Hey everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful autumn. I love warm days, but I’m already looking forward to autumn-like weather! Before I jump into autumn, this post is about my fun summer trip to Holiday, Florida. I will be covering my vacation outfits, must-see places in the area, and my fun adventures. “Holiday” isn’t a very well known name in Florida; it is a suburb of the well known “Tampa.” Now that you have an idea of where it is, it’s time to dive into the details of the trip!
I’ve been to “Holiday” so many times now that I’ve lost count of how many times I went. I don’t go there just for vacationing; it’s where my mom lives. I consider it to be my second home. My mom has lived here for a little over two years now; ever since then, I take trips to see her as often as possible. My mom does her best to visit us here in Indiana as well. Although I mainly go to Florida to visit my mom, I adore the area and the beautiful beaches. I always have a great time here and look forward to coming back.
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My younger sister is almost always with me on trips to Florida, as she was for this trip. Our first day there; was more like our first night. On the evening of June 26th, we headed to the Louisville airport at 7:00. For my airport outfit, I went with a pair of jean capris, a flowy floral top from “Pink Lily Boutique,” and tan sandals. This look is ideal for flying because it’s comfortable enough for the plane but also fun and summery for Florida. It is known as the sunshine state! The photo above is outside in front of the car before going to the airport. I went ahead and got the shot before having to put a mask on at the airport. After waiting at the airport and boarding the plane, we ended up landing in Saint Petersburg around 10:45 at night. With us arriving so late, we didn’t have time for activities, so we headed straight to Mom’s house. Once at her place, we finally got to meet her adorable new labradoodle puppy named Maisy! Maisy is also pictured above.
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On day two, we were ready to have fun on our first full day! Today’s destination was Honeymoon Island, State Park. Honeymoon Island was always one of my favorite beaches, especially when we first started coming here. Honeymoon Island was the very first beach I went to in Florida about two years ago. A little fun fact about Honeymoon Island; Marvel movie, “The Punisher,” was filmed here! There is a dog beach here as well! Today we took Maisy to her first-ever beach trip on the dog beach. Dogs love to relax in the sun too! She loved the beach and even got cozy in a lounge chair on the sand. Now onto looks, today I kept it simple with a pair of distressed jean shorts and a tank top. Yes, that is caveman Spongebob on my tank, haha! It was a hot and sunny day, so shorts and a tank seemed like the right way to go. Honeymoon Island is definitely worth visiting if you’re in the area. It’s a beautiful park and there’s plenty of beach area to enjoy!
The next day was spent at my absolute favorite beach, Sand Key Beach! Sand Key is attached to Clearwater Beach, it’s less crowded because Clearwater is the more popular side. Sand Key is still just as beautiful as Clearwater. We spent the whole day here, relaxing on the sand and going out into the ocean. This beach is my favorite because it’s never overcrowded and it has gorgeous white-colored sand that almost looks like snow. In the photo above you can see my cute two-piece leopard-print swimsuit from the Pink Lily Boutique. I have been all about leopard print recently, this is my favorite swimsuit and I will be linking it below!
After a relaxing day at Sand Key Beach, we were ready for a fun day of shopping! A day full of shopping is just as therapeutic as the beach! I think we all like to treat ourselves sometimes! Today my sister and I would be shopping with our stepbrother while our mom worked. Our first shopping destination was Clearwater Mall. I was very impressed with this mall because it’s full of so many stores and restaurants, more than I could keep up with. There is even a movie theatre in this mall, much bigger than my hometown mall in Indiana! We checked out a decent amount of the stores and went to the food court to have some soft pretzels for lunch. I left the mall with some fun goodies! I’d bought some candy, a clearance tee shirt, a cute wallet, and a recipe calendar. After the mall, our next stop was the Sponge Docks. The Sponge Docks is located in Tarpon Springs Florida. The Sponge Docks shopping center is more of a tourist area. If you do visit Tarpon Springs this would be the place to go for souvenirs. One of my favorite purchases at the Sponge Docks is the scented bar soaps with scrubbing sponges. The sponges that come with soap are real sponges from the ocean! After checking out the soap we roamed around some more to see what other stores we could find. It wasn’t until this recent trip that we discovered a small music shop in the Sponge Docks that I loved! Music is one of my biggest loves so I had a blast looking through all of the CD’s, I even found a Collective Soul CD that I ended up buying. If you are a music fan of any kind I recommend checking out this little local business! The name of this cool little shop is, “Vinyl Vibes CD Shop.”
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Although the last day is pretty sad, it doesn’t mean the fun is over yet! Today we would head to Howard Park Beach to enjoy our last day out in the sand and sun. I was back in my favorite leopard print swimsuit, wearing my embroidered blue sundress from the 1015 Store. In the pictures, you can see the clear blue sky on that beautiful day. You can also see the full dress in the photo of me sitting down on a ledge. Howard Park is a very relaxing beach and it’s a great place to spend the whole day. Being able to relax on the beach made for an amazing last day on the trip.
The next morning it was time to head straight to the airport right when we woke up. As much as I love getting back home to the rest of my family and friends, leaving is never easy. I don’t know what it was about this recent trip, but this was the saddest I had ever felt about leaving. Even after getting back home that afternoon I still felt affected by those emotions. That experience helped me to learn that sometimes we feel more emotional than other times. I also learned that it’s okay to feel that way. Eventually, I would heal and see my mom again.
This visit was much needed and I enjoyed every moment. I am grateful for all the memories I made and that I will get to return again and again. I hope this has inspired you to visit the Tampa area and gave you some fashion inspiration! Looking back on this trip brings a smile to my face and warms my heart. Remember to always have fun and embrace your emotions! Thanks for reading, as always stay tuned!
Love, Abby
Abby Style 