Beach Trip 2012, Part 1

After everything going on with the house and AC (and since we weren’t moving any time soon), we decided it was time for a family vacation! We had never been on a trip together other than going to see family, and the kids had never been to the beach before, so we were excited! Here’s a synopsis of our first few days together:

Day 1: We left home around 9:30 on Saturday and drove to the Lowe’s in Birmingham to find a piece for the iPad mount. While there, Chris noticed one of our tires was looking a little low. When he got back in the car, the alert was on so we pulled in to a GoodYear place next door and they were able to fix it right away. There ended up being a hole in the tire and a pretty fast leak, so it was SO good that we were stopped near a tire place and not barreling down the interstate! The kids got to run around in the waiting area, so that was good for them to get some energy out. Then we drove thru and picked up some lunch and got back on the road. We only stopped one other time for a potty break and made it to our Gulf Shores condo around 5 that afternoon. It was cloudy and sprinkling off and on so we just unloaded and went to dinner. Then we made a grocery run for necessities and came home and got the kids to bed.

Day 2: Everyone slept in after a long day of traveling and it was great!! It was a beautiful day so we went right out to the beach – someone was really excited!!

The kids had a blast playing in the sand and surf.

The tall building in the background is our condo.

We stayed out until almost lunch time and came back to the condo and washed off and ate. Then we played inside a little until nap time. Chris and I just read and relaxed and it was SO wonderful and quiet! After naps we headed to Wal-Mart for a few things before going to an early dinner at LuLu’s. The food was great and the kids had fun afterwards playing in the sand.

Caroline’s favorite thing was jumping off the big sand pile:

And Luke had fun in the sand too, but mainly he just wanted to run around:

Then we went to The Track for more fun! Chris and Caroline rode the go carts together and she loved it! She covered her ears the whole time, but she wanted to go fast!

Then she rode the airplanes and she and Chris did the bumper boats. We had a few more “tokens” so she rode the swings and we headed back to the condo.

Day 3: It was another beautiful day and Caroline woke up early so Chris took her down to the beach to look for seashells while I got ready and got Luke up and ready.

Then they came back up to eat breakfast with us, and we decided to try the beach near the pass to the lagoon. There was hardly anyone else there and the water was shallow and calm. The kids had fun and we saw a dead crab and a live hermit crab. Caroline enjoyed playing in the inflatable boat but really liked the boogie board! Chris would pull her around on it and she had a blast!

Miss Caroline:

Luke was practicing swimming and it distracted him so he would leave his hat on!

Luke got really fussy and we were having problems with biting flies, so we had to leave after being there just a little while. We headed back to the condo and ate an early lunch and put the kids to bed. When they woke up we headed to the outlets and looked around. Chris got a shirt, but the kids got a little cranky, so we went on to dinner at Doc’s Seafood. Then we tried to get back to the beach before sunset to get some beach pics of the kids, but we were too late!

Caroline, aka Lady Liberty!

I took Luke back to the condo and he had a little fever, so I to put him to bed and Chris and Caroline went crab-hunting on the beach. They had fun and saw lots of crabs, but only caught one. They’re fast little boogers!

Day 4: Caroline woke up a little early and since Luke wasn’t feeling well, Chris just took her to the beach and I stayed at the condo with Luke.

I did some laundry and then we went to Wal-Mart to get a few more things and met Chris and Caroline back at the condo for lunch. We put the kids down early for naps so we could go to Orange Beach afterwards for a Dolphin Cruise!

It was a little warm, but once the boat started going faster, the wind cooled us off. The kids were a little cranky and restless, but the boat company had perfected their technique to round up the dolphins. The two boats would go fast side by side and the dolphins would jump way up out of the water in between the two boats in the big wakes. It was quite a show! Caroline enjoyed it, but it only lasted a few minutes, then it was just quiet looking and watching.

The kids got bored and fussy – I think they were hungry, but they did another “round-up” and we headed back. I was worried about the long ride back to the marina with two cranky kids, but the crew pull out another source of entertainment – live fish! They had a little tank full of fish and got them out of the water and onto a towel on the deck for the kids to pick up and put back in the tank. But all the kids were too scared to pick them up since they were flopping around! Finally the adults and the crew helped put them back in and the kids just enjoyed fishing them out of the tank with the nets.

We eventually made it back to the dock and headed to dinner. The place we wanted to go was closed, but we ended up at the Compleat Angler at the Wharf. They seated us outside and it turned out to be kids’ night so the kids could eat for free and they had a clown outside making balloon animals. Caroline saw him and said, “Can I go to that party, Mom?” It was too cute! They also had corn hole games and other things outside for the kids to do while they waited. We had fun and the food was great too!

Then afterwards they had a hermit crab race and the kids all chose a hermit crab to cheer on and Caroline’s won one of the races. She won a pink bracelet and was very excited! After dinner we walked around the wharf and rode the Ferris wheel as the sun was setting. It was beautiful and Caroline and Luke both loved it!

Stay tuned for part 2 of our family beach trip (and congrats for making it thru this long post!).