I didn’t sleep very well our first night at the Omni. I don’t know if it was dehydration (I tried to drink a lot of water, really I did!), or alcohol (one at lunch, one before dinner, and one at dinner), or the uncomfortable pillow, or what. But I was up a lot. I got out of bed before sunrise, probably 5 or 5:30, but then my eyes got heavy and I went back to bed. Andrew had set his alarm for 7 am so he and Madeline could do a 5k. The day before we’d seen the 5k on the hotel’s list of weekend activities, and Madeline said running one was on her summer bucket list, so Andrew signed them both up. I thought about running it, but I really hate the Florida humidity, so I decided I would check out the big fitness center while they ran.

We got ready and hopped a shuttle to the fitness center, which was also the 5k start/end point. I went in and started my workout while they picked up their shirts. The lady who checked us in had raved about the fitness center, so I was a little disappointed to see that it wasn’t as nice as the one we use at our JCC in Indianapolis. But it still had everything I needed. I did some arm work on the machines, then put down a mat and did my leg work, and used the stretching device for my favorite part of the workout. As I was stretching, I noticed that a lot of runners were finishing, so I decided that when I was done I’d check and see how close Andrew and Madeline were to finishing. Instead, about a minute later when I was on my last stretch Andrew texted me that they were finished. They joined me in the fitness center and used some towels to wipe off their sweaty faces, and Andrew checked out the facility to plan his Monday morning workout.

The walk back to the hotel was hot, and Madeline complained most of the way that her legs hurt. At one point we stopped at a shuttle stop and waited for a shuttle that never came, and Andrew checked their 5k times. Both did pretty well, considering it was a million humidity for the run. Our plan was to quickly change into swimsuits and hop in the ocean, but when we got back to the room Madeline decided she wanted to eat first. We had passed a couple restaurants on our way to the hotel, so it would have been great if she’d decided that before, but we went with it and went to the same restaurant where we’d had dinner the night before. The breakfast buffet was as good as the pasta one had been, and we all ate heartily. The highlight was a machine that crushed whole oranges and turned them into juice, at the press of a button.

After breakfast, Madeline and I changed into our swimsuits and went to the beach, while Andrew took some time to himself. We played in the ocean for almost two hours! After an hour we got out to reapply sunscreen, and then we walked to the beach desk to reserve a cabana for the next day before getting back into the waves. When we left the ocean, the walk across the beach and back to our room felt long.

I immediately hopped into the shower, and it felt so good to get clean after so much salt water and sand and chlorine and sweat. When I came out, Madeline was lying in her bed in her pajamas! Andrew came back soon thereafter, with bottles of water and cans of beer. Madeline wanted to nap rather than go to lunch, so Andrew and I went back to Seaglass. We split a flatbread and both left full. At that point I was ready for a nap and slept hard for about half an hour. When Madeline woke up she had a bad headache, so we gave her Advil and had her drink water. She rested more with her eyes closed.

When Madeline started feeling better, but still didn’t want to do anything, Andrew and I decided to go check out a boardwalk we’d seen going into the forest. It turned out that it was the walk through the “Sunken Forest,” and Andrew and I sat at the Sunken Forest overlook for about 15 minutes, watching the ocean and looking up the beach at other buildings. We walked back along the beach and got Palomas at a place by the pool called Paloma & Pico. When we got back to the room, Madeline was feeling better and finally unpacking her suitcase. We hung out for a while then headed to dinner outside of the hotel but still on the property.

We caught the shuttle bus at the main hotel entrance and got off at Marché Burrette, where they had a special steak dinner for the holiday weekend. While we waited for a table, we looked over the rail into the retention pond, and we saw many turtles and a really big catfish!

Soon we were seated at a nice outside table and looking at the menu. Andrew wanted a ribeye, but the only option was 36 ounces! The server let us know that they could split it, and we’d both get our own salad and baked potato. We did that, but it was still way too much food. Madeline had a grilled cheese off of the kids menu and was perfectly full, unlike her parents, who were too full. We walked back to the hotel to help us digest, sat on the pool deck for a while soaking up the nice evening atmosphere, and then headed to the room to get ready for bed. We wanted to wake in time to see the sun rise on our last full day at the resort.