If you’ve noticed a trend that we go on trips every 2-3
weeks, our trend continued through August.
A year ago, we moved to Florida for
a few reasons, the biggest one being an MBA program for Brian. We wanted to be
in Florida for at least a year before the program started so we could get
in-state residency tuition, and spend some time with my grandma who lives in
Clearwater, which is about 2 ½ hours from Gainesville, where the University of
Florida is located.
The U of FL has one of the top ten ranked MBAs in the
country with multiple different options. Because Brian’s undergrad degree is in
business and finance, he was eligible to do an intense, 16-month accelerated
hybrid program. The program started with a week of foundation review, 10 tests to
finalize his qualification into the program, and one day in class with his
classes for the first semester.
We left our house at 4:30 AM on the 12th
to make it to Gainesville by 7:30 for the first day (a Sunday, yes he had a 13
hour day on a Sunday). Brian had information sessions and a welcome reception
that kept him busy until 8:30 PM that day. The rest of the week, including
Saturday, he had the foundations review classes from 8 AM-5 PM and Sunday the
19th he had his first day of class for the first semester.
Since it’s a hybrid program, it’s mostly online and he just
has to be on campus for exams and projects at the end of every term: this
December, April 2019, August 2019, and December 2019. He’ll graduate in
December of 2019! Since he would be gone for a whole week for the start of the
program and there wasn’t anything keeping us in Clearwater, Tatum and I decided
to go with him! It wound up being a great decision and I like to think it made
it a little easier on Brian having someone to drop him off at classes and pick
him up and have dinner ready haha.
We originally rented a one bedroom apartment on Airbnb, but
about a month before our arrival, our host messaged me and asked if she could
upgrade us to another place since I had requested an early check in! Most places
don’t let you check in until 3 or 4 PM, and since we were arriving by 8 AM I
needed something earlier. She could get us in at 1 PM if we switched, so she
upgraded us to one of her luxury 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condos with a pool in a
great location! It was closer to the business school, and near Main Street
downtown with lots of cute restaurants and convenient parking in a covered
garage. We were also close to a great new park, Depot Park, with a bunch of
different playgrounds and a free splash pad. (If you EVER go to Gainesville and need a great place to stay at an affordable price, look for Superhost SUSANNAH on AirBNB! She was fabulous!!)
Sunday, we dropped Brian off, grabbed some breakfast, and went
to church. Somehow I miraculously made it through all of church with Tatum
without her having a meltdown, then we grabbed some lunch and checked into our
condo. Tatum took a brief nap and we went grocery shopping before we picked
Brian up. I felt good about not spending a lot of money this trip and I’m glad
we decided to go with an Airbnb so we had our own kitchen. Our week was spent
hanging at the park and exploring while Brian was in class.
Thursday, Tatum and I went on a little day trip to
Jacksonville to go to the zoo! I was trying to decide where to take a day trip
and other considerations were St. Augustine or the gulf side beaches farther
north than we are, but then Brian suggested the zoo in Jacksonville and it felt
perfect! The zoo was sooo much fun. Tatum loves animals and the older she gets,
the more excited she is about stuff like the zoo. We spent almost four hours
there and Tatum walked pretty much the whole way which was great for me because
she took a good nap on the hour and a half drive home.
We checked out a little Mexican restaurant in downtown called Boca Fiesta and it was sooo yummy. Brian got an alligator burrito and
loved it, and Tatum kept trying to steal the pieces of gator from it because
she loved it so much! It was a very long week and we were all happy to come
home on the 19th. We had five days to get back on a routine and get
some things accomplished around the house and then my dad flew in for a week
and a half vacation the next Friday!
Most of that time was spent at the beach with Dad, and the last day of August Brian and Tatum and I spent the day at Adventure Island, a full waterpark in Tampa! Tatum had a blast and we were even able to take her on some of the water slides with us. They have a huge lazy river and a couple sections strictly for little kids. It's also one of the more affordable amusement parks, considering we live within an hour and a half of about 15 major parks!
Luckily, the next month and a half were travel free, but not without our normal business! Check out our next post for more on that.
-XoXo
