St. Augustine: A great family getaway!

Klint and I had been married almost a year after his second tax season, and it was a doozy of a tax season. I was in grad school and he was driving an hour to work and an hour back everyday. We needed a reconnection trip. So we decided to go to St. Augustine. My family used to go all the time as a kid and Klint couldn't really remember if he had ever been. So, we found the cheapest hotel we could find (yuck) and we went. It was great! Well, the motel wasn't the best, but our trip was wonderful. We just had one-on-one time together which was just what we needed. We kind of made this a tradition. Once we had Sophie, just the two of us would go and leave her with a willing sitter (my aunt or Klint's parents). Last year we did a cruise which was wonderful. Any trip to just be together is great after a stressful time.

This year, tax season was really hard on Sophie. She recognized that daddy wasn't home when dinner was ready or that he wasn't home until after she had a bath and was ready for bed. She asked me a lot where was daddy or just simply say "Daddy is at work." She would say she missed him a lot. Even after tax season Klint noticed she was a little standoffish around him. She is a total Daddy's Girl so this was hard on Klint. We decided that Sophie needed this trip just as bad as we did.

We booked our stay at the Holiday Isle Oceanfront Resort (aka the old Holiday Inn). Something I like to do when looking for somewhere to stay is go to tripadvisor.com and check out the reviews. They also have a way for previous guest to post pictures to let you see where you are staying. We had booked at another place before and then upon further research on tripadvisor, we changed our reservations. We were not disappointed with Holiday Isle. The rooms were a little outdated design wise, but they were clean which is what we really cared about. The bed wasn't the greatest, but what bed can beat your home bed??? The elevators were a little slow, but not a deal breaker. I also got a discount for being a state employee. I highly recommend them.

Our motel

The things I love about St. Augustine is there is so much to do as a family. There is a putt-putt course right on A1A which we didn't go to this time, but will definitely do when Sophie is a little older. There are so many great places to eat. There are two huge outlets just minutes from the historic downtown. The World Golf Villas are about 30 minutes away. It is close to Jacksonville. I can't say enough about why we love
St. Augustine.

Our favorite thing this trip was  the beach! The beaches are very pretty for an Atlantic beach. Sophie told Klint that she wanted "Sophie, mommy, and daddy" to make a sand castle. So we made several. She had the best time. Here are a few pics of our beach time fun.

One of my faves of the weekend!

Book your next family trip for St. Augustine! You won't regret it!