Our Florida adventure

Good morning! I’m excited to be back on a Monday and have so much to share, as I’ve been very busy traveling – and catching up from traveling – and preparing for more travel – along with just trying to keep up with normal life.

My best friend (and sister-in-law) and I try to do a girls trip annually. For the last eight years, we have gone to a homeschool conference together. If you’ve never been to one, homeschool conferences are filled with inspiring speakers and a huge exhibit hall with everything a homeschool family might ever need. I like to see curriculum before I purchase, and often have a chance to talk to the author at these events. But the real reason I love them is the time with my SIL. We have so much fun together. We come home refreshed, ready to be the best for our families.

Well, this year, the conference we have been attending moved further away, and conflicts with one of the main events for our graduating seniors. So we had to look at other options.

We have both been trying to make changes to our lifestyle to improve our health and that of our families. We decided to attend a small health conference, which happened to be in on a farm in Florida mid-March.

Day 1 of the conference, we spent a little time at the beach.

After the beach, we met a number of the speakers and attendees at a cold springs in a city park in Crystal River. The water is 72 degrees year round.

We chatted quite a bit with one of the speakers and her husband, and ended up having lunch with them at a local restaurant – which was really fun (and delicious). Somehow I always forget to take pictures – I wish I had taken a picture of my salad. The house dressing was made from kalamata olives, and was so yummy.

After lunch, we stopped at our hotel to clean up and then went out to the farm for a dinner. The farm is a very unique combination of farm, conference center, and campground. They even have a couple of cabins for rent. This turkey was VERY friendly.

The organizers of the conference took their job seriously when it came to healthy meals. Every meal was prepared fresh from high quality ingredients. I thoroughly enjoyed every meal.

We also had the opportunity to just sit and chat with the speakers attending, getting to know several of them. They had a wealth of knowledge and were just so relatable and fun to talk to.

The second day, we arrived early and went for a walk through the farm. There is a lagoon along the edge of the farm, and on the other side there is a large nature preserve with lots of wildlife including alligators. My SIL saw an alligator on the last day of the conference.

The early morning was cool and a bit foggy. The mist off of the water made the farm so calming. They have orange trees, among many other plants, as well as a variety of animals.

After our walk, we had an amazing breakfast, and the speaker sessions began. We enjoyed all the speakers, but I think the meal breaks were what I enjoyed the most – mainly due to the conversations we had with other attendees and several of the speakers.

Leading up to our trip, I was a little worried we wouldn’t find this conference as much of an inspiration and also respite from daily life – but it was truly amazing – we both agreed it was absolutely an unforgettable positive experience.