On the last Saturday morning of August, the five of us piled all of our luggage and ourselves into David's dad's Navigator (his grandparents drove separately) and pulled out around 9:45am. We stopped in Montgomery around noon for a long lunch and then - get this - drove straight through the rest of the way. Audrey had on "special travel underwear" (pull-ups) and was doing great, so we just kept stretching it out and made it in only 7.5 hours. Not bad!
We unloaded, unpacked, and hit the beach for a little while. As planned, David wrote a little message to some of his extended family in the sand:
His grandparents came over and we told them the news by showing them a photo album with pics of Audrey in a "Big Sister" shirt and then we emailed the above picture to his aunts and uncles. We spent a while on the phone with everyone that evening, receiving congratulations and going over details. What a great way to start vacation!
After putting Audrey to bed and finally getting our Shakes fix (delicious frozen custard sundae stand down there that we frequent), we turned in early, exhausted from a day of sitting in the car. On Sunday, we did the pool and the beach before lunch and then played in the condo with Audrey before she took a long nap. I love how the sun, water, and sea air make them sleep so well. David and I went on a hot date to Target and enjoyed leisurely strolling the aisles. When we returned and Audrey woke up, we all ate dinner at a local place called The Back Porch whose trademark view and breeze from the open windows were divine.
On Monday, David left early to play golf with his grandfather while I hung out with his grandmother, parents, and AJ. His grandmother made us delicious flitters (a cross between hotcakes and biscuits) which all of us thoroughly enjoyed, especially Audrey. That girl put away almost two by herself on top of a ton of fruit! We played at the pool and beach, ate lunch and caught up on David's day when he returned, and then headed back down to the pool. David and his parents took Audrey up for a bath and a nap while I hung out by the pool and read. Ahhhhhh. That night we hit another local place called McGuire's. It's an Irish pub that's famous for having close to one million one dollar bills stapled to the ceiling from patrons. After eating hamburgers the size of our heads, we went across the street to Harbor Town and walked around through the shops and docks.
Tuesday started off even better than Monday. Of course I mean because David didn't play golf and it was my mother-in-law's birthday, not at all because we had flitters AND eggs and bacon. :) (Have you noticed what a topic food is with us during vacation?!) In my defense, David and I did get up early and go for a walk together. When we returned, we stuffed ourselves, did our usual pool/beach/lunch/bathe AJ/put her down routine and then I decided to take a nap myself. We all woke up and got dressed for dinner at Cracker Barrel (one of my MIL's favorites) and then came back to the condo for presents, cake, ice cream, and some Phase 10. We are so blessed by her and thankful that we spent all of her birthday with her this year...and in such a pretty location!
On Wednesday, David headed out for golf while his parents, Audrey, and I went out to breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe (another delicious local place that has the tastiest eggs). After we ate, we went to the Gulfarium about fifteen minutes away. Being from Atlanta, I knew that it was not going to compare to the world's largest aquarium, but it was nice and offered Audrey a break from the pool and beach. We saw a dolphin show, sharks, sting-rays, tortoises, sea lions, penguins (there are tropical ones - did you know that?!), ducks, alligators, and of course fish. Audrey loved checking everything out and there was such a small crowd that we got to take our time. On the way out, she chose a small stuffed dolphin from the gift shop and declared his name was "Zach" like the one in the show. We went back to the condo for lunch and filled David in about our busy, exciting morning. That evening, he and I went out on a date to dinner and shopping and got back just in time to tuck in Audrey and finish our Phase 10 game. In case you were wondering, I
Thursday dawned dark and stormy, but David and I decided to chance it and headed out for an early morning walk. We had to do something to at least attempt to work off all our indulgences. As we were coming back, the sun had come out and it looked like it was going to be a clear day. We ate breakfast and got ready for our last pool/beach outing. We stretched out the day as long as we could and ended it with a delicious dinner, a long beach walk, and some pictures. We tucked AJ in, packed everything up, and begrudgingly turned out the lights.
On Friday morning we got ready, loaded the car, took one last picture of Audrey standing by the little palm tree where she'd leaned in April 2010, and said goodbye to his grandparents. We had another fantastic drive and ended up only stopping once for lunch. I was so proud of Audrey for handling the trip as well as she did, though I'm sure having back seat entertainment from us and her DVD player helped tremendously.
So, in case you missed it, it was an awesome week. We were sad to see it end, but thankful to get out before the bad weather hit. Not to mention we timed it perfectly to arrive home for a three day weekend. That and the four loads of laundry I did right before we left made the post-vacation depression much easier to handle!
Here are some other quick highlights:
- Audrey in the pool loving motor-boat and the 1, 2, 3 game where she's thrown in the air. We must've heard "Do it again!" a thousand times.
- One morning after David had already left to play golf, Audrey noticed his sunglasses on the counter. "Daddy needs them!"she exclaimed. "He needs them so he doesn't get brighted!" (Translation: so he doesn't get sun in his eyes.)
- Audrey learning about seagulls and alternating between calling them by their right name and "eagles."
- The fact that I got to finish three books in one week. THREE. I haven't read that much in such a short amount of time since...well, since our last vacation with David's parents.
- Audrey walking on the beach in the tracks (made by the lifeguards' golf carts), doing "1, 2, 3 Wheeee" with her Grandma and Pawpaw. I'm not sure whose arms were more tired in the end.
- Finally getting to "go public" with the pregnancy while we were there! I'll always remember getting to share the news via our message in the sand.
- Audrey realizing every time we'd get near the condo after being gone to dinner or elsewhere. Then she'd explain how we had to use the elevator and go way up because our condo was so high.
- Watching our own private "cooking show" while Grandma made our delicious breakfasts.
- Lying down beside and snuggling with my sweet girl as I put her to bed each night. We had her on a twin mattress on the floor surrounded by pillows so I'd lie there with her and sing until she was just about asleep. Since she's in a crib converted to a toddler bed at home, I don't get to do that.
- Speaking of putting her to bed, David was laying her down for her nap one afternoon and as he singing, she said, "Okay. You can leave now and close the door." Poor baby was exhausted and slept so well on this trip!
We had a wonderful trip and will cherish the memories we made and the time spent with family for years to come. Don't forget to check out pictures in the gallery!
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