Florida 2014

A couple weeks ago we loaded up the car and headed to the Destin area (Miramar Beach to be exact). Going there we drove halfway and stayed the night in Jackson, MS. Though it was nice to stop, take a little swim, eat a little pizza and sleep before heading out again, we decided it probably wasn't worth the extra time or money (or effort since we weren't sure if we needed to unload our car or not, so we did). We arrived in Miramar Beach shortly after lunch and headed straight to the beach. Parents of our good friends, Eric and Annie, have the cutest little beach house within walking distance (just a few blocks) of the beach. We were so lucky to have such great accommodations during our stay. Thanks Supple family!

Our three full days and two half days were spent mostly at the beach--I'm still amazed that the continental U.S. has such an amazing beach. The sand couldn't have been whiter or cleaner and the water was clear and the most beautiful shade of aqua blue. Both kids LOVED the beach! Will spent MUCH of his time digging. He built a few sand castles, but mostly he just dug and dug and dug. Cate played in the sand on her own terms--sometimes she was down with digging in it and making sand castles and at other times she wanted to rinse the sand off in the ocean and be carried to her towel to "sunbathe" or put under the umbrella (such the diva). They both loved going out in the water and jumping "over" the waves. Other than the first afternoon (shortly before a thunderstorm that night), the water was not rough at all. They each tried boogie boarding but weren't too good at staying balanced. On our last morning they discovered "body surfing" (think waves pushing them up on to the sand like beached whales).

Sure fire way to wear out a four year old--encourage him to chase the seagulls...



We spent most of our evenings cooking and hanging at the house, but one evening we headed to The Village of Baytowne Wharf. We arrived a little early so it was rather hot, but the kids really enjoyed the carousel and playground. We ate at a great restaurant, Hammerheads, that had a very cool pier next to it. And of course the evening was finished off with ice cream. As we were leaving the weather started to cool down and the live music was just getting started--oh well, maybe next time.

One day after lunch we headed to Gator Beach, a live alligator exhibit associated with the restaurant Fudpuckers. The kids, especially Will, had a thing about going to Florida and seeing alligators so they seemed to think this was pretty cool. [Side note: Interactive Gator Show is NOT worth standing around for. Free, but not worth it. Just go see the gators and move on!]

Our neighborhood had a pool, which was a nice option we took advantage of a couple times during the week. Cate particularly enjoyed treating her daddy like a human jungle gym.

On our last night, we boarded a Dolphin Cruise. Cate was rather antsy during the 2-hour cruise, so she and I didn't do much dolphin watching, but Billy and Will did see a few. The dolphins weren't out in great numbers, but being on the water was nice. We kept seeing the pirate ship below and I'm thinking one or both of our kids might have wished, just a little bit, that we were on that instead.

On our last morning Billy took the kids for one last hoorah at the beach while I tended to cleaning and packing. After a quick lunch at the house we loaded up and started our drive home. Other than a couple bathroom stops and one hour and a half-long stop for dinner, we drove the whole way home, taking the I-10 route this time instead of the more northern route (mostly I-20) we took going there. We arrived shortly before 1 a.m. and honestly it really wasn't all that bad. If we are fortunate enough to go back again in the future, I'm thinking that'll be the way to go. We made such great memories, and I am so grateful to have had such a great family vacation with our family of four before we add to that number later this year.