We left Friday afternoon for a much anticipated vacation to Cape San Blas, Florida. Where is that you ask? Just about as far south as you can go on Florida's Gulf Coast.. Our initial plans were to go to the Destin area this year. We had never been to the white sand beaches where the water was supposed to be crystal clear. As we searched endlessly for a house that suited our needs (input AFFORDABLE here), we got further and further away. Cape San Blas turned out to be about 3 hours east of Destin. We were as remote as we were in the Outer Banks in North Carolina last year. No fast food places. No souvenier shops. No big crowds. Just rows of beautiful homes, sand and water. The sand was white. The water, however, was definitely not clear. It was the dirtiest ocean water I'd ever seen. Any white swimwear turned a dull brown. Just like swimming in Watts Bar :P. The locals attributed it to the bad storms the week before our arrival. They also said it would clear up by Monday. Not so. I think it was even dirtier by Wednesday. Our neighbor cornered me one day complaining. I think she wanted an invite to our pool. They had a teenage boy, so no invite there :).
We travelled with a trunk load of luggage/food/junk and 3 teenagers in the back seat. Alyssa's friend, Faith, went with us this year. We definitely could have used some extra room. Logan made no complaints regarding his extra back seat buddy, but he doesn't complain about much of anything. He is so easy going. Maybe too much so at times. He's like his Uncle Tony (and his mom) in that way. We spent a night in Troy, Alabama, before starting out to finish the trip on Saturday morning. Jeff hates to travel. He prefers to break up a trip, but I'd just as soon drive all the way in one day. Maybe because I'm just cheap that way...
We arrived Saturday afternoon and of course the house was not ready. We drove around the Cape for a while and then sat on the front porch of the realtor eating cherries and spitting seeds into a pipe (well Logan spit them; I just threw them). Tonia and Mike were already there, but spent their time eating at Coneheads. (The only restuarant on the Cape).
The house was beautiful. I loved the kitchen with its huge granite island with seating for 8. The boys ended up with the top floor 'eagles nest'. This proved to be the best place for them.... They left enough sand to fill a child's sand box. The biggest downfall to the house this year was the lack of TV's :0)~ Only 4 in the whole house. Our house last year had TV's in every bedroom and one in both living areas as well as the eagle's nest. 9 in all. That's practically a TV a piece.
Oh, I almost forgot, what the kids considered to be the biggest downfall. No cell service on the Cape!! Can you imagine their dismay??? How could they survive? Turns out Faith had the only phone with service. And we all have Verizon. I was thankful she had service cause she'd have died without talking to Trent. The only internet access was via walled cord. Until, I noticed our neighbors on their deck with laptops. I figured they must have wireless. :) This made everyone's day. What with 3 laptops among us, a bountiful supply of iPod touches, communication with the outside world was once again possible.
One of the best parts about being on vacation is mornings. Whenever we are at the beach, I try to spend each morning with a walk/run/jog and then I sit on the porch with my Bible and enjoy some 'me & God time'. I say walk/run/jog because I seem to do quite a mixture. I had been doing Jilian's 30 day shred DVD for over a month, every day prior to our trip. I hadn't been running. You'd think running wouldn't have been too much different. Not so. There were sprinklers along my route. Each morning, I'd longingly eye them wondering what folks would say if I just bent over and got a drink from one :) On the last morning I got a late start (7:30 am). The sun was beaming on me. I thought, "I'm just going to run through those sprinklers today." Imagine my dismay when I turned the corner and saw that the sprinklers were off!!! It was so HOT!!
During one of my morning Bible readings, the Lord spoke to me from II Corinthians 6: 3 - 10.. I plan to blog about that in another post.
The weather on Sunday and Monday was rainy, so on Monday, everyone decided to drive to Panama City and see a movie. Everyone
but Alyssa and Jeff. The thoughts of driving over an hour one way to the movies made them sick. They are so much alike. Granted I didn't care in the least about going to a movie, but I was willing. So, Jeff, Alyssa, Faith and I drove up to Mexico City Beach. Supposedly, there were lots of shops there. Nope, nothing to see. Rather miserable journey in fact.
The rest of the week was HOT and sunny. Tonia had made an appointment with a photographer to have the girls' senior pictures taken on Tuesday evening. They were so excited. Lots of outfit changes. We made a makeshift changing room on the beach (which consisted of sheets from the boys' room). The girls had a blast and said it was something they'd never forget. They felt like models on a photo shoot. I'm excited to get the CD of the pictures. She took over 300!!
I had to put this on here cause someone said I looked as skinny as Faith :P
Jeff and Mike spent a lot of time fishing this year. Jeff ususally doesn't fish in the ocean, but he seemed to enjoy it this time. They caught lots of fish, but never managed to have a fish fry. Jeff caught a flounder one day. That was the weirdest looking fish I'd ever seen. Completely white on one side. Two eyes on the other side. Sharp teeth. I thought it was a piranha.!!!
Don't you just love this pic of Jeff :P
On Wednesday evening, we drove back up to Mexico Beach so the kids could parasail. Now parasailing looks like a very enjoyable experience, but at $45 for 7 minutes, not worth it for this cheap skate. Alyssa used the $20 Mamaw gave her and I had to chip in the rest. She said it was well worth it. The best part was watching them ride out to the boat on one of those banana boats. Faith said they wouldn't get wet, so no need to wear bathing suits. Definitely not so. They were drenched.
I saved a fortune on hair care products! :)
We had rented the house Saturday to Saturday, but the Mehlhorns' and Collins' had to leave on Friday. Faith began packing to go with them. I still don't understand that whole deal, but because we brought her and felt responsible for her delivery back to TN, we decided to head home as well. Even though I hated to give up a day on the beach (especially one already paid for), I was glad for an extra day home before work on Monday. We washed clothes the whole time we were there, so not too much laundry!!!
The drive home was an interesting one. Jeff 'let' me drive after we stopped for breakfast. We travelled home through Georgia instead of Alabama. Seemed a little shorter. Do you know how hard it is to have a 3 car convoy along the interstate? Especially when decisions to exit are made at the last minute? I was bringing up the rear, knew we should be in the right lane to turn, we were in the far left passing a semi. Not pretty.... Thought we were all going to die... At our stop after Atlanta, Mike complimented me on my leading through that area. He said he was afraid I'd get all 'white-knuckled" and slow down. Not much confidence in my driving skills, huh??
Crepe Myrtles were beautiful in Alabama. I loved this purple one!
Got home at 3:30 pm to a torrential downpour. From what I understand, that was the first rain since we left. Mom fixed supper - fried okra, corn on cob, cucumbers, pinto beans, cornbread... Wonderful!!! We cooked everyday at the beach, but nothing like good 'home' cooking.
Now planning next years trip with the girls - NYC, NY!!!!
The date says 1996, if that is correct, Alyssa was 4 years old.
The date says 1996, if that is correct, Alyssa was 4 years old.
A smile??? ;) 
I didn't get a pic of Logan walking in... Most unorganized ceremony I've ever seen.. With maybe the exception of a few GED graduations I put on :) They were playing some awful music. I just happened to turn around and there was Logan walking in. (He was first, of course). No direction from the staff on stage to stand. No 'Pomp and Circumstance'. Couldn't hear the first two young ladies' speeches. (Thankfully someone yelled out to turn up the sound). SO, above is one of him leaving... 
