I was excited to hear that netlogx was incentivizing its employees to take a trip somewhere they had never been before. This was the perfect opportunity for me to take some personal time to go visit some family members who are far but dear to me. I grew up with my aunt and uncle very close by. I spent countless hours at their lake home. They would tell you I essentially lived there each year May – August. Sadly, for me, in recent years, they chose to turn their summer lake life into a year-long beach life. Being so close to them, it has been a bummer to go so long without spending time with them. So, I decided there was no better time than the dead of Michigan winter to take a week-long trip to visit them in their new home town, Venice, FL. Outside of my plane ticket, here are some of the great things we did during the week, all of which the netlogx year-end bonus contributed to!
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – We traveled an hour north to Tampa, FL to spend a day at a Busch Gardens for my 8-year-old cousin’s birthday, who also happened to be visiting that week. I had not been to a theme park in YEARS, so I had a great and thrilling day.
Mote Marine Aquarium – The obligatory trip to see the local life forms!
Inter-coastal Pontoon Ride – The most memorable times with this family is the time spent on the boat. Being in FL makes things no different. We spent a day driving the pontoon from Venice up to Siesta Key beach via the inter-coastal. Along the way, stopping at waterfront restaurants and bars to enjoy treats and drinks. This was by far my favorite day and the dolphins swimming beside us most the way didn’t hurt either.
Beach day – By far the cheapest day for me was spending an entire day at the beach. Nothing beats soaking up some sun with an ocean view in the middle of January!
And of course, the priceless piece of my whole trip was simply getting to spend some time with the people I don’t get to see anymore. I hope my netlogx teammates find time this year to do something just as joyful!
