Cara's 25th B-day Celebration in Cape Coral

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Matt's and my good friend Cara, decided that she wanted to celebrate her 25th birthday with fun in the sun during a Cape Coral weekend getaway.

Directions
We were more than happy to attend! From West Palm to Cape Coral, we opted to take I-75 which took us a little under 3 hours despite a mini detour of getting lost. From Cape Coral to West Palm, we took Southern the whole way. Southern is a much more direct route, but also posed some issues with drops in speed since it cut through several central Florida towns. In the future, I would probably always take I-75 for the steady speed limit alone.

Lodging
Cara did her research in advance and opted to have us all stay at The Resort at MarinaVillage in Cape Coral . We booked via Hotels.com and paid $135 a night (before additional fees and hotel amenity charges). The resort itself was stunning. When we originally booked our room, we opted for the basic room in lieu of the suites due to a decent price difference. When we arrived to our room, we were a bit disappointed as the room had two tiny twin beds instead of a single double or queen. When we called the front desk, she explained that they don't have basic rooms like that and we couldn't just upgrade our bed. It would cost an extra $30 per night to get the bigger room. After a few minutes of discussion, she ended up giving us a complimentary upgrade. We couldn't be happier about this! Surprisingly, there is a massive difference in the quality of the rooms between basic and the suites to the point where $30 a night more seems cheap. The room was more like a condo with a full kitchen, living room, beautiful screened in patio of the water below and massive bathroom. The bed was also amazingly comfortable. Room aside, the resort also offered several places to eat and shop. We would definitely stay here again if we revisited Cape Coral.

Entertainment
The focus of our trip was spending Saturday out on the boat. The resort was attached to a marina so it was very quick and easy to rent a 23-footer. Dave and Cara came prepared with a giant tube and Cara's dad served as the Captain. We had an absolute blast out on the water! Although, I must admit, tubing 1. makes you incredibly sore for days after and 2. never again will I wear a bikini when attempting this. Oh, and 3. ALWAYS reapply the sunscreen after tubing. Matt and I were burnt to a crisp at the end of the day. While on the boat, we ventured up around Captiva Island and spent about 45 minutes sanddollar hunting in the water. Although the water on the West Coast of Florida is beautiful, I still think the East Coast is more turquoise.

Dining
For Cara's birthday dinner, she wanted to eat at Joe's Crab Shack. This was a first visit for both Matt and I. The food was good, but doesn't hold a candle to Gilligan's in Charleston, SC. Regardless, it was nice eating crab again since it had been awhile.

Overall, it was a super fun birthday getaway for all of us! The only downside was the insane amount of mosquitos around...definitely bring bug spray next time.

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