We’re just living the Florida life and chasing our wildest dreams.
We hope to utilize this space as a way to creatively share our daily life, new adventures, local favorites like restaurants, beaches, parks and other things we love to do. Life is busy and we hope this little corner of the internet will help remind us to continue being grateful and maybe inspire others to do the same.
We are happiest with our feet in the sand and a drink in our hand.
Blog Posts
Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Golden Statues
Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary is an 18-month celebration—which kicked off October 1, 2021, and features Golden character statues in each of the four Disney parks. It was so fun and satisfying to find and take photos of each of them over a couple of visits during the celebration! Yay for being annual pass holders and for park hopping!
Belize Vacation 2021
Flashback Friday! Our first trip to Belize was in 2019 and that is when Mark and I officially fell in love with everything about it. We had wanted to return sooner but when the entire world shut down in 2020 we just continued isolating and dreaming and held out hope that we would return again soon. I really wanted to plan a very special 40th Birthday celebration for my husband Mark in Nov 2021 and we had been brainstorming ideas with friends for local and far away destinations. Belize really checked all the boxes for a fantastically fun adventure that isn’t expensive and isn’t that far away. None of us had traveled internationally since before the Pandemic so we thought this would be a good jumping-off point!
Walt Disney World – 2022 Disney Marathon
I can’t let another day pass by without finally sharing (and bragging) about Mark’s first full marathon and our first ever Disney Marathon weekend – he did incredible and it was fantastic!
Goals of the New Year 2022
Keeping it simple this year after a couple of unsavory years in a row – we’ve decided in 2022 to slow down and be grateful for the smallest things as much as possible.
Running My First Disney Marathon 2022
“Follow your dreams, they know the way.” Kobi Yamada I have referred to myself as a runner for over twenty years now, but believe it or not, have never signed up for a full marathon. I’ve decided to take on that frightening but also exciting challenge in 2022. My first marathon will be the WaltContinue reading “Running My First Disney Marathon 2022”
December Disney Trip 2021
By now you know that we are Disney obsessed! But believe it or not, this was our first time back since the 50th Anniversary Celebration, which began on October 1st, 2021.That’s because as much as we love Disney we really dislike heavy crowds, so we decided to wait out the excitement a little bit and just enjoy it in January when Mark runs his first Disney Marathon. Well, then life kept kicking us around, sadness leaked in and a bit of a rut took over so as any great husband does – he got on the My Disney Experience App and started making reservations!
Favorite Brunch Spots – Noble Crust
Another favorite brunch spot! If you have ever driven down 4th Street in St Pete – you have likely passed by a very busy looking establishment called Noble Crust – and if you are like us – you are intrigued, but intimidated by what looks like a long wait, especially when you are hungry! Well… let me assure you – it is worth the wait and we can’t wait to go back!
Dinosaur World Florida
This is a fun one! When you often pass an epic looking place on I-4 near Tampa, FL that has giant dinosaur statues along the highway and looks a bit like a vintage tourist trap… plus you have friends that are as obsessed with Dinosaurs as you are – Dinosaur World is a must stop adventure!
Straz Center – CATS
Sometimes in life, a thoughtful act of kindness comes along, and the impact is deeper than you realize. When a very lovely friend of ours discovered she wasn’t going to be able to attend a show she had tickets for, and offered them to us, the emotions it brought forth were immense. Mark and I had the pleasure of attending the second to last night of the Broadway musical CATS at the Straz Center in Tampa last weekend, and we are still feeling the effects. Dinner, a show, and a Memory.
Favorite Brunch Spots – Stella’s
We love a good brunch spot, especially one with outdoor seating and a good drink selection. So when we heard that Stella’s in Gulfport, Florida had a Bloody Mary Flight, we just had to check it out!
October in Northern Ohio 2021
Mark and I were both born and raised in Ohio but we high tailed it out of there in 2015 and swore we would never look back at cold dreary weather. Each of us have made small trips back, but mostly for sad reasons (losses in the family) and not at all since the pandemic started. I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t seen my in-laws in over 4 years and had never even met my sweet little nephew – it was weighing on me… then my family experienced two more sudden losses this year – so I said enough was enough, life is too short, and we bought Allegiant non-stops flights to Toledo to spend a couple of days with Mark’s family before it truly gets Northern Ohio cold!
Christmas in the Keys 2020
Here’s another #FlashbackFriday for you! Last year we had an amazing trip to the Florida Keys for Christmas 2020 and enjoyed unplugging for a few days. Like everyone in the world, the year 2020 proved to be an extremely tiring year with too many changes and hurdles to count. That’s why we, along with our favorite travel buddies, decided to escape for a long weekend to celebrate Christmas in the Florida Keys. While this year has also proved to be equally difficult if not more so… I thought it was time for some reminiscing…
Our Belize Trip 2019
Our 2019 trip to Caye Caulker and Cayo, San Ignacio Belize was magic! As we get ready for another visit this November in a post-covid world, walk down memory lane with us!
Our first visit to Bok Tower Gardens
This past April, Mark and I took a Staycation for the first time in forever. Meaning we took an entire 5 days in a row off of work and planned nothing (other than releasing precious Hocus squirrel back into the wild). We woke up each day and either decided on a local adventure or decided to do absolutely nothing besides being home with no major obligations. Ahhhhh – everyone should do this every six months – just sayin. Seeing as I am just now getting around to posting about our local adventures from that week, tells me things got crazy busy again as soon as it was over. One of the local adventures we took was our very first visit to Bok Tower Gardens.
South Carolina Visit 2021
The first time we have traveled out of Florida since 2020 and it was to visit family in Greenville, South Carolina for a beautiful weekend on Lake Hartwell.
Trophy Fish- Central Ave St. Pete
terally crave the specialty cocktails and food from there and it’s becoming a regular hang-out anytime we venture down Central Avenue.
Sea Hags Bar & Grill
Want a waterfront bar & grill with a lively atmosphere, great food, and even better drinks? Then allow us to tell you about Sea Hags Bar & Grill!
Vintage Marché – Tampa Bay’s Largest Monthly Vintage Market
We recently had our Mid Century Modern minds blown when we finally visited the Vintage Marché Vintage Market for the first time during their July sale. Known as Tampa’s Premier destination for vintage, repurposed, and one-of-a-kind finds- we couldn’t agree more!
URBAN Brew and BBQ
Urban Brew and BBQ is known for scratch made bbq and southern foods with a heavy emphasis on whisky, bourbon and craft beers.
Pride @ the Village 2021- Pinellas Park
Yesterday we attended the first-ever Pride Festival held at the Pinellas Art Village in Pinellas Park, FL and we were pleasantly surprised by what our little town accomplished! We’ve attended the last Saturday of the month art walks and block pARTies held at 5663 Park Blvd N and really enjoyed ourselves, so we thought thisContinue reading “Pride @ the Village 2021- Pinellas Park”
Thirsty First Lounge – St Pete
What good are Mondays if you can’t reminisce about all the amazing food and drinks from your weekends? I know that’s what gets us through – Check out Thirsty First!
Pinellas Farmers Market
Hidden gem alert! The Pinellas Farmers Market is located at England Brothers Park at 5010 81st Ave North Pinellas Park, FL 33781. The market recently had its grand opening on April 17, 2021 and seems to be going strong!
Renewing our Walt Disney World Annual Passes 2021
I know I know… that didn’t take long. Welp… we caved… and reinstated our annual passes for Walt Disney World!
Pinellas Arts Village
We’ve discovered a local gem (just blocks from our new neighborhood) and wanted to share it with anyone who enjoys a unique experience!! The Pinellas Arts Village located at the 5600 block in Pinellas Park is a hidden treasure for artists and those who love art! You’ll find inspiring art, photography, sculptures and so much more!
Top 5 Places for Mexican Food in St. Pete!
With Cinco de Mayo right around the corner, we thought it would be fun to feature our current top 5 favorite Mexican restaurants in St. Pete, FL!
Did COVID ruin our Disney Magic?
Mark and I have been Walt Disney World Annual Passholders since 2016. I had been to Magic Kingdom as a young child, and once to Epcot in my early 20s and loved it, but Mark had never been and I’ve always wanted to show him the childlike magic that he missed as a kid. HisContinue reading “Did COVID ruin our Disney Magic?”
Tigers in the Wild – The Trip of a Lifetime
I had the adventure of a lifetime. My first ever international trip was with 18 amazing people to 3 different national parks and the Taj Mahal for 12 days in India!
We’re back!!
Since we last spoke, we bought a new house, moved across town, sold our old house, raised 4 baby squirrels full time and countless other time-consuming and emotional events occurred….
St. Pete Pier First Impression
We finally got to “exPIERrence” the new St Pete Pier in our beautiful downtown St Petersburg, FL. Over 7 years ago was our first time visiting DTSP when we came to Treasure Island for vacation. We were instantly in love and eventually moved here and planned our wedding in 2015. I loved the retro lookContinue reading “St. Pete Pier First Impression”
Flagler Beach Escape
Mark and I hadn’t taken any time off or traveled since Sept 2019…. we’ve cancelled two trips for 2020 and like everyone else during this pandemic we’ve become sad, sluggish, anxious and overwhelmed. That’s until some dear friends/co workers reached out to see if we were up for a camping birthday adventure just a coupleContinue reading “Flagler Beach Escape”
Where do we want to go?
The irony of starting a travel/adventure blog during a pandemic is not lost on us. Feeling stir crazy and overwhelmed during these unprecedented times has us day dreaming even harder than we did before. Even though we will be sharing a lot of archive photos and stories for awhile, we still have so much hopeContinue reading “Where do we want to go?”
India 2018
I had the adventure of a lifetime. My first ever international trip was with 18 amazing people to 3 different national parks and the Taj Mahal for 12 days in India! I was lucky enough to have had 6 tiger sightings in Kahna National Park and 7 sightings in Ranthambore National Park – 3 ofContinue reading “India 2018”
Our first Florida Keys RV trip
Facebook memories have been reminding me all week about a Super Awesome Funtime Adventure we had three years ago so…. Allow me to take a quick walk down memory lane to one of our most epic adventures to date. Back in October 2018 – see it’s October so its relevant – we planned our first ever trip to the Florida Keys with friends AND our first ever vacation in an RV!! We went with experts both for the Keys and Rv’s and it was THE. BEST. TRIP. EVER. We have since had other amazing RV adventures, but this one started it all!
Get to know us
Hi! Mark and Brittany here – Welcome to our new endeavor of blogging together! A little about us – We were both born and raised in Ohio (me-Dayton ~ him-Sandusky) and we met as twenty somethings living in Columbus, OH in 2009. The lack of sunshine and the desire for a total life change ledContinue reading “Get to know us”
Mark
I’m a runner, reader, video gamer, and lover of nature with an anthropology degree from Ohio University. I’m a keeper at Big Cat Rescue and protecting and helping animals of all kinds is an extreme passion of mine.
Our Story
Ohio transplants living the Florida dream while working hard to go see the world. We met in 2009 and moved to St Pete, FL in 2015 to chase our wildest dreams in the sunshine.
Brittany
I’m a photographer, writer, day dreamer, and beach lover with a degree in visual communications. I’m a keeper and staff member at Big Cat Rescue and have dedicated my life to being a voice for the voiceless.