How to have a BLAST on your first post lockdown trip!

Travel is such a big part of our lives; it was tough during the lockdown parts of the quarantine when we couldn’t travel. Usually by this time in the year, we’ve been on 2-3 international trips and 2-3 domestic trips. So, the struggle has been real.

Anyone who knows me, knows the beach gives me life! It was hard during the lockdown, not having any beach trips to look forward to because even the Florida beaches were closed.

Michael knew how badly I needed a beach fix; so as soon as some of the west coast beaches opened, he was kind enough to take me on a couple of day beach trips. This is a TRUE benefit of living in Florida.

It is hard to believe but the first of those trips wasn’t until August 24 of this year when we spent an absolutely lovely afternoon at John’s Pass in Treasure Island. We spent time on the boardwalk which was a wonderful place for a leisurely stroll as we window shopped the plethora of boutiques and shops.   To wrap the afternoon, we had a delicious lunch at Friendly’s Dockside Dining before heading over to the beach.

As much as I enjoyed the couple of day trips, I longed for a full week of Vitamin Sea! Our first overnight trip since the lockdown was lifted ended up being a celebration trip we hadn’t anticipated before the lockdown; my retirement.

In divine timing, it also coincided with Michael’s birthday. With a dual-purpose trip, a burning passion to hit the road and cautious optimism combined with careful preparation we ventured on a road trip to one of our favorite east coast Florida destinations, Singer Island.  

Now, let me tell you as we get to know one another, when it comes to road trips, or driving in general;  in our marriage, we have a long-standing rule. I’m the DJ and he’s the driver. So, you can pretty much expect pics from the car will always be from the passenger side.

When we roadtrip, we usually like to meander our way to our travel destination. We typically stop at flea markets, thrift and antique stores along the way. It helps break up the trip, not to mention, you never know what undiscovered treasure you might find!

Our Stay at the Sand Dunes Resort on Singer Island

We stayed at the Sand Dunes Resort on Singer Island. The “resort” is a collection of timeshare condos with a modest sized pool and small hot tub. The fact they were condos, in my own mind, which was admittedly ready to accept even the flimsiest of logic; that meant that we were only subjected to the air in that condo and not all of the other condos. Obviously, that made it safer. (Hey, I completely own this is flimsy logic but I was desperate, I tell ya!)

Anywho, the resort is a slightly dated but a fairly well-maintained resort, sandwiched between two opulent but seemingly empty resorts. The contrast allows you to appreciate what old Florida beach towns must have been like. No towering condos, no crowded beaches and original beach vegetation.

Based on the exterior style, I was pleasantly surprised to find the unit we had was mostly updated. All except the bathroom. Gone was the idea of luxuriating in some deep tub, dropping in a bath bomb whilst meandering through my social media feed, likely with a glass of wine nearby. This definitely was not the bathroom for that. Nonetheless, it was a functional bathroom.

There was a balcony but not a private balcony. It was basically a walkway with some chairs in front of the window to your room. If you sit in the chairs you couldn’t see the beach, but you could if you stood up and leaned against the railing like in the picture below.

It is a short walk to the private beach. I loved the fact the resort has a small private beach. This was another plus in the age of Covid. It was a nice, quiet and calm beach. A great way to avoid the crowds.

Along the walkway from the hotel to the beach, there is a cute cabana area.  I’m still slightly puzzled why anyone would use this area since the only views are of the other cabanas and the cabanas don’t even face the beach.  

The unit had a small but fully functional kitchen. I reviewed the sanitation information they provided and took my own additional precautions. (Lysol wipes, Lysol spray and prayers!)

Since I knew the unit had a kitchen before we left, I packed some of my own seasonings, brought some food from home, placed an Instacart order when we arrived and I cooked most of our meals. It was a perfect way to balance out our concerns about eating at crowded restaurants and Michael appreciated the home cooked meals while we were on vacation.

This is also one of the ways I like #ballingonabudget. Though we love to travel, on a trip that’s longer than 3-4 days, sometimes we like to mix up eating out with eating meals I cook.  Since I enjoy cooking, this isn’t an issue for me, it makes my hubby happy and it stretches our travel budget.

Through the resort, you can use Tommy Bahama beach chairs and the costs is included in the resort fee. In addition to these, you can rent chairs and an umbrella on the beach for about $40 a day. It was a bit expensive but worth it to be able to enjoy a whole day at the beach.

Overall, we enjoyed the Sand Dunes. One way they could improve the resort is by improving the internet. This was constantly the message I got no matter WHERE you were in the resort or in the room. That was frustrating.

Lunch at Tommy Bahama’s

On the way back home, I scored big at some of the thrift and antique stores along the way. Stay tuned for seeing my amazing finds in upcoming posts.

For lunch, we stopped at a restaurant we only tried once before, in California which is where we discovered the island-style restaurant, Tommy Bahama. We had such a wonderful dining experience (and I had a great craft cocktail), I was sad we didn’t have one in Tampa.

You know how sometimes the second experience doesn’t live up to the first? Well, I’m happy  to say, our sophomore dining experience did not disappoint. Everything was absolutely perfect. You know I had to try one of their craft cocktails and landed on this delicious Pineapple Paradisio Martini. If you’ve never visited Tommy Bahama’s, I would highly recommend it!

I hit the jackpot at Francescas!

Our last stop along the way home was at Francesca’s on Front Street. They had an absolutely amazing clearance sale. I racked up on a TON  of items, from cups to beauty care products. Stay tuned as I spotlight these in upcoming posts. These two ladies, Tracy and Cindy were both helpful and hilarious! Keep up the great work ladies!  

We had such a great time on this trip we decided to make a return trip the following week to follow up on a vintage Lucite dining room table I saw. Stay tuned for the post about that trip and our stay at the spectacular Ritz Carlton, Fort Lauderdale!

Have you dipped your toe in the Covid laced travel waters yet? If so, tell me how it was for you, how you stayed safe and any travel trips you have!

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