Resetting in Southern Florida
Florida is my happy place! I love the palm trees, the beach, the theme parks, the pools, the vacation atmosphere…all of it! Every time I go, I never feel like it is long enough. When we had the opportunity for a much longer than usual travel time, I knew that I wanted to go to Florida. My parents had long talked about the beauty of Southern Florida, so we decided to give it a try, and now we want to go back again and again!
Naples, Florida is a family favorite vacation destination!
Three years ago, our family had a huge and unexpected transition. This was during a period of time when my husband started from home full time and I was homeschooling my daughters. We knew we needed to get away to “reset,” so we took the rare opportunity for a month long vacation. Well, part “vacation” and part “living life in a different area”. We still homeschooled and worked for half of the time, but explored and floated in the pool and beach for the other half. It was glorious and just what we needed! It was a fantastic reset and I have very fond memories of that time in Naples, Florida.
This summer we got to return to Naples (and stay in the same house we “lived” in for 3 weeks) and it was just as wonderful as we remembered. The beaches are nicely accessible with beautiful white sand and lots of seashells. The water is clear, calm, and so so warm! The “peak” season in Naples is wintertime. The times we have visited are late spring and summer and it has not been crowded.
Our private pool in our (AirBnB) vacation home in Naples. We have spent many, many hours here and many more hours dreaming about being back there!
Aside from the beautiful beaches, there is plenty of other things to do. Some of my favorite places to visit are the Naples Zoo, Artis (art museum), and there is a beautiful, upscale downtown area with lots of shops and restaruants. Other shopping areas I enjoy in the area are Coconut Point Mall, Coastland Center Mall, and Miromar Outlets.
A short drive away is the Everglades National Park, which is very unique and interesting to visit. You can spot lots of gators, which are a family favorite (from a distance of course!!)
Hurricane Ian hit near Naples in September 2022. This summer, we did definitely see effects of the hurricane in Naples (such as at the Naples Pier), but most things were up and running there by the time we revisited almost a year later.
Beautiful Naples Pier with damage from Hurricane Ian.
Unfortunately places like Sanibel Island (which was one of my favorite spots when we went 3 years ago!) got almost completely destroyed. I know there are current efforts to rebuild in that area and hope to see it built up again soon.
I can’t wait until we get to go back and would love to go back for a whole month again, if ever given the opportunity. For now, we will take as much as we can get we can get it!
Sunsets over the gulf coast can’t be beat! (Photo was taken at Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, FL).