Impromptu Vacation to Florida....we can do this!!

We sort of took an impromptu vacation.  We "TRY" to go to the beach every other year for vacation.  When Landon was 2 we went to Santa Rosa Beach, FL with my Aunt and Uncle, my Cousin and her two kids. We had a fantastic time and were looking forward to returning to the same house two summers later.  Well, "someone" poured oil all over the Gulf of Mexico right when we were supposed to be there... so we canceled the trip (despite my pleadings with the family).  So this was the next "beach year".  We thought about seeing if Shannon's family wanted to join us this year. Well, with Reagan's arrival scheduled mid-June we thought there was no way we'd be able to go to the beach this year.  I had been thinking that we probably could have managed the trip this summer, especially since I'm not returning to work and wasn't having to get back into the swing of things in late July/early August like I used to.  I hadn't mentioned it anyone because I knew the house we usually rented would be booked and it was short notice to see if the family wanted to go. Well, one afternoon Shannon came into our room while I was feeding Reagan and said, "Now, don't get too excited, but I've been looking at some vacation houses in Florida this afternoon."  Well , that was all I needed.  I just needed him to crack the door open just a bit!  I kicked it open!!  I spent the next few days researching houses available in the Santa Rosa area.  It looked like August 13th was the best week for us to go.  As we were thinking through the trip we knew my cousin wouldn't be able to go with her boys this late in the summer.  We thought how much fun it would be if Landon's cousin Gunner could go.  The two of them always have so much fun together when they get the chance to play.  So we decided to see if Shannon's brother, Shawn and his family wanted to join us.  It was late notice, but we were hoping they'd have an empty week in August they needed to fill!!  We called them to see if they wanted to go with us and they mentioned they were already planning a beach vacation the week before we were planning to go.  Well, to make an already long story a bit less long, we hijacked my Brother-in-Law's family vacation and ended up staying in the condo they were in...in the same building....on the same floor!  Destiny!! ??  Since the only condo left had three bedrooms, and we really only needed one, we decided to see if Shannon and Shawn's parents wanted to go.  Who couldn't pass up a week with the grand kids, right?  His dad managed to get off work and they joined us for the week.  It was great to spend the week with them relaxing on the beach.

After talking about the details of the 12+ hour drive, Shannon decided it would probably be best for all parties involved if Reagan and I flew down instead of making the car trip.  It sounded like a good idea to me!!

Well, that's how we got here, so now here is a picture story of our trip!

Let's start from the beginning.  This is Reagan!  She is SOOO excited that she is flying on a 1 hour 45 minute plane ride instead of a 12+ hour car ride (and the + would mainly have been for her feedings, diaper changes, general fussiness episodes, and so forth).  I think the other 4 passengers in the car were just as happy she was on a plane!!

This is how she did on the plane ride.  I had on my wrap and she just settled in and slept the whole way.  I got a few Z's in myself... nice!!!

This was the view from our condo's front balcony.

Some of my favorite things about the beach are the sunrises and the sunsets.  Because Reagan apparently enjoys early morning sunrises as well, we got to see most of them while we were there!!  Since we were on the far Eastern side of the Central time zone, these came EARLY!!  One morning we sat out on the balcony and just soaked it all in.  

The first few days the waves were pretty tame.  Landon enjoyed riding on is boogie board.  At this point most of his momentum comes from a big push from Daddy!  These were peaceful relaxing waves.

Later in the week the waves were much larger. And since Landon had mastered the little waves, he was ready to take on the big ones.  I was so proud of him.  He's not naturally a "go-getter". He can be very cautious and timid when it comes to new experiences, but with some encouragement from Daddy and Grandpa, he did great!

These waves were REALLY big.  It's hard to get much perspective here, but those waves are coming up to Shannon's and Grandpa's head.  Landon seems to be enjoying himself!!

Here is another shot to show just how big these waves were.  It was a Yellow Flag day.

They actually went out the next day and rode even bigger waves.  I didn't go down with them that day.  I learned upon their return that it was a RED FLAG day.  I wasn't too happy that they had been out in the water, but I'm glad they were ok and had fun.  Needless to say, we stayed out of the water the rest of the day and even the following day.  

Here are a few pictures of Landon playing in the surf.  Here he battles the waves with his ninja chop.

He jumps over the water.

He lets the surf chase him.

He even taunts the waves!!  He was really talking some smack here!!!

Reagan didn't spend much time actually on the beach.  We went down together a couple of times.  Here was her very first day at the beach.  She's getting in a little tummy time in the sand.

Not the best pictures, but we needed some proof that she dawned a bathing suit and and relaxed in the sand.

Here she is in her Grandma's arms (which is where she spent most of her vacation.  I don't think either of them minded one bit!) posing with her Daddy.  

Daddy and Reagan spending a quite morning on the balcony.

I did get down to the shore a little bit each day.  It was nice to relax, watch Landon have a blast with his Daddy, and just soak it all in.

One afternoon a kid caught a stingray in his little net.  No thanks!!

 My 2nd favorite thing about vacation is the eating-out!  I'm not sure the rest of my party was as gung-ho about eating dinner out each night as I was, but I enjoy trying new places, and exploring the town.

We ate at the Shrimp Basket twice.  Once on all you can eat shrimp night, and once on all you can eat fish night.

Landon and I at the Shrimp Basket one night.

We also ate at Fisherman's Corner twice.   It looks like a shack on the outside, but inside it had real table cloths, real plates, real silverware, excellent food and great service.  This was my favorite place we ate during the week.

One evening after our dinner with the WHOLE family (all 10 of us) at Fisherman's Corner we came back to our condo and had cake and ice cream for Shawn's birthday (which was the next day).  I think everyone enjoyed this cake very much....especially the two little boys.

We also ate at a place in Pensacola one evening called Five Sisters Blues Cafe.  It was really good too.  Shannon and his parents each had the pulled pork in some fashion, and it was amazing.  I had their "famous fried chicken" and it was just ok.

On Reagan and I's last evening there (we left the day before the rest of them), we attempted to take the token family photo on the beach.  I didn't want to wait until the last night (that's gotten us in trouble in the past), but after the first two nights the weather didn't really cooperate in the afternoons.  This evening the winds were fierce, but there wasn't any rain...yet, so we tried to get a few shots.  The wind was just too much.  Not sure we really manged to get any "usable shots" but we tried, and we at least have something with all four of us in the picture.  I think these are the first pictures of all four of us since Reagan was born.

I love this kid.  He's growing up so fast.

I even snapped a few shots of Grandma and Grandpa...to prove they were there.  Grandma even dipped her toe in the water!!!

 On our last day, Reagan and I were flying out of Pensecola that afternoon so we decided to go to the National Naval Aviation Museum (home of the Blue Angels) for the morning.  Landon and I had been there before when he was just 3 years old during a Spring Break trip to Orange Beach, AL with some friends. But this time he was old enough to remember it, and enjoy it so much more.

This is an actual anchor from an aircraft carrier.

Here is Reagan "posing" in front of a model of the USS Ronald Reagan.

This is how Reagan toured the museum.

While we were at the museum we ate lunch at the Cubi Bar Cafe inside the museum.  It's pretty neat.  We sat in this room with all the squadron plaques from the original Cubi Point Officers Club. (read about the restaurant here - it's pretty cool)

I have a bunch more pictures of the museum on my little camera....which I can't locate at the moment.  Once I do, I'll upload a few of my favorites from the museum.  Landon got to test out some cockpits of several different planes, even some Blue Angel cockpits.  I also have some video clips of Landon riding the waves on that camera.  I'm sure it's still in a suitcase or something....somewhere.... I hope!