Destin

We were fortunate to go on vacation to Destin, Florida last month with our good friends Brandon and Emily and their 2 1/2 year old son Charlie. We had a great week. Vacation to me is defined by relaxing, not having a set agenda, eating out, no housework or obligations and lots of time with the people I love the most - my family. This trip was in every sense my idea of vacation. We had a rocky start to the week with fevers and ear infections and a trip to the local doctor for an antibiotic. But by Wednesday the boys were healthy and we were able to enjoy the Florida sun together.

This post, a compilation of pictures from the week, was a test of Blogger's ability to upload unlimited pictures to a blog post. I wasn't sure if there was a limit of pictures I could upload to one post, but after this mega-post I'm pretty sure it's limitless. So prepare yourself - maybe grab a snack - cause this one's long.

We left home on Friday evening around 5:00 and drove through the night to Destin. We arrived around 6:30 on Saturday morning. All three boys did great on the way there. They slept through the night, only briefly waking up when we stopped for gas and then falling back to sleep again. We actually only stopped two times during the 13.5 hour trip there.

Since we couldn't check into our condo until 10:00 am, we had breakfast and then decided to walk down to the beach. Everyone, still in their pj's from the night before, headed for a first look at the ocean.

William

His first time seeing the ocean.

Charlie, Me, William and Henry

With their pants rolled up, the boys got their first feel of the water.

William loved feeling the sand and surprised us by not eating it by the mouthful.

Henry and Charlie
The boys clothes got soaked from playing in the water and eventually ended up in their underwear.

On Sunday we took the boys to the Gulfarium, an aquarium in Destin. We saw a dolphin and sea lion show and some alligators, sharks, and sting rays.

Henry, Charlie, Patrick and William watching the sea lion showThe dolphin show

Sunday night we had dinner at Pompano Joe's, our favorite restaurant when we were in Destin in 2006. It's an open-air restaurant located right on the beach and just minutes from our condo. It was again our favorite restaurant this time around - a combo of great food and a perfect atmosphere (relaxing even with children!).

Me, Henry, Charlie, Emily, Brandon and William
Henry and Charlie spotted the beach

After dinner we walked down to the beach to play in the sand.

William loved walking on the beach in the water.

I absolutely love Charlie in his rolled up linen pants and this beach hat! So adorable.

We were on the beach that night for sunset, which was just beautiful. The boys had so much fun playing in the water.

The weather was perfect the week we were there - every day the sky was blue and crystal clear. It was sunny and in the mid to upper 80's. We spent the remainder of the week at the beach and pool. Our condo was across the street from the ocean. Once we crossed the street we had to walk down a few flights of stairs to get to the beach. Henry sitting on the stairs ready to go to the beach (with his shovels).
Henry sitting on his sand turtle. The boys loved burying their legs in the sand.Henry and Me
The beach was so beautiful - the sand was super white and fine and the water was bright blue, sometimes green. They call it the "Emerald Coast".

After the first few days of having sick boys and trying to figure out a routine, I was feeling disappointed that because of William's morning nap schedule our family wasn't getting to the beach much together. I talked to my mom on the phone and she suggested putting him down for a nap on the beach. I thought the idea sounded ridiculous and far fetched (sorry, Mom!); however, the next morning we were there together and Patrick was holding William when he fell asleep in his arms. This picture was taken that morning. The next day we brought every thing we needed for the entire morning down to the beach and put William down for his nap there again. It was great advice, Mom! Henry and Patrick
The seagulls love Goldfish! Henry liked feeding them but we quickly learned that once you start...

it's hard to stop!

The pools are located in front of the condos. We spent mornings at the beach and then brought lunch to the pool to eat at a table under an umbrella. Then we would stay and swim until the boy's nap time.

The view of the pools from our balconyHenry loved his floaties! He loved being able to swim all by himself.

(The condo we stayed in is in the background of this picture.)

William, Patrick and Henry

William loved the water!Charlie and Henry going for a boat ride.

Fudpuckers is another restaurant we liked when we were in Destin in 2006. They have good food, but it's mostly a great atmosphere for children. There's a playground, live alligators to feed, pretend alligators to sit on and other aquatic animals in fish tanks. Henry and Charlie on an alligator. (2008)
Henry and Charlie on an alligator. (2006 - ha!)Patrick and Henry feeding the alligators.

You can rent a pole and buy food to feed them.

Some of the alligators. One of them is biting the food off of the pole.

The whole group - holding an alligator. Charlie was super brave and held it all by himself - until he realized it was real, then he wanted nothing to do with it! Henry kept squeezing it around it's neck so hard while he was holding it that he made the poor guy taking the picture so nervous. William was sick this day and could barely open his eyes.

Charlie and Henry
Emily and I arranged for a photographer in Destin to take our family's pictures. It was going to be a "surprise" for our husbands, mostly because we knew they would object otherwise, but Patrick saw an email about it before we left so they were in on it too.

Henry, Patrick and William
The photographer's pictures turned out well and we were able to buy the CD. When it arrives, I'll post some pictures from our photo shoot.

We went back to Pompano Joe's for our last dinner there. I am never a girl who likes seafood, but there I love it! Here are a few pictures from our last night in Destin:

It was a great trip. We had a wonderful time and it really felt relaxing and fun. Brandon and Emily were so generous to share Brandon's parent's timeshare with us. We're a lot alike, so it's fun and easy to go on vacation with them. Thanks guys!