Last month, well mid-January, we were invited down to my aunt and uncle's place for a little fun in the sun....and a small little festival in St. Petersburg with a few of my favorite musicians. ...don't have to twist my arm! We had a blast reconnecting and sharing in our love of all things music with family. We hadn't seen each other in a year (actually since the last Sunshine Music and Blues Fest), so we were really excited to be able to laugh and share stories and dance together since it had been a while!
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| Freddy, Uncle David, Aunt Robin, and my cousin Jane Garner. |
My aunt and uncle are some of the kindest, most generous folks you could ever meet, and they were so gracious to open up there home to us for a few days. The kids had a ball playing fetch with the Bostons and hanging out by the pool. Looking forward to the next trip down to actually get in it!
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| Imaginative play for hours! |
Saturday, we all trekked it up to St. Pete, about an hour north of them, for the festival. Crossing over the gorgeous Sunshine Skyway Bridge, we saw kite surfers and fishermen already taking advantage of the beautiful JANUARY day. Looking out, we could see all of the beautiful city ahead of us. St. Pete is a funky little art town with a vibrant downtown area. It is becoming one of my favorite cities to visit. One of these days, we'll have a date night there minus the littlest Lees!
This is the third year that Tedeschi Trucks Band has put on the Sunshine Music and Blues Fest. They perform one day in St. Pete, and they give festival-goers on the Atlantic coast a chance to catch the music too on the following day in Boca Raton. As we passed over the bridge into St. Pete, we headed over to
Vinoy Park - a cozy little park right on the water. Absolutely gorgeous!! Two stages were set up alternating good tunes throughout the day and into the night. We couldn't have asked for better weather either! Chris Robinson's Brotherhood, Grace Potter, The Both with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo.. to name a few. We had a BLAST dancing and singing together. I was so overjoyed to be able to share this experience yet again with my aunt and uncle!! The kids had a great time too blowing bubbles, eating corndogs, and applying fake tattoos. Naomi had a sleeve by the end of the day! She also took a few photos for us.
This is her handiwork below. We've got a natural little photographer on our hands! I'm framing a few of these shots!
All in all, we had the time of our lives in Florida over the long MLK Day weekend. It ended too soon even with that extra Monday thrown in. I definitely recommend Tedeschi Trucks's little festival on the water if you ever get the itch for sunnier skies and warmer weather in January. We will certainly be doing it again someday! :)
