Spring Break Trip 2023!

New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

You may not have heard of NSB, but it is just south of Daytona Beach on the ocean. I would call it a quaint town in comparison to other Florida cities, but it still has plenty to see and do. We went to NSB last year and loved it so much that we booked it for this year, even before we left. It was nice to go back to a place that was familiar and we knew there were a few more things we wanted to do. Not to mention, being able to walk right out to the beach every day or sit by the pool, was convenient and lovely all at the same time. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect – warm and sunny every single day, with a short spurt of rain Monday afternoon. We definitely spent a lot of time under the umbrella because our northern skin couldn’t take the sun all day!

It was a trip we all were looking SO forward to. It was my goal while going through chemo, to make it to Florida. We initially thought we’d have to cancel the trip, but thanks to God’s grace and mercy, we were still able to go. Anytime I was able to do something we didn’t think I could, we said “Hashtag GOALS” because that’s surely what it was – another goal accomplished. It was incredibly life-giving to put my toes in the sand, feel the sun on my face, be together as a family, and make new memories. Here’s a little glimpse at what our week looked like:

A 2:00am Buc-ee’s stop on the way down…we are those crazy people who drive through the night, and yet we wouldn’t have it any other way! We each drive half the trip, but Dan does the long haul through the night, which I’m so thankful for. We make a little bed for Mazy, buckle her in, and she’s out for the night, until we stop at Buc-ee’s!

We had our condo from Friday to Friday, so we had some time before check-in. We stopped at Ponce Inlet on our way down and it was the perfect place to take a break from the van for awhile. We went to the Marine Science Center where they are most known for their turtle rehab center. The place isn’t huge, but was worth it! Mazy’s checking out a snake…

They have a large “pool” where you can pet sting rays – after being very hesitant at first, Mazy gave it a try and then didn’t want to leave! Sting rays feel much different than I expected…hard, rubbery, smooth, all at the same time. And did I mention they love to be petted? They would look for your two fingers poking through the water’s surface and come right up to you. What an experience!

We also got to watch them feed seahorses!

Here is where they rehab turtles – amazing how fragile some of the turtles were!

Instead of going in the lighthouse, we just looked at it from the “outside”, where we didn’t have to pay to get in:

On Sunday, after church, we headed down to the beach by our condo and it was PACKED with cars! Last year it was not NEAR this busy! It is part of the experience in and of itself and we decided we could just people watch all day:

At nearby Mosquito Lagoon, dolphins could always be spotted:

Our nightly beach walk:

Trying some alligator tail that was recommended to us at JB’s Fish Camp. The verdict: HIGHLY recommend!

We were thinking Hurricane Ian was the one that destroyed parts of Volusia County where NSB is, but it was Hurricane Nicole that did the most damage. Basically the lagoon and ocean became one body of water and some of the structures were immensely destroyed due to the storm surge. Even months later, this is still the state of some of the homes along the beach:

Apollo Beach National Park was just down the street from us, so we ended visiting this beach a few times. There was a high point on a trail where you could see both the lagoon and the ocean at the same time. This beach is also known for it’s shells, so we did plenty of shell hunting while there too.

We don’t have many pictures from this outing due to not being able to take our phones into the water, but we went to Blue Springs State Park, which was about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying. We were first hoping to see manatees, which is what this park is known for, but they had all gone back to cooler water. But that meant we could go snorkeling then! Thankfully we took our masks and snorkels along and we were able to snorkel the springs, where we saw the world from down under. Definitely a highlight of the trip!

We have an inflatable paddle board and Dan thought he’d give surfing a try on it. SUCCESS!

MANY hours were spent on the beach with this little mermaid!

Last year we had met a wonderful family from Georgia, who was staying in the same condo complex as us. This year they were also in Florida for Spring Break and they were staying about 1.25 hours from us, so they drove up one of the days to hang out. It was so great to catch up with them and Mazy was THRILLED to see her friends Callie and Annie again! As she said, “Mom, I thought I would never see them again!”

Another highlight was seeing a couple we met last year, on the beach again! Their son and daughter-in-law go to my parents church, so it was fun to catch up on life again and see them every morning! A piece of home away from home.

The view from our condo:

I couldn’t be more thankful for our family:

One morning, there were a handful of jellyfish that had washed up on shore. I can’t say I’ve seen jellyfish this big before and what vibrant colors!

This poor guy got washed up…

One of the interesting things that happened on this trip was that Mazy got bit by a crab while we were boogie boarding! All of a sudden she screamed and said a crab bit her. At first I didn’t believe her until she showed me the little mark on her foot. Her explanation of what happened in those split seconds made sense too, so after I realized that she was actually telling the truth, my sympathy increased a bit. It took her a few hot seconds to lure her back into the ocean after that one!

Heading out to surf with daddy:

And boogie boarding with mommy:

Eating mac n’ cheese on the beach! I take the blame for missing some spots on Mazy’s face with sunscreen the first day.

And again, the best part…just being together! Here I even packed a bunch of games to play, but we didn’t touch a one because we were just outside all day every day. It was easy to get into routine and now we are eager to continue that routine now being home again. Like I said, we are so grateful for time away! What a gift it was. #goals.