On November 5, 2020, we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We were supposed to be celebrating it on a beautiful island. However, what was supposed to be our perfect getaway turned into an entirely different experience.
We changed the date of our getaway at the last minute because I wasn’t feeling well, and wasn’t sure if I was going to need surgery. On top of that, my passport was being held hostage. I sent it off to have it renewed, but it was taking them forever to send it back. I did call them to check on the status. Surprisingly, they sent it to me via express mail. So, I received it the very next day. We had already changed our getaway date at this point. So, now I had to figure out a way for us to celebrate locally. I am so grateful we live in a place where people come to vacation, so the possibilities were endless.
The first thing we did was try to find a photographer to take the photos we were scheduled to take when we made it to the island. With it being such late notice, that didn’t turn out well. So, we asked our daughter if she would take the photos for us. We already had matching tops, so we were partially ready. My daughter agreed. All we had to do was pick a location. We have been wanting to visit Seaside, FL since we first learned of it. We spent the evening in Seaside. We took beautiful photos to commemorate this moment. We spent the day there enjoying the weather, food, and beach. The day turned out to be perfect!
Here are a few photos our daughter took of us.
We don’t know about you, but we enjoy getting deals on everything. This was the perfect time for us to take advantage of the Florida resident discount we finally qualify for now that we are officially Floridians. (Currently happy dancing)
We booked a stay at The Island by Hotel RL in Fort Walton Beach. Obviously, there were other resorts on the higher end of the star rating. However, this was last minute, and close to the things we wanted to do. Not to mention they were offering a nice discount for Florida residents. We checked out the reviews, and went with it. We booked the one bedroom King suite overlooking the Gulf. It had two balconies, a living area, and a small kitchenette. To our surprise, it ended up being an entire cute little resort with two pools, a swim-up bar, a 5-story waterfall, that resembled a cave, a beach bar & grill, two restaurants, a cabana with games, and plenty of parking. The views from the balcony were amazing. They issue cloth wristbands instead of door key cards that are used to access your suite and other protected entry points around the resort. It was perfect for me because I am always misplacing my door key card. The staff were great and the grounds were well kept. We would definitely stay there again.
What is a celebration without food and drinks? We have been hearing about SunQuest Cruises for a while. This was the perfect time to check them out. According to their website, they are “The only dining and entertainment yacht in Northwest Florida.” We booked a public dinner cruise for 6:30pm aboard the SOLARIS yacht. We had a wonderful time. The staff , band, music, food, and drinks were all wonderful. The weather was also perfect for relaxing outside on the top deck. We met some amazing couples who were also celebrating their birthdays and anniversaries. I also got a chance to get my dance on, so that made the cruise even better.
The cruise returned to the dock at 9:30 pm. The night was entirely to young for us to call it quits. So, we headed to a few spots to find good music and drinks. I was just trying to find the good music so I could get my dance on. The dance floor is one of my happy places. We ended up hitting up 3 different spots. Some with live music and others with a DJ. I got to get my dance on, and hubby got to chill and people watch. 😂 We were hopping from place to place like a 21 year old who had just gotten his ID card. With social distancing, none of the places were packed with people, so there was plenty of space to chill and dance.
After all of that we still felt like the night was young. So, we headed back to our suite for some adult fun. Then we watched the sunrise before we finally called it a night.
The silver lining of not chilling on an island for our anniversary is we created memories right where we live to last a lifetime. We also met some amazing couples whom we know we will stay connected with. Plus, we still have our island getaway to look forward to. Our imperfect wedding anniversary turned out to be perfect.
Tips
If you ever end up waiting a long time for your passport, and you didn’t initially request expedited processing, you can go online to check the status. If you check the status of your passport, and it is still in processing, you can call the number listed on the site to request expedited processing and shipping for a fee.
If you ever decide to do the Sunquest Dinner Cruise, follow the directions they send you in the confirmation email. They lead you to exactly where you need to be. Also, get there early enough to give yourself plenty of time to find the dock and parking. Sometimes valet isn’t available there. It wasn’t available the night we went. If you are there during busy season, many of the parking spaces may be taken. So, you may need to find alternate parking.
If you have access to a military base, the MWR offers discounts to the dinner cruise.