t do well when I can’t see my feet.  Also add carrying all your beach stuff, and a baby (at the time)….it wasn’t very fun.

This is a photo of people choosing the walk-thru option.  But once you make it to other side, it’s simply paradise.

It’s my favorite beach to go alone.  I don’t think the kids love it, because of all the walking.  It’s probably a 1/2 mile to walk around – not that far.  But it does get HOT.

The beach is super quiet and almost deserted.  You’ll often see dolphin swimming super close to shore.  You can also find some amazing shells in the area.  One of our traditions is to do a beach craft.  I have a favorite store on the island, Marco Island Craft & Shell Company.  It’s a must-stop each year.  Each child gets to pick out a project they want to make involving all the shells we collect.  Here’s this years final products: