Ben and I met in Florida. I was a midwestern girl from Illinois visiting my parents and Ben was a misplaced New Englander. (If you have never read our story, head here! It’s a must read!).
Anywho...my parents still live there and we try and visit as often as we can! There is no better time to visit Florida then during the dead of our New Hampshire winter! My little sister and her kids also live in Florida, and due to COVID last year we haven’t seen them in 2 years! It was a long overdue cousin reunion!
While we were there we rented a quaint little Air BnB right on our favorite white sand beach on Okaloosa Island. Not only did we get to watch the sun rise and set over the water everyday, we also had the whole beach to ourselves everyday! I guess 60 degrees is too chilly for Floridians to come outside! Us New Englanders soaked in the sunshine and my adventurous 5 year old even jumped into the ocean, fully clothed...twice.
Ben and I also got the privilege to meet two Instagram photographer friends that I have been dying to meet! I love how social media has the power to bring strangers together! We had brunch at the infamous Pearl Resort in Rosemary Beach with Anna and Ryan from Refuge Photography. It was a blast getting to know them and getting to tour their hometown!
We drank our favorite Fort Walton Beach coffee, soaked in the sun on our favorite Florida beach, and got to spend time with our family. We played card games, board games, and laughed until we cried. Ben and I did a few dream building beach walks and dreamt of our future together. I even got a makeover from my sister (who just so happens to be a professional makeup artist). It was definitely an amazing recharge that we had been looking forward to for a very long time! After the mess that was 2020, we were so happy to be able to travel again! We are already dreaming of when we can go back!
(If you are wondering if Ben is okay after that cartwheel...he stuck the landing.)
(Photos at Rosemary Beach captured by the man, the myth, the legend...Ben. Photos at the beach captured by me and my beautiful sister!)