You may remember reading my post about being famished and excitedly picking up some Vietnamese food in Fort Myers on the way to our Homaway/VRBO Pool House. Did it sound delicious to you? I bet it did! Giveaway Details
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You may remember reading my post about getting a Groupon for The Grind Coffee House and Roaster in Fort Myers, Florida The freshly roasted coffee beans made for a perfect start to each day of our vacation and the Espresso Shakes... *sigh* Well what do I even need to say about them. How could you go wrong?!!!? You can't. Unless you DON'T have one. That's how you go wrong.. Good News For You! (Giveaway)I had searched Groupon for discounts to use in Cape Coral/ Fort Myers areas and one that I ended up purchasing was for the Grind Coffee House & Roaster. Boy am I glad that we tried that place! Espresso ShakesI couldn't resist getting an Espresso Shake. I chose the Hammer Espresso Shake which consisted of ice cream, espresso, white chocolate, and a hint of berry. OH MY WORD WAS IT GOOD!!!!!!
How cool is it that there is a rum distillery in Cape Coral?! I think that is the coolest!! So DH and I stole away from the family to enjoy a free tour and tasting here at the Wicked Dolphin Distillery. The TourI believe the tours take off Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and you can check the times on their website. When you get started they will introduce you to the product line as seen in the photo above. While explaining the distilling process, you will enjoy a rum punch (if you're old enough!!) and smell the strongest alcohol you've probably smelled! -- not the finished product. I wish I would have taken notes or something about the process. It was all quite interesting. Barrel RoomIn the barrel room you can see the rum being aged and various trials in process. Some top secret ;-) They get various used barrels to add unique notes to the final product. Cool right?! The tour guide we had (SO SORRY I forget his name) was super friendly and personable and very enthusiastic about the product. It made for a really fun tour, there were just 4 of us at the time we went, but other times it will be PACKED we were told. The TastingThe tasting area and shop is the final stop. You can try the rums, rum shines, bbq sauces etc. all available for purchase. The lady was extremely knowledgeable in recipes for all of the products. I wish we could have carried some on the plane with us! :( And they are not YET sold in our local liquor stores. YET!! But we did pick some up for family we were with. They also gave us a coupon for a free Wicked Dolphin cocktail at a local restaurant with meal purchase. Unfortunately we had already eaten. But maybe you can go! ;-) Fun fact: Their Coconut Rum is made with real coconut water. So the coconut taste is way better than other coconut rums! Take a mini-tour in the gallery below!A beautiful place to visit in Florida is Sanibel-Captiva island. I had hoped to spend a lot of time there on this trip, but it didn't quite work out. Next time ;-) We did get to spend a few hours on Captiva and I was in the ocean for 98% of that time with the little tykes of the family so tragically, I hardly captured the beach! Amateur move, right? I did, however, have an eagle eye on this: BirdwatchingApparently some nesting was going on, and this mama (?) was on guard!! Baby watchingI also managed to capture the cutest, pruniest, sandy feet at the beach.. not that I am biased at all... Where are the pictures?!!!!I mean, I swear I took more pictures than this.. maybe not. ARGGGG! What was I thinking? I know the day ended up being quite rushed. We went out to Captiva for just a couple of hours. There is a parking lot there and the cost is about $4/hour if I remember correctly. So if you wanted to spend an entire day at the beach, it could get quite steep. But if you want to do some of the other things Captiva has to offer, or Sanibel, it wouldn't be as bad. What Does Sanibel- Captiva have to offer?* Beaches * Marinas and Boating * Cruises * Fishing * Shelling * Snorkeling & Scuba Diving * Water Sports * Golf * Tennis * Spas * Health Clubs * Arts & Entertainment * Restaurants * Movies * Bird Watching * Science and Nature Centers * Nature Tours and Historical Walks * Bike Rentals, Mopeds, Segway Rentals * Golf and Street Cart Rentals So there really is something for everyone.. and more! You can find out about any or all of those things by clicking the link above or visiting the Sanibel-Captiva Website which has an incredible amount of information to help you plan your trip! If you love shelling...If you love shelling, you should definitely visit the iLoveShelling blog run by Pam Rambo for incredible shelling tips, web cams, beach information, shelling trips, etc. It's really cool! She also has an instagram account that is fun to see in your feed! I mean.. she finds shells that I have never seen before, it's so incredible!! This is on my to-do list next time I'm in that part of Florida ;)
Vamos a hablar de comida cubana en Cape Coral Florida! (Let's talk about Cuban Food in Cape Coral)7/26/2016 Azucar Restaurant & Bakery 3326 Del Prado Blvd Cape Coral, Florida 33904You're going to need this address ^^^^ because after you see the food in the post, you will have to visit. ASAP. hehe.. I love Cuban food and any time I'm south (who am I kidding, any time I am ANYWHERE that has Cuban food) I make it my goal in life to eat there. Cape Coral is no exception! See what went happily into my belly below: Cuban Bread & Papaya Batido (milkshake)Empanada If you're looking for an awesome pool house for family and friends to convene near Fort Myers Florida, boy have I got a place for you!!! I found this place on Home Away/VRBO which is located on the Canals of Cape Coral Florida. The Villa was built in 2012, so it is very new yet and extremely well cared for. It boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, swimming pool, jacuzzi, fire pit, dock with paddle boat, bikes, beach toys and chairs, laundry facilities... it is SUPERB! It's a great place for families to be able to come together, yet still be separate based on the way it is laid out. Want to take a tour? Join me! Master Bedroom OneBeautiful furnishings and an abundance of space await you in this bedroom. The bathroom is immense with two separate sink vanities. Each complete with very nice bathroom toiletries. There is also a spa tub and a shower with rain shower head. A door to the outside area is available directly from this room. The closet here also houses more towels than your party could ever need as well as a lot of hanging space, extra pillows, laundry baskets and so on. Bedrooms 2 & 3One of the quintessential vacation activities in my family is to go mini golfing. No vacation is complete without it. When my siblings and I were young, we always scouted out the best looking mini golf establishment on the strip and looked forward to going. Now that we are grown, we still make it a family tradition. Especially with young nieces and nephews, we want to make the same memories with them that we have from growing up. It can be hard to choose a place to go, deciding between the fanciest and best looking giraffes on the green or alligators in the lake (pretend, of course), or a cost effective option. Our group chose the latter. What They OfferMike Greenwell's has a number of activities including: * Batting Cages * Go Karts * Midway Rides * Arcade * Feeding Dock * Dugout * Mini Golf To be fair, I did not check out any of the other activities besides mini golf. Price ComparisonSo after our red-eye flight from San Francisco, we were starving! We arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport around 8 am and got our rental convertible straightened out. Then started our couple-hour-long drive west toward Cape Coral where our Homeaway rental was located. We held off on eating much because I wanted to eat at this pho place called Pho Vinh Express Vietnamese Food in Fort Myers, just before heading into Cape Coral. After perusing the menu online, we ordered: * 32 ounce Beef Pho ($9) * 16 ounce extra broth ($3) *** do this!!!! *** * Chicken Spring Rolls ($4) * 2 Boba Teas The VerdictRemember when I got a cheap convertible in San Francisco Airport for a fraction of the going rate!? Well.. I decided I wanted to do that again because what could be better than one convertible? ... TWO of course! When the Convertibles Run Out... |