36 hours in jacksonville

A few weeks ago, we took a tiny vacation. I'm going to preface this by saying I realize how much of a privilege it is to be able to take a vacation. We, of course, worried about spreading germs and catching germs. But, I'm also going to say that sometimes you have to get out. We typically go on a weekend trip to the beach every summer. It's become a little tradition for us and a vacation where we aren't visiting anyone. It's just for the four of us to regroup.

This year, we needed it. Not only because of quarantine and covid, but because I had was going through my third miscarriage that week. Being in the house was painful and we were all overly emotional and stressed.

36 hours in Jacksonville, Florida was exactly what we needed. We booked a last minute hotel and went with almost zero plans. 

We left early on a Friday morning and stopped at Top Golf to kill some time while we waited on our room to be ready. They took precautions and we all felt safe there. Masks were worn inside the main areas, plastic sheets were hung between each golf bay, surfaces were wiped, servers and employees wore masks everywhere. We waited outside while our bay was being prepped and we left right after. It wasn't crowded and at no point did we feel at risk. And best of all, the kids had fun and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

The kids were ready for the pool the minute we checked in to our hotel! The pool was empty and the kids got to play and splash around for an hour or so with the pool to themselves. It was a social distancing win, for sure. And, it set the tone for the rest of the night. We were relaxed!

We grabbed dinner at a local place on the water. My only requirements were kid-friendly food, a waterfront, and outdoor dining. This place checked off all the boxes. We were able to eat outside by the dock with only one other couple out there. And after, I did a quick google search and found the greatest old school soft-serve ice cream shop. It was so good that we went back the next day before heading back home!

The next morning, we grabbed donuts + coffee at the cutest mini donut shop. Then, we hit the beach. I tried finding a "locals" beach where I figured the tourist and crowd level would be lower. I failed and we ended up at a pretty crowded spot. We were only planning on sitting in the sand while the kids played for a few minutes anyways, so we ended up walking to the least crowded spot and let the kids put their feet in the water and collect a few shells. 

After that, we had no other plans, so we took the kids to the Lego store and they picked out new sets, then we grabbed takeout from a local Dominican place that we found a few years ago and love. We were able to eat outside with noone else around. We grabbed more icecream afterwards - seriously, the Dreamette was a literal dream.

Then, home sweet home. It was short and sweet and left us relaxed and a little more at ease. I won't lie though, it left us wanting even more vacation time too! What do you prefer - short, sweet trips or week-long trips where you can spread out your time and fun?