Operation: Plan a vacation on the fly because you are too pregnant to get on your cruise to the Bahamas that you already paid for and you are now stuck in Florida for the week, was a HUGE SUCCESS!!

Sometimes life throws you lemons and when it does, it is good to be with friends who know how to make the best lemonade around!  

When I found out I couldn't go on the cruise Julia and Wendy were SUPER AMAZING friends doing everything to make my tears and guilt go away.  They took care of everything from getting our cruise credited so we can go in the future, to planning a quick new vacation in Ft. Lauderdale for the next four days.  I am so lucky to have some of the best, positive, hilarious friends EVER.  I love these girls so much!  I really wanted them to go on the cruise without me, but they were not going to leave me.  Lemonade I tell you; sweet delicious lemonade!

We decided to spend the week in Ft. Lauderdale Florida; this was never a spot I thought about vacationing in before, but it turned out to be a gold mind.  It was off season so we were able to afford a lovely hotel right on the beach.  Ironically the hotel was shaped like a cruise ship.  It had a lovely pool, private beach, restaurants and below shows the view from our room.  Not too shabby!

Our first night we were all pretty drained so went to dinner and ordered dessert first, it was the best idea; I recommend this plan to anyone having an especially difficult day.  We then sat by the pool and just relaxed to the sounds of the ocean waves as we chatted and laughed about our day.

Two of the days were spent on the beach, swimming in the warm perfect ocean water, drinking pina coladas, chatting and reading our kindles.  It was basically perfect.

We got all gussied up a couple of nights for a lovely dinner.  We had wonderful food everywhere we went.  

We took the trolly around town one day to do some shopping, get a massage and do some more eating.

This was our pool, then our beach, then the ocean.  This was right out of my dreams and I loved living it!

These girls don't love the son as much as I do, so we got them a little bit of shade and I hung out in front of them soaking in as much sun as possible.  I really love being on the beach.  

This beach had the perfect smooth sand and warm clear blue water, it was similar to being on a tropical island I imagine.

We rented a car the last day we were in Florida to visit the Everglades and go on an airboat tour.  Who knew the Everglades were so gorgeous!?  The Airboat tour was wonderful and were able to see lots of wildlife.  Yes, the alligators came right up to our boats, a little too close for comfort, but absolutely fascinating.

Our tour guide Lt. Dan was wonderful.  He kept us entertained the entire trip.

We even got to hold a baby alligator; isn't she the cutest?

We saw an alligator show as well, this is apparently where Gator Boys is filmed, I assume this is a show on Animal Planet, but I don't have cable so I have no idea.  It was pretty flippin' amazing!

Our last night we went to the beach to try to see some of the baby sea turtle nests hatch as this is the time of year that they hatch.  Since there was a full bright moon the week were there, many nest were hatching.  Julia and I stayed out until 2 a.m and saw three next hatch.  It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever witnessed.  Each nest held 50-85 baby turtles that we got to count and make sure made it into the ocean.  We couldn't take any pictures because any light confuses them and they wont go toward the ocean, but we were there and it was an experience we wont forget.

Here is a video of the baby turtles, so you can get a sense of what we saw.

It was a very memorable trip filled with lots of laughing, inside jokes, sweating, fun and deep conversation.  I love these girls so much and am so lucky to have them in my life. 

Bahamas cruise will be happening, just not until March 2015.