Florida

The first week in February we took a quick trip to Florida. We went to see Grandma and Grandpa Sanofsky, visit Jack's mission, and visit Uncle Jeff's condo in Miami. We had so much fun! We flew into Miami on Saturday afternoon.




A big thank you to Uncle Jeff for letting us use your condo! We loved it!



Ghirardelli! This strawberry and chocolate ice cream sundae was incredible! We went twice.



The next morning we went to the Gator Park and did an airboat tour. We saw so many gators! Jack took a ton of great pictures.





The birds in the Everglades are beautiful.





We were loving it! That is our tour guide in the back.



We even saw a mama gator with all her little babies around her.



A couple of them came right up to the boat and the tour guide had to throw food in the water to get them away.



This turtle was just relaxing in the sun.



Jack's great photography skills.





So after the Airboat ride there was an animal show. In the middle of the show he asked Jack and I to help him. I was freaked out because he had all kinds of weird animals as part of the show. Look what he gets for me. This nasty toad. He then tells me that in order to get my prince I need to kiss it.



I didn't think he was serious, but was I wrong. He kissed it to show me it was alright. I was freaking out. Luckily he whispered to me that I only needed to push my lips out and he would make it look like I kissed it. The audience went crazy, they thought I really did it.



Here is what I got after I "kissed" the toad. My prince! (Jack thought I really kissed it too and he was scared to kiss me after that, haha)



After the show we got to hold a real gator.





The alligator wrestler was crazy!





After Gator Park we headed to Miami Beach. It was beautiful!





Here is an idea of how clear the water is.



That night we drove to G&G's. On our way to Fort Myers, we stopped at Hogbody's. Jack loved this place on his mission. It has tons of different flavored wings. We got ranch, raspberry, florida orange, buffalo, and teriyaki. Jack ate 17, crazy guy.





Here is just one picture of the beautiful Florida sky.



We went to Florida to see Grandma and Grandpa Sanofsky. Since we missed the reunion last year we had to make a trip to visit. We had so much fun with them! Thanks G&G for letting us stay with you!!



G&G showed me these cute pictures of Jack. Love them!





Monday morning we started touring Jack's mission.

This is a jetty in Venice Beach. This was the closest Jack could get to the beach as a missionary.



Then we headed to Auberndale. It was a lot of fun going to all the places from Jack's mission. As we drove down the streets I was able to hear all the stories of things he did while he was serving in that particular area. There were some really rough neighborhoods here. I was surprised Jack went door to door. I was scared just driving by. It was definitely an adventure.





Next stop was Land O' Lakes. For lunch we had Cici's Pizza. Jack and his companions used to come here all the time. It is $5 for an all you can eat pizza bar.



This was right by Jack's apartment door. I was shocked how there are alligators everywhere. Even in this little lake in the middle of the apartment complex.



This is the Yankees spring training field in Tampa. Jack was able to go to a game on his mission.



This is in Dade City. Jack lived in the back of this house. So creepy!



On our way back to G&G's we drove thorough Tampa and stopped to eat at Bern's Steak House. A family took Jack here before he left the mission field. He still talks about how nice it was to bring 4 missionaries to such a fancy steak house. We had to go back while we were there. I would have to agree. It was delicious! When you are done eating they give you a tour of the kitchen and the wine cellar (the largest in the world) and take you to the dessert room. The dessert room was great. It had its own enclosed areas to eat with a jukebox to pick your own music. It was such a great experience. (The pictures we took inside did not come out too well because it was so dark).



On Tuesday we were off to Fort Myers! We stopped here on our way back to Miami and were able to go out to lunch with a family Jack knew from the mission. This is where Jack was when Hurricane Charlie hit. He stayed in the church below with the rest of his zone. Trees and power lines had smashed homes and cars but only a tiny window was broken in the whole church.



Picture from our trip.



Picture from Jack's Mission. This was what it looked like after the hurricane.



Here is another picture of the area after the hurricane.



We went to Sanibel Island before going back to Miami. There were so many seashells! I was amazed. Jack did a great job getting in the water and finding the best shells, which are now in a jar at our home.







Wednesday morning we were heading home. We woke up early so we could walk on the beach in Miami one last time.





It was an amazing trip! It was too quick but we made the most of the time we had there. We will have to go back and visit again soon. The great thing about coming home from this trip was that we were able to see my brother Tim come home from his mission the next day!