We've done this vacation with little ones. We've done this vacation with tweens and teens. Now, we're doing this vacation with a passel of kids and their cousin who are old enough, really, to execute this vacation on their own. Funny thought, that. Not, of course, that I refrain from reminding them to put on sun screen, don't swim out too far, or to be careful crossing the street. It's really hard to turn down the Mom machine.
I've shared ideas about how to have a successful family vacation }here{, and one of those ideas is to keep a (loose) daily schedule. We've vacationed in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama, for years, and I realized about half way through the week that maybe it's time to adjust my expectations on the kids. They're teenagers and twenty-somethings now - no one is bounding out of bed at the crack of dawn ready to play in the surf. Reality is that they're staying up really late and sleeping late and doing the beach somewhere in between. It's their vacation too :o)
We took a risk and opted to stay in a different condo this year to make sleeping arrangements a little more convenient. I love love loved our old condo, but the new one had a bed for everyone and it's hard to argue against that. The new condo had a beachy decor motif, an absolute must as far as I'm concerned. The colors were on the sophisticated side of happy and definitely on my favorite color palate. The master bedroom was the most dreamy color of blue with white furniture.
Part of our crew made a massively successful fishing expedition with Summer Hunter Charters (click }here{ to go to their website), wherein the they left a bag of fish with the deckhand, brought three bags of fish to the restaurant to be cooked (we love Mikee's!), and we still took four boxes of leftovers back to the condo! The fishermen fished and the rest of us enjoyed the beach and did our best to dodge the jelly fish. (Thanks to Sam for the fishing trip pics!)
My sister-in-law and I spent a lovely morning shopping, all the way from Orange Beach to Loxley and back. It's so much fun to imagine decorating a beach house or condo in all beach theme decor. And we couldn't resist a stop in at the Burris Farm Market, too!
We also found the two beach houses that were featured this season on HGTV's Beach Flip (click }here{ for a link to the show). We just drove by, we didn't knock on the door, but it was tempting!
Our Mercy Hunting nets are full. We had a fantastic time sitting on the beach, playing in the waves (except for those pesky jellyfish - oh, the pain!) visiting our favorite restaurants (Lamberts, Home of Throwed Rolls, you MUST eat there!), drinking coffee on the balcony, listening to the loudest thunder we've ever heard in our lives, grilling by the pool, squeezing in multiple naps, reading, and just sitting blissed out on the sand.
The countdown clock resets ... 364 days to go!
If you're interested in visiting Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, Alabama,
Brett Robinson Vacation Rentals is a great resource. Check their website }here{ for property listings.
I'm not affiliated with Brett Robinson, and haven't been compensated for mentioning their name here;
we've used their services with great results for many years and I do recommend them.
If you visit our favorite vacation destination, share the joy - let me know!
Shared joy is doubled joy ... let's double the joy for both of us - what are you most grateful for today? Click below to leave your comment. I'll go first :
Post a Comment