Summer Holiday

We're on vacation! Woot! We left last Friday and headed to my parents' house in Alabama. This was a little detour on our way to the beach, but I hadn't seen my Nana since Christmas and I wanted to make sure we spent a few days with her while we were down this way. My mom actually had a conference in Orlando. She had to leave around noon on Saturday, but we were able to spend a little time together before she left. It also worked out well that I would be there to help out with Nana while my mom was out of town.  We had a great time relaxing and visiting with eachother.

Monday morning we loaded back up and made our way to the coast. The condo I rented was in Perdido Key, FL (pretty much sat on the state line) and it was only about a 25 minute drive from my sister Deanne's house. When I was making plans for this trip, I was hoping to find a place in this area so we could see my sister and brother-in-law, Todd. So, their house was on the way to the condo and we stopped to pick Deanne up for lunch that day (and drop Ferris off while we were at lunch).

After lunch, we came back to Deanne and Todd's and hung out for a bit (translation: Etta got SOAKED) before heading over to get settled in at the condo.

Our Condo:

 View from our condo:

Keith enjoyed a little fishing at the end of the dock. Our first night there he caught a couple of catfish.

Tuesday was our first full day at the beach. It was a little rainy off and on that day so we spent the morning running a couple of errands, had lunch, and went back to the condo so Etta could take a nap. After her nap we went across the street to the beach. Etta doesn't really like the sand too much, but she loves the surf!

You may also notice in some of the pictures that there is a line of smoke lingering in the air. A few days before we got down there a wildfire started in Gulf Shores (about 10 miles west of where we were staying). The smoke never really affected us, but we noticed it each day.

On Wednesday we went over to Big Lagoon State Park to play on the playground and walk around the boardwalks and swim in the calm waters. Etta actually wasn't too interested in the water that day and Keith believes it's because there wasn't any surf. After she'd had enough we went to lunch and back to the condo for a nap.

(shirt by Layne James Embroidery)

That evening Deanne and Todd drove out to meet us for dinner. It was good to get together with them, but our general experience at that restaurant was a mess! We waited for a table for about 40 minutes outside in the bright sun and unbearable heat, then we were finally seated on the patio, but at the ONE table that was in the full sun and didn't have a fan blowing on it. After about 15 minutes, we were able to get ourselves moved to a table in the shade and under a fan. Etta was a wreck this whole time. She finally settled down when her plate of french fries arrived, but then there was an issue with Keith's oysters and a manager had to come fix the problem. We were disappointed to find out that the oysters were not actually shucked at the restaurant, but they were presented as if the were. Oysters came in a jar or tub already shucked and the restaurant just put them on half-shells. Except because they could only fit nine shells on each plate, when you order a dozen they just kind of toss the other three on there somehow (or so they claimed). Keith counted and counted, but he never found more than nine oysters. Anyway, service was slow and while the food tasted good, it was obvious that it had come to them frozen and tossed into a fryer. Nothing was made fresh there. So, if your going to the gulf coast, skip any of the "Shrimp Basket" restaurants!

Thursday we went for breakfast at Waffle House and Keith and Etta hung out at the condo while I drove over to the outlet mall in Foley, AL. Woot for BIG deals!

I got some more pictures on the way back of the smoke from the wildfires.

By the time I got back to the condo, Etta had finished her nap and everyone was ready to go to the beach. So, we went for about an hour.

why yes, she IS eating sand.

On Friday Deanne drove out to have breakfast with us at Waffle House (again!) and then we drove out to the The Warf to walk around and poke in a few shops.

Then we went back to the condo (Deanne went on home) and Etta and I took a nap while Keith went over to the beach for a couple hours. We just hung around the condo the rest of the afternoon.

Saturday morning we packed up and loaded up and drove over to Deanne and Todd's to spend a few days with them. We unloaded and went to lunch and spent the rest of the day taking it easy at the house.

To be continued...