Destin, Florida Vacation

It was our bi-annual beach vacation with my parents and my sister’s family and this year we decided to forgo our usual spot in the Outer Banks for Destin, Florida.  A great time was had by all and I do think we might be making this our new beach location!

We left directly after church last Sunday and drove 11 hours (10 hours actual driving plus an hour of stopping time) and got there around 10:30pm central time.  The kids did great with the trip.  Will fell asleep for a nap but Lindy did not fall asleep until 10:30pm that night.  But she was great in the car.  She hardly made a peep and totally entertained herself.  DVD’s helped entertain Will and therefore he was great too.  We stopped only for gas and potty breaks (we’ve started bringing sandwiches and lunchables with us).

Destin was really nice.  Busy, but nice.  We are used to Oak Island where things are still pretty quiet, even in the middle of the summer.  Destin is a total tourist trap but we still liked it and I kind of liked the change of pace.  We stayed in a community of houses which had this awesome pool.  It was about a 10 minute walk to the beach – or you could hope on the trolley that went back and forth all day long.  We all liked the house and location a lot. 

Monday we got up and went to the beach in the morning and pool in the afternoon.  Tuesday Drew, my dad, and brother-in-law Lee went deep sea fishing while the girls stayed home.  We went to the pool in the morning and the beach in the afternoon.  Wednesday we went to the pool in the morning and then we went on a seashell cruise in the afternoon.  Thursday morning my sister, brother-in-law, niece Hayley, my sister’s friend Shelly, Drew, and I went riding on wave runners in the bay.  They took us out in a cove and we saw a ton of dolphins.  Friday morning we woke up to rain so my mom, sister, Shelly, and I went and did a little souvenir shopping and the guys took the kids to the pool.  It cleared off and so we spent our last afternoon on the beach.  Saturday morning we left at 8am central time and made the long trek home.   We ended up stopping in Greenville, SC (where Drew used to live) and we had dinner with one of Drew’s friends and his family.  It was fun to see them, their house, and how big their kids have gotten.  It was nice to let the kids out of the car for a little while.  We finally pulled in our driveway at 10:20pm. 

I have too many pictures so I’ll probably break these up into a few posts.  We love the beach and we love my parents for taking us on vacation!  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Before we left we gave the kids some early birthday presents.  We got them new DVD’s of their favorite tv shows and new iXL games.  It was all things we knew they would enjoy for the ride down so we went ahead and gave them to them.Potty training and travelling make for an interesting ride.  Thankfully rural Alabama had plenty of places for us to pull over!The house and community we stayed in.The cool pool in the community.The white sands and clear water are a definite change from the Atlantic Ocean beaches we normally go to!

Exhausted after the day in the sun!Tuesday morning the guys went fishing.The fish that the guys caught.Tuesday evening my sister had a little birthday party for the kids since they can’t come to their party.She made a lollipop cake for them!We didn’t really do naps last week but they still fell asleep when given a chance.My sister’s best friend, Shelly, went with us.My sister’s family.(She isn’t really that much taller.  Lindy was on her knees!)My kids’ first time getting ice cream from a truck!It’s like a Christmas miracle that Lee (semi) smiled in a picture!

I’m going to have to break up the pictures into multiple posts.  Stay tuned for more of our Destin, FL adventures!