I got the day off at work Friday, June 18th, for the newly enacted federal holiday, Juneteenth, which left my day free to clean and get ready for our trip. I spent the day cleaning and washing clothes, changing sheets and I even mowed the yard. I had to pick Liam up from camp around lunch time. I was so glad to see him! At around 4 or so mom got a message from the lady we are renting the condo from saying that the people before us had left early - Thanks Tropical Storm Claudette! So we decided to drive down early and let the boys sleep. We ended up leaving about 10pm and getting to our condo at 430am the next morning. We got in and got our bags unloaded and hopped in the bed. The boys stayed up and watched tv and played on their iPads all morning. I napped until about 930 and then woke up to rain and crazy wind. So I decided to start working on Annalise's baby blanket. Once the rain cleared out a little bit mom and I made a grocery run to Publix to get food for the week. They boys hit up the hot tub while the weather was good.
When we got back we fed the boys lunch and then lounged around until the sun came out and let the boys go swim again.
Beach view from the pool
For dinner we went to Old Bay Steamer where we got our crab leg fix out of the way! We found that Kane loves crab legs and Reid just wants to crack them.
These boys were so tired .... they had a hard time keeping their eyes open on the way home from dinner.
Sunday we woke up to beautiful weather and Fathers Day. Dad and Ryan went out and got donuts at Parlor donuts for breakfast. They are more like a croissant than a donut but very good!
Our condo walks straight out onto the pool which is so nice because if we need anything we just walk back to the condo. No coolers needed and its nice to just get up and go in when its hot and you need a break from the sun. We spent all day at the pool.
This boy is always requesting creamy jalapeno dip. It's a staple vacation dip that I make.
I think the boys wore this guy out too! Happy Father's Day Dad!
The ocean had calmed down but it was still a double red flag and a $500 fine if caught further than ankle deep in the water. We are right beside a public access so there is a lifeguard out there. We heard the whistle many times while at the pool. We assume getting on to people in the water. For dinner we went to AJ's Oyster Shanty and it was horrible. We were told there would be an hour wait. We only waited about 20-30 minutes but our service was absolutely horrible. We waited an hour and a half for our food and it wasn't the best.
Everyone's favorite ... crab claws!!!
Kane and Crazy hair
Happy Father's Day Ryan!
The boys asked us all day if they could swim at night so when we got back to the condo thats the first thing they did - get their trunks on and get in the pool!
Monday morning I woke up and made sausage balls which had been requested before we even left for the trip. It rained all morning until about lunch time and then we tried to soak up as much sun at the pool that we could and then this guy rolled on in ...
Dinner was yummy, Tuna for me and Redfish for Ryan at Louisiana Lagniappe. (Lan yap) is how it is pronounced. Dad likes to call it (Lag in nappy)
What is a meal in Florida without crab claws?!?!
When we got back to the condo Ryan, Reid, Kane and I walked across the street to get some ice cream.
Then spent the rest of the night watching American Ninja Warrior and working on a baby blanket while the boys played their iPads and wrestled in the floor.
Tuesday we got up and ate breakfast, got our suits on and Ryan, the boys and I went down to the beach. It was still double red flags and people were getting pretty far in the water. But there was a lifeguard on a four wheeler - who seemed very frustrated- driving up and down the beach telling them to get out. You could stay about ankle deep where the water washes up but he didn't want anyone further than that. I sat my chair right down where the water washes up and didn't move.
The boys found some other boys to play with for a little while but then got bored and wanted to go back to the pool.
Ryan went up not long after that. Liam stayed with me and we played some in the sand. It was when the seagull pooped on him that he decided he had enough of the beach. I could not stop laughing!
I stayed out a little longer. I did go back up once to the condo and make a drink. Once that drink was gone I came back to the pool. The boys had made some friends here and their but they love it when Ryan and dad are out there messing around with them.
We decided for dinner we were just going to order in. Dad went back to Old Bay Steamer where we ate at the first night and got this huge box of crab, shrimp, oysters, muscles, sausage, corn and potatoes and then a couple boxes of crab claws and we just ate at the table at the condo. I can't believe I didn't get a picture. I was so hungry it didn't even cross my mind - HAHA. We were told that there would be fireworks at 9 that night so the boys got back in the pool to play before the fireworks. I moved myself and my crochet stuff out as well. 9pm came and went and still no fireworks. Mom looked it up and it wasn't until Wednesday night. Oh well. Reid enjoyed his ice cream that he got but didn't eat the night before. By the looks of his mouth, it was tasty. I didn't document it but Liam and I made a late night TacoBell run for some tacos too!
Wednesday morning was the same routine. Ryan made sausage and biscuits for breakfast. I tried to lay out at the pool but there was absolutely NO breeze whatsoever. I decided to pack myself up and head down to the beach. Mom ended up joining me a little bit later.
There was a guy pulling this boat on wheels selling ice cream. He had the music and everything!
The boys ended up staying in the condo until after lunch time and then they got in the pool for a little bit. For dinner we met up with some old friends from Manchester that had moved to the area, Jeff and Amy Adams. We met up at Ricks on the Island. They probably had the best food and atmosphere so far. I had Boom Boom shrimp tacos and the best drink I have ever had. It was called a Key Lime Colada. I had one before dinner and then another one for dessert.
Ryan had oysters for dinner and found a start to a pearl in one of them!
We sat with Jeff, Amy and Gracie for a while and talked about their upcoming move to Alabama and how much closer they will be. We left around 8pm so we would have enough time to get back to the condo and get ready to watch the fireworks. Unlike last night - when we thought they actually were - they were right on time!
Thursday's breakfast was fend for yourself. The plan was for an all day beach day. Mom and dad went down early and got us some chairs and a space for us to put up our SunNinja. We stayed behind because Kane was still asleep. When he finally woke up at 1040 he ate something and then we made our way to the beach. It had finally moved to a yellow flag.
The weather was perfect. The water was perfect. The. beach. was. perfect.
Aww!! My favorite people at my favorite place!
Dad and the boys getting beat up by the waves.
Finally got a good picture after the waves wouldn't cooperate.
For dinner the plan was for Dewey Destin's. There are multiple ones but we were told the best one was behind McGuires. When we got down there we realized it wasn't really what we were expecting. You place your order outside and then go find somewhere outside to sit. Not really what I had in mind so we decided to go to Boshamps. When we got there they told us there was a 3 hour wait. We went ahead and put our name down because we knew that at this point no matter where we go there would be a long wait. We we able to park close to the entrance and let the monkeys roam free while we waited.
While we were waiting we got to see the Destin fireworks too!
At 930 we finally got to our table. Im pretty sure we were the last table that they sat for the night. During our wait I overheard the hostess tell people that were coming up to put their name down that they were at capacity and they were no longer taking names. They boys were so tired by the time we sat down.
Friday morning and I'm up early. I made the rest of the sausage and biscuits that were in the freezer for breakfast. We were out of bottled waters and I didn't have enough yarn to finish the blanket so I drove in to Destin to go to Hobby Lobby and Target. When I got back the boys were playing their iPads, Ryan was still in the bed because he didn't feel well (he fell getting out of the pool yesterday) and mom and dad were lounging at the pool. I got myself ready and made my way to the beach. It was our last day and I wanted to spend as much time as I could at the beach.
Dinner was at Stewby's across the street from our condo. This was also an order your food and then find yourself a place to sit and eat. At least this one was inside!
The "shanty" pie, AKA key lime pie, was so good!!!
We ended the night in the pool for one more swim.
We had to be out by 10am on Saturday but we were packed up and ready to go by 9am. Before we walked out we had to take a family picture with the octopus. The theme of the condo was octopus.
We decided to find somewhere to eat breakfast before we made the trek back home. The boys picked Waffle House.
It was an eventful trip back home. It took us 6 1/2 hours to get to Florida on the first day but ended up taking us 12 hours to get home. The traffic was horrible and about 3 hours into the trip our tire light came on. We stopped to find a tire place and have it checked out. The first one we came to was closed. The second one was finishing up their last 2 cars and closing but was nice enough to put some air in our tires so that we could make it to a place to have it fixed. Our third stop was a Walmart just down the road.
About an hour and a half later we were back on the road. We stopped at a Texas Roadhouse for dinner where we waited another hour and a half for a table. The boys were dying of boredom and had to learn what it is like to use their imagination.
We finally made it home around 10pm and all of us went straight to bed. This week has been a blast and as always gone by way too fast. This will be the only beach vacation this year as we have a lot going on in the next few months. We normally go somewhere on Fall Break with Ryan's family but we have put that on hold this year until everything settles down. But we will be in Gatlinburg with them in July! Until then!!
