Hey, guys! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing winter break! My family and I just came back from Marco Island down in Florida, and it was amazing! Most vacations I love to explore, but this one was very nice because we relaxed in the sun most of the time. After a very hard first semester and an upcoming second semester in less than a week, a relaxing vacation was most certainly needed.

Florida has always been one of my most favorite places in the world to visit for many reasons. It's always sunny and warm, some of the best amusement parks such as Disney World or Universal Studios exist in Orlando, you can find a beach almost anywhere, there's a lot of wildlife, and just the fact that it's a very happy place. It was a nice feeling to come back to the state to visit, especially seeing Marco Island for the first time. I highly recommend this destination spot if your planning for your next vacation to be relaxing and warm.

We arrived to the hotel late at night, and we stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club, & Spa. It apparently was rated as the best resort on the island, so we picked a very good destination!

The resort was absolutely beautiful. There was a giant fountain outside in the front, and it literally was the coolest fountain in the world. Part of it even changed colors at night!

The inside of the hotel was still decorated in Christmas interior, and it was very fresh and nice inside. There were a few restaurants, including a Menchie's! I think we ate more frozen yogurt than we should have, but it was worth it.

My favorite part of the hotel was the pool and the beach. It was super nice to sit on a bunch in the warm sun wearing a bikini. I read some really good books and everything was just relaxing.

My mom, sister and I would walk the beach every day to collect seashells. I think we collected over a 100! Or at least it seemed like a hundred, there were more than a million scattered on the shore.

My sister's boyfriend Jordan came down on the third day to spend New Years and Lauren's birthday with us. We celebrated her 21st at midnight on December 31st with her first legal drink. Then we went to bed to rest up for the next day, which we rested more at the pool. Then later we went to get sushi and more alcohol before the countdown to 2016.

On New Years Day, we decided to take a break from the pool and beach. We heard this place called the Everglades where you could take a tour of an unparalleled landscape with rare and endangered species such as manatees, panthers, and alligators. Yikes!

It was very cool as well as terrifying. While unfortunately we saw no manatees or panthers, we saw a lot of alligators. There was one that came too close to our boat and stared us down. I was so worried that it was going to jump up and bite our legs off! Luckily it didn't, thanks to the act of prayer.

When some random creep trying to photobomb before he eats you alive ...

We also had the opportunity to meet some baby alligators before the boat ride! I was too scared to hold one, so I just held it's tail. It's ironic because if it were a baby panther, I probably would've held that!

Afterwards, we had to drop off Jordan at the airport to get back home. We wish he didn't have to leave early, but were glad he came and he had fun!

We next stopped in Fort Myers to meet my dad's friend, a CEO from Bunzl, and his family at a Miromar Lakes Resort & Club where they own a condo. My dad's friend and his family are the nicest people we have ever met. And their condo resort was absolutely stunning, it was almost like an area in Beverly Hills!

We decided to spend our two final days both relaxing and shopping. We hung out at the pool and beach one last time, then we took a short trip for dinner to Naples. If you haven't been there, I recommend going there. It's like a little Italy!

We made the right choice to not go to the pool and beach on the last day because it started raining, so we lucked out. But it was still annoying to walk around the Fort Myers Mall with the rain beating down on us. Eventually, we got a quick dinner and made a flight back home to Cleveland!

I was bummed leaving Marco Island, but I'm glad I had a whole week to enjoy relaxing in sunshine and having no worries. I definitely can't wait to go back to Florida, no matter what city we choose next time. Maybe someday we can even buy a condo and go down there for New Years, spring break, or whenever Ohio gets too boring!

Thank you Mom & Dad for taking us on this fabulous trip. Happy 21st Birthday to my beautiful sister Lauren, have fun buying drinks legally at Miami University or wherever! Thank you to my our friends, the Larmon family, for letting us come visit you at your beautiful resort! And finally, thank you Jordan for tagging along with us for three days!

If you have any questions about Marco Island, comment down below and let me know! :)

Marco Island, Florida