Sandestin 2011

FINALLY! A VACATION!!!

Last Thursday, we packed up the car, the kid, the grandmother and as much stuff as we could possibly cram into our SUV and headed down to Sandestin, FL. I was in desperate need of a relaxing vacation... what I got was a FUN vacation with little relaxation. Oh well, as long as my baby had a blast, that was all that mattered! And, boy did he have a blast! He loved everything about the beach... the sand, the ocean, the beach house, the pool, the golf cart. He LOVED it!

On the way down, I thought we were in for a long trip when Clay announced that he wanted to go home about half-way through. That's not good when you have a 6 - hour (or more) trip. But he was entertained by movies, his cars, and Nan's hat...

The house we stayed at was gorgeous! It was the perfect size for the big ole' group we had. There was 10 of us - our family of 4 (including Mark's mom) and then our good friends Jeremy and Emily, their 3 kids and Jeremy's mom. I had found it on VRBO.com and the lady who rented it to us couldn't have been nicer! Good thing... since my husband put a hole in the wall while trying to vaccuum. (Not his fault... the vaccuum wasn't put together properly and he was left holding just the handle as it came tumbling down the stairs). Luckily it was just the vaccuum that fell and not a person! The house was on the bayside and was very close to Baytowne Wharf. We had a 6-person golf cart at our disposal and made good use of it! It was a brand new house and I think we were the first ones to rent it!

The first night after everyone got in we ventured to Baytowne Wharf to eat at ACME Oyster House. It was hot... and kids were hungry and tired. The food was excellent and thanks to the strong drinks we ate until we were stuffed! Then it was off to bed for the kiddos and off to the grocery store for Emily and I.

The next day we planned to spend at the beach! We took the kids in the morning (well, it was actually lunch time by the time we got all packed up and ready to go) and it was crowded! Chairs and people everywhere! We found a small spot to park all of our gear and unpacked. Clay loved the sand and then wanted to venture out into the water. Daddy went with him and he was a little afraid of it at first. After he got used to it... he LOVED it! We had to hold his hand or hold him the first day... but the second time we went, he was all about being in the ocean by himself! After that first day of being out in the scorching hot sun, we figured out the best time to go to the beach with kids is after 4:00. Here are some of the many beach pics I got of everyone...

We also spent a lot of time at the pool. Clay loved the pool as well. He would wear his life vest (or boat jacket as he likes to call it) and swim all over the pool. He even got brave and started jumping off the side to me.

Saturday, we had "girl's day" and went out to eat at the Back Porch and then shopping at the outlets in Destin. The food at the Back Porch was FABULOUS! I had the seafood nachos and I highly recommend them! Here's a pic of me, Morgan and Emily in the big Back Porch chair...
Then that night we took everyone to Pompano Joe's which was right on the beach and kid-friendly. They had a Jimmy Buffet look-a-like singing fun beach songs which would entertain the kids (slightly). The wait was long and Clay got 4 splinters in his hand... so it was a little chaotic. Once we sat down, all was fine!
After Pompano Joe's, we got the kids down to sleep and the "big kids" went to Baytowne Wharf to enjoy a few drinks and a moment of peace while listening to a good band. (I would like to note, the we didn't leave the sleeping kids... the grandmothers stayed with them! Ha!) And we couldn't leave without getting pictures in the giant Baytowne Wharf chair...

Baytowne Wharf was a perfect place to stay for our families! There was so much to do... they had little playgrounds and nature trails. Clay loved playing on the Fort playground... and it was in the shade, so mommy loved it too!
And this is what happens when I give my husband the camera and ask him to take pictures of Clay and I...
I get lots of pictures of the random bird walking on the beach! See if ever give him my camera again! :o)

While the trip was exhausting and I need a vacation from my vacation, I still wouldn't trade all the memories we made for anything! I know Clay had a blast (and we did too) and he will always remember his first beach trip!!