A Family Weekend in Florida

I am arriving home from best weekend with my family. I had a free solo weekend with no work obligations or travel plans so I booked a flight to Florida last Tuesday, told my grandmother I was coming on Thursday (wanted to make sure I could actually get away) and flew out on Friday.

In case you’ve ever wondered how I manage to get down to Florida so frequently (I made 6 or 7 trips in 2024 – two were solo and the rest with Finn)…

• I book with miles as much as possible. I have an AA credit card that I put all of my monthly expenses on and then pay off at the end of each month. This helps me accumulate miles. I can usually book a roundtrip, direct flight from Charlotte to Destin/FWB for 15-20K miles.
• I’ve learned to check and re-check miles “pricing” multiple times a day, over the course of days or weeks. American is constantly changing the number of miles they charge for flights. When I first looked at flights for this trip they were 45-55K miles. I played the waiting game and scored round-trip tickets for 17K a few days later.
• I love booking with miles because it’s SUPER easy to change or cancel your flights. You have so much flexibility. You can even book a placeholder flight and then cancel and rebook if you find a flight for less miles. I have canceled my flights up to two hours before departure and had my miles fully reinstated.
• I do pay with dollars about half the time. I try to book these flights at least three weeks in advance (if not more) for best pricing and usually book economy basic. There’s less flexibility with this ticket but it’s worth the tradeoff for our frequent Florida trips.
• And lastly, I make it a priority. I really don’t like to go longer than 2-3 months without visiting. Family is important to me, and it’s important to me that Finn has a close relationship with my family. It can be really hard not having family in Charlotte or close by and these trips really fill my cup up. I will always cherish these memories we’ve made during Finn’s childhood and feel gratitude that they were able to be such a big part of it.

Whatever I do, I try to avoid driving at all costs haha. The drive from Charlotte to the Florida panhandle is brutal. Almost 600 miles and 400 of those are on I-85 with a trip through Atlanta. I don’t mind driving but 85 is the worst – so dangerous! It takes every bit of 10 hours to make the trip and it’s rough without another adult. I did it twice during covid times and I hope never again.

I got Finn off to school Friday morning. It’s not the same going to Florida without him but it’s a different kind of visit where I get to spend more time just being there with everyone and not running around so much with Finn. It’s wonderful both ways but we always miss him. I worked Friday morning – trained three clients and taught yoga – before heading to the airport. I was originally booked on an 8:30p flight but took my chances on standby for a 3:15p flight – and got it!

I arrived at my grandmother’s condo shortly before 5p to find her on her feet and waiting for me. She looks pretty good to be one month shy of 95, huh?

My mom came down and I made tea for us. We sat and chatted until my dad had dinner ready. We’re so lucky he does all of this cooking for us.

He made an enchilada casserole and salad. This was my first time trying enchilada casserole. I think I prefer them in their whole form but this is a great alternative for when you’re quick on time.

Saturday was an insanely gorgeous day so I took advantage of the cool weather and abundant sunshine and went out for a run. I had no plan – I thought I’d run somewhere between 6 and 12 miles and I ended up with an effortless 12! The run absolutely flew by thanks to a podcast that I think every single woman should listen to!

This is the best and most informative podcast that I have listened to in a long time, especially in the area of women’s health. I cannot recommend listening to this enough. So much solid information and with very applicable takeaways. Here are just a few of the topics I enjoyed:

• Intermittent fasting for women (spoiler alert – NOT recommended unless there are special circumstances – THANK YOU)
• How much protein women really need
• What to eat before and after you workout
• Working out during various phases of your cycle
• Training focuses for various ages (reproductive years, perimenopause, menopausal)
• Creatine
• And so, so, so much more

HERE’S THE LINK – LISTEN!

Once I got showered and cozy after my run – I got to work on a puzzle with my grandmother! We really enjoyed this puzzle and spent most of Saturday and Sunday afternoon working on it.

We puzzled until dinnertime. I wheeled my grandmother up to my parents place for a big family dinner. My dad had baked homemade bread and made a mango crumble.

Dinner was smoked beef short ribs with homemade barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts. Yum yum!

Sunday was a very rainy and dreary day but it made for great relaxation. I worked in the morning and then hit the gym for a quick full body lift.

And then it was time for the ladies cheese party! One of my grandmother’s favorite foods is cheese and crackers so we’ve created a fun tradition of having a big cheese lunch. I put together a big cheese plate and we invite my mom to join us. It’s so much fun and love spoiling my grandmother with a pretty and delicious spread of food.

I left her two mini cheese plates to have for lunch this week!

Puzzling, a little magazine reading under a blanket and some online shopping made for a very relaxing afternoon. On a related note, I’m now at the age where Good Housekeeping is one of my favorite magazines.

My parents and I were going to go out for a nice dinner at a restaurant in Destin but it was so cold and rainy that my mom decided we should just get takeout from our favorite local place on the island instead. My dad and I ran out to pick up the food.

Fried grouper fish tacos + hush puppies. We couldn’t stop talking about Finn because this is his favorite restaurant and he’s obsessed with the hush puppies (they’re legit).

This morning I said goodbye until next time. I’m always grateful for the time but it’s never, ever easy to leave. I sure will miss them a lot.