This spring, I spent a few days in Florida as part of a family vacation. In addition to spending time with loved ones, the vacation provided me opportunity to go on three adventures from my 100 Dreams List. I have to be honest and tell you, reader, that I stole this dream from an amazing lady and friend who had it on her own version of a 100 Dreams List. There aren’t many things I enjoy more than a sunrise. And in the past, Florida had shown me the second most beautiful sunrise of my life thus far. While I don’t seek them out nearly as often, I appreciate the magnificence of a sunset as well. So, catching the sunrise on the East Coast of Florida and Sunset on the West Coast within the same day was a no brainer of a dream to add to my own list.
I sat on Fort Lauderdale Beach for about a half hour watching the sun come up that Monday morning. Planning this kind of adventure is tricky…because…weather. I flew from the North to the South part of the country, so I resolved that no matter what the weather was doing, I was going to be part of the sunrise and sunset that day. And did the weather cooperate to top that prior sunrise I had seen in Florida? No, it didn’t. It also put the cob bash on one of the other 100 Dreams I had planned for the trip (beginner surf lesson, I am coming for ya another day!) But I saw the beauty through the clouds that morning and let loose the plans I tend to hold so tightly. Those lessons have shown me a different kind of a beauty these last couple years. Once the sun was fully risen, I spent the remainder of the morning jogging 2 miles along the beach and then swimming in the calmest ocean waters I have ever experienced. Hopefully nobody on the trip will take it personally when I say it was my favorite portion of that vacation.
After driving the two hours across the state, Matt and I spent the afternoon exploring Marco Island, Florida. We soaked up the hot sunshine on the beach until weather again became a factor and a rainstorm rolled in. 2Shea’s Salty Dog became our shelter for the storm, where we enjoyed tropical cocktails and street tacos. The storm moved on and a calm moved in just in time to watch the sun start going down back on South Beach. We weren’t the only ones there appreciating evening glow after the rain.
