Zach was born and raised in Bradenton, FL, which is a suburb of Sarasota. I wanted to go there to see his hometown and learn more about his upbringing!
The vacation was awesome. It was all that I was dreaming of and picturing, and more. I was able to (finally!) meet his uncle and his wife, and Zach's mom's parents. I got to see Zach's childhood home(s), met his best family friends, went swimming in the Gulf (no oil spill there), ate at Zach's favorite restaurants, and even got to feed some alligators! My favorite part of the whole vacation? Zach's grandma pulled out a shoebox of home videos on DVD, that we sat down and watched of Zach as a little pup. It was so neat!
I would definitely say that this vacation brought Zach and I even closer together - I feel that this is something good for many couples to go through. There's a lot to be said on learning about where your partner came from and what their foundation is composed of.
Pictures!
We stayed with Zach's uncle/aunt at their condo.
They had the cutest puppy. Her name is Sasha - a Shiba Inu/Chihuahua mix. She was all play, no pause!
I should get a trophy. I EXERCISED while on VACATION. Geez! I attended my first spinning class I've ever done, with Zach's Aunt Kelly.
Zach and me with Zach's grandparents, Chris(tine) and Roger. This picture was taken behind the counter of the family liquor store they own - a big hit during spring break season, I am sure!
Zach's job during high school - he was a pizza man at Monty's Pizza in Lakewood Ranch, FL. To this day he can make a pretty mean pepperoni pizza. :-)
We stopped inside and had two slices of pepperoni, on the house. The original owner was still there, working. She remembered Zach and sat down to talk with us for like 45 minutes! She was a very bubbly lady - I was glad to meet her.
Zach's high school! Imagine going to a school where you walk OUTDOORS to get from class to class - and you can eat your lunch outside while sitting on a bench beneath a palm tree. Much different than farm-town Wisconsin. :-)
Zach's high school assigned parking spots to their students. I guess they had a thing where you could paint your parking spot, as a way to customize it and make it your own. Sure enough, Zach's parking spot and paint job were STILL THERE, seven years later. (Zach graduated in 2003.) He's talked about this spot a few times, and I actually got to see it! It's a blue 'Z' painted on a black background with lightning bolts. Cool!
I was told I had to stop at Salty Sam's, a bar in Ft. Myers, because it is a Green Bay Packers shrine in the middle of Florida. I stepped inside - and although I found a few Packers items on display, I was told they only get 'decked out' during football season.
One of Zach's favorite restaurants - DaRuMas, a Japanese hibachi steakhouse. A whole crew of us went out to eat! From left to right: Tom and Dana (Zach's best family friends), Steve and Teresa (Zach's stepdad and mom), Zach, me, and Jackie and Brook (Zach's dad's girlfriend, and dad).
Zach and I went mini-golfing and they had an alligator pond as part of their landscaping. You could buy a little pouch of meat chunks, string them out on a line, and feed the gators. Probably the coolest $2.99 we spent all vacation - I loved doing this!
Sunset off of Casey Key, FL. Our vacation ended at a beach party at some massive, high-end, private beach house right on the shore that Zach's mom's friend's ex-husband owned as a 'summer' home. (Did you follow that chain of people?!) Phew - we ended up in the strangest places!
Now it's back to reality. Back to work, back to chores, back to laundry and grocery shopping - and the next two months full of weekend plans. :-) Thank you, Zach, for such an excellent getaway. It truly felt like I unplugged from work and was in a whole different world. I learned so much about you, and I adore your family.
As always, I wish our time all together, was longer!
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