Merritt Island, Florida
I spent less than 48 hours in Florida and I don’t regret any second of it.
This weekend I was supposed to stay home, have a chill couple of days, and watch my house and pets, while my parents and sister were in Florida. Plans quickly changed and before I knew it, I was in Florida with them. (To read my post about that adventure click here). My trip was short (that’s an understatement, to say the least) but nonetheless absolutely perfect. Here’s a recap of my “two days” in Florida, my favorites places we went, the best food, and a few of my favorite little adventures.
So first off, the Airbnb we stayed at was perfect. It was a quaint beachy cottage that used to be an old servants’ quarters for the main house. The hosts were incredibly sweet and definitely added to our trip with their local recommendations and simple kindness. The house itself was down a charming street in Merritt Island. It was close to shops and Cocoa Beach, but far enough away to still feel a bit secluded from everything. It had a dock we watched the sunset and dolphins playing from. My favorite part about staying in this particular house was how welcoming the hosts were. I felt almost as if I was at a family reunion instead of at a stranger’s house. Our last night there, they made a bonfire for us. We all sat around the fire talking about various things with their German foreign exchange student. If I’m ever back in the Cocoa Beach area, which I definitely will be, without a doubt I’d stay here again.
Traveling while gluten free, vegan and having other various allergies attached can present itself as a challenge most of the time. Lucky for us, we found a restaurant that accommodated my whole family and above all else, was so dang good. Long Doggers is a casual surf themed restaurant with locations across Florida. They have super tasty gluten free food, offer multiple vegan options, are knowledgeable about celiac disease (being allergic to gluten) and made us all feel comfortable eating in their restaurant. I especially loved the laidback atmosphere and outdoor games they provide on their patio. We ate here a couple times on our trip. If we weren’t at Long Doggers eating, we were at our Airbnb cooking our own meals or grilling outside on the deck by light of the sunset…also one of my favorite parts of this trip.
Cocoa Beach is one of the nicest beaches I’ve been to on the Florida coast. It’s like an unhidden hidden gem. While we didn’t have time to go for a swim, we did walk along the pier and the shoreline collecting shells and sand dollars. And don’t get me started on how pretty the sunsets are here.
This trip was a major bucket list trip for me. I crossed off four items in less than 48 hours, which I’d say is quite the accomplishment. The first was flying by myself, and then seeing the sunrise from the air, something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. The third was seeing manatees in their natural habitat. During the winter, most manatees on the East coast of Florida slowly make their way inland to canals to live in the warmer waters till winter is over. It took some searching, multiple maps and many references from locals but alas, we found the manatees. (Next on the bucket list is to swim with them!) And lastly, on our last day in Merritt Island, we had the chance to see the SpaceX rocket launch into space only to purposefully blow up for test purposes (which was so super cool). For someone who has been obsessed with space since a kid, finally seeing a real rocket go into space felt like it was Christmas morning.
If I learned one thing from this trip, it’s that more often than you think, we need to slow down in life and make sure what we are doing is making us happy. Make time to get sand stuck in between your toes, sit around a bonfire and chat with strangers, do things that scare you, start crossing things off your bucket list now, marvel at natures beauty, and take time to just relax, soaking in the ocean sun.
