Hey friends!

I just got back from FLA with my famjam and it was a fabulous time of relaxing, exploring & eating!

Florida has been that “family cottage” for me and my family for many years. It’s the place where we’ve escaped east coast winters for a few weeks of intentional family time, relaxation, dreaming & fun.

The dreaming part for me is always huge on vacation, it allows you the breathe, the space to turn from the day to day functionalities of reaching your goals, to reflecting, looking at what you’ve been investing in, seeing, looking forward, and dreaming about what’s next. And that’s usually all in the company of PEOPLE that have my back, are my biggest cheerleaders and supporters.

Times like these are SO important! For everyone with a goal of any kind, a pursuit of any kind, an ambition of any kind. It’s important to run from the day to day, get your head up above, have space to dream and breathe and reflect with PEOPLE that will encourage, listen and support.

Maybe right now you can be one of those SUPPORTERS to someone in your circle, or maybe you are the one that needs to perhaps intentionally get away to D R E A M & B R E A T H E.

But as promised, here’s my review of FLORIDA. I’ve listed out the cities I’ve been & my fav experiences in each! <3

St. Pete’s Beach

St. Pete’s is my ultimate favorite, and this could be partly nostalgic of growing up here, but it is the ultimate place of relaxation. It’s not a party place, it’s low-key, ocean breeze, sea gulls squawking, little ma & pa restaurants & ice cream shops. The beach is peppered with little 3 story beach condos & hotels that aren’t anything fancy but refreshing pools, the beach across the street and everything you need within 3km. No need for a car, walk the strip, head over to the beach shack for a morning coffee to accompany your walk on the beach, or hit the 5 km run to the pink castle. I think overall, St. Pete’s has that homy feel. You make it home and feel settled immediately. Here are some of my St. Pete’s Beach favs!

Where to stay?
Golf Winds Resort: great little condos, pink building, palm trees, private pool, great location right across from the beach.

Where to eat?
WOODY’S: my favourite beach bar shack, watch the sunset, the fries and margaritas are AMAZING.

Beach Shack: across from golf winds, great coffee, breakfast, lunch, right on the beach.

The Cone: Great ice cream & cute aesthetic!

The Pink Castle: This amazing property is full of great photo ops & great dining options. From outside to inside, beach casual to formal, they’ve got all the options! I like their breakfast menu beach side. Pancakes are amazing!

The Hilton Revolving Restaurant: This is a family MUST each year we visit. They’ve got an amazing rooftop panoramic restaurant. You definitely want to make a reservation, and if you want to get a deal, get the LATEST lunch sitting as the menu is much cheaper than the dinner menu but equally as good. The views of the beach are AMAZING. After your late lunch, check out their outdoor deck one level down with amazing views, music, apps & beverages. This is a GREAT place to watch the sunset!

What to do?
Some other highlights I would hit are: Treasure Island, John’s Pass, Jet Ski or parasail, or do the sunset cruise!

South Beach, Miami

South Beach is an amazing destination with so much action and culture. It’s a place you will NOT be bored. I suggest NOT going around a high time like March Break, but before or after, you should be okay! It’s never NOT going to be full, but a little less busy is nice! The aesthetic of this area being art deco, is gorgeous, very picturesque, boutique hotels & lots of color, music, food & action! I suggest visiting here for 3 nights, any more is almost TOO much, I would pair it with a more relaxing area such as clearwater, st. Pete’s, or Hollywood beach.

Where to stay?

Four Points Sheraton
Carlyle
The Penguin

Try & get something right on the main strip across from the beach! Read reviews & you’ll be okay! If you want something quiet, you’ll want to go with one of the larger chain branded hotels, the boutique hotels are super cool but are often loud being right in the midst of all the action on the strip.

Where to eat?

The BIG Pink - AMAZING menu, huge portions, get a burger!
Lincoln Road - Any restaurant here is going to be an awesome outdoor dining experience!

What to do?

Walk the strip, run the beach, enjoy a rooftop restaurant, and be sure to hit up Lincoln Road Mall— it’s an outdoor “mall” with outdoor dining, coffee, ice cream and shopping with large pedestrian walk ways!

Orlando

Where to stay?

We’ve always had great experiences at Marriott properties or the time share options are always great as one time stays as well! This is the time share capital of the world! You can often get great flight + hotel deals through a variety of travel website and airlines that make for a great vacation that doesn’t break the bank!

Where to eat?

CHECKERS: This was in my blog photo :S! This is an amazing fast food drive in. The chicken & checker burgers are always 2 for $3 and fries are $1.58. Cones are always $1. A family of 4 can eat here for $10. I just love it.

Hard Rock Cafe Universal Studios: Whether or not you decide to invest int he themes parks, you can still get a great “theme park” experience for FREE visiting the “city walk”. Universal Studios has a FREE area with 50+ restaurants, sweet shops, cafes, free boat rides, fire works and shops that is AWESOME to visit! It has that grand theme park feel without the admission fee, and also without the rides. But the hype i s real! You can actually take a free boat ride through the river that runs through the park & the park resort hotels, it’s super interesting to see! The restaurants here are awesome, pick any! My favorite is the Hard Rock Cafe.

Cheesecake Factory: I love the portion sizes, the table bread and the cheesecake. We order a sante fe salad, the cashew nut chicken & nachos and finish with a Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake! Lots of the pumpernickel bread to start!

What to do?

Be sure to hit up Downtown Disney for food, shops, entertainment FOR FREE! Also Universal Studios City Walk is free admission as well. Of course the parks are all great, but not a must to have a great time in Orlando. Swim, drive to the near by coco beach, mini golf is everywhere! Have fun!

Hollywood beach:

Hollywood beach is a GREAT day trip or full week destination. It’s a beautiful beach with a great boardwalk that will bring you along local restaurants, shops, ice cream and hotels! It’s also a great boardwalk to run! By absolute FAV pizza in on Hollywood beach, ROCCOs pizza, make sure you stop here!

Coco Beach:

This is a GREAT beach to visit especially if you’re in Orlando and are looking for some beach time! It’s about an hour drive and is gorgeous with a huge beach that you can walk out for .5 km and stiil safetly touch bottom! The waves are amazing and is often referred to as the surfer capital of Florida! There’s a huge pier that you can walk out on, dine on, watch surfers on, lots of little local restaurants and ice cream shops too!