Longboat Key

We had a great weekend--a short getaway to Longboat Key!  We spent a couple of nights at Longboat Key Island Resort and met up with a few friends who were there for FH Wesley Chapel Board Retreat.  For an added bonus, we got to help celebrate our friend, Gwendy Adams' 33rd birthday, too!  

View from our room.  Longboat Key Island Resort. 

We had a great time!  We spent Sabbath out on a boat cruising the ocean.  We stopped for a few hours on a gorgeous bird sanctuary island ... Egmont Key.  It was white sand ... clear water ... and not too many people.  Perfect!  The water is so warm right now, so it's the perfect time to be out at the beach.  We, also, got to see so many manta rays!  They were traveling in packs along the shore line.  They would just swim around us as we sat and swam in the water.  It was so cool!  Colton LOVED it!  He kept trying to chase them.  It was incredible how they would swim right next to us ... touching us at times even!

Brian was our boat captain, and Colton was navigating!

Khloe liked the boat ride ... when it wasn't going too fast!  She didn't like it when the wind got too strong in her face.  But she was enjoying it here!

The birthday girl, Gwendy, and her boys!

We made it to Egmont Key Island!  So gorgeous!

When we got to Egmont Key, we saw tons of Manta Rays!  They swam all around us!

Colton enjoying the water ... and our boat in the background!

Khloe loved the water!

Colton was so excited to see the rays so close!

Koki was looking for shells.

Just loving the water and the beach!

For lunch, Brian drove the boat to a restaurant off of Longboat Key.  It was fun boating up to eat!  It's not every day you get to do that!  We had some good food, and we met some more friends for a tasty lunch at the Sandbar Grill.

Captain Brian takes us to lunch!

Colton and Daddy enjoying a zooming boat ride! 

The gorgeous view! 

Koki wanted to sit with Daddy.

After that, we boated back to the marina so that the moms could take the kids back to the hotel for baths and naps.  Billy and Brian went for a little extra boat ride sans kids.  It was a nice break for them!

What a nice day for being on the water!  We enjoyed it and the kids had a good nap.

That evening, we went to Chart House to celebrate Gwendy's birthday.  We had a tasty meal, and a fabulous lava cake dessert--courtesy of a FH admin that we kept seeing out and about on Longboat Key all weekend.  (I guess he owns out there ... and it was owners weekend.)

We got some more beach time in this morning, and we spent some more time with the rays swimming all around us!  Billy and the kids saw a huge jelly fish, too!  It was a really fun weekend spent with some very good friends, and I'm so happy that we got to experience such a wonderful beach here in FL.  It's nice to find some of the special places!  The weekend was filled with family time and friends, and we couldn't have had a nicer time.

Enjoying our last bit of beach time this beautiful morning!  What fun we had!