Okaloosa Island 2014: Part 4

Image posted on December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

Catch up on the first few days here:

Friday, October 17th: By far the nicest day we had there weather-wise, the skies and water were completely calm. The temp was back into the 80s. This was the first day that we could go far out into the water, still see our toes, and feel comfortable letting the boys go out of our reach without being afraid that a wave would go over their heads. Crystal clear water that the Destin area is known for – ahhhh.

Beach, pool, beach, pool, back and forth. We packed a picnic so we could eat by the pool and spend more of our last full day out in the sun and sand. We were almost always the only ones in the pool or on the pool deck.

Since we didn’t make it to the dolphin cruise in time the night before, we had gone ahead and reserved our spot for Friday night ahead of time. The cruise was at 5 and we were to arrive 30+ minutes early so that meant we had to end our time on the beach sooner than we wanted in order to be on time. We were excited for the cruise but already missing the beach and since it was our nicest day all week, we briefly thought about skipping the cruise. So glad we didn’t – turned out to be some of the best memories we made on the entire vacation!

There were unlimited drinks – wine, beer, soda, and water – on the sunset dolphin cruise. So we let the boys try Sprite for the first time. This was Dexter’s reaction:

They both got to captain the boat!

I didn’t take any pictures of the dolphins we saw – we were so relaxed, just enjoying the wind and the water – and okay, the drinks too. It was such a fun cruise. Afterwards, we had a fantastic dinner at LaFamiglia at HarborWalk Village.

Back to the condo to pack and lament over the sad end of a wonderful week.

Saturday, October 18th: Departure Day. “October 11th through the 18th.” I had said those dates a hundred times when talking to friends, family, and acquaintances about our vacation as it approached. Now, checkout day was here and I didn’t like the sound of October 18th anymore. The only picture I took was of the condo before we pulled away.

The boys were great in the car – Dexter actually took a long 2 or 3 hour nap. We drove to my friends’ house in Nashville, TN and crashed for the night.

Sunday, October 19th. We hit the road early but weren’t quite ready for vacation to end just yet. I got that “I don’t wanna go home…I wanna DO somethin'” feeling. The next sign on the side of the interstate as we were approaching Bowling Green, Kentucky said “Lost River Cave & Valley.” I was driving so I told Ryan to look it up on TripAdvisor. I was an easy sell and quickly pulled off the interstate, changing the destination on our GPS. What a gem for the people of Bowling Green. I loved the town of BG as we drove through, but this place was so neat. Such a great outdoor space for kids with an all natural playground, fossil and gem mining, trails, cave (with an underground boat tour), and an adorable and impressive gift shop.

Don’t mind the tantrum…typical. Theo did have a massive meltdown at this place over me wanting to take a picture or two…he was beyond tired and not wanting to do anything we asked of him. FUN note to end the vacation on….except not really. We had a heart to heart in the car afterwards, kissed and made up, and made it home in the late afternoon. With hearts and minds bursting with memories and love and happiness that it happened and sadness that it was over. Just like every vacation. The end of a week spent as an isolated little unit of 4 people. If only vacations happened more than once or twice a year. Work shmerk!

So that’s the end of our Okaloosa Island 2014 series – I hope you have enjoyed and that I’ve talked you into taking a trip there (and to Bowling Green!)…it really was amazing!

xo,

~C~

Okaloosa Island 2014: Part 3

Posted on November 20, 2014November 21, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

Catch up here if you missed the first few days:

Wednesday, October 15th: Another glorious day with no agenda other than spending time on the beach and hanging out together. It was still very windy and only in the 70s. The ocean water was warm and the pool was heated. With less of a breeze at the pool, we decided to spend some time there first.

One of their favorite things to do was to dig “sand beds” on the beach.

Hey Dexter – Don’t dump sand in your mouth!

More napping on the beach – some of my favorite moments!

We spent most of the day around the pool, beach, and condo. After we all washed the sand out of our pants and hair, we decided to let the boys try putt putt for the first time. They both did pretty well, all things considered! Theo really enjoyed it and Dexter only fizzled out towards the end of our 18 hole game. Dexter was the only one to get a hole in 1 – go figure! P.S. I won.

Afterwards, we decided to give The Donut Hole another shot since it was too busy when we attempted to go the day before. Success!

YUM – what a way to end the day!

Thursday, October 16th: The morning that was made for a stroll on the beach. We were done with breakfast but it was still a little cool for jumping in the water. Instead, we decided to go for a walk. We ended up walking all the way to the pier and this time was very different. Lots of active fishing going on – we got to see someone catch a puffer fish (whoops!) and sadly, we also saw a pelican get caught on someone’s line or hook. It was really sad but he finally got loose. We got to watch dolphins playing in the water. It was endless entertainment on that pier!

Bedhead!

After spending longer than we’d expected enjoying the pier, we decided to eat right there at the restaurant connected to it, Anglers. Great decision, great day. So relaxed. Wonderful service and even better food. No hurrying and no worrying. Beach livin’ at it’s best.

More beach time afterwards, and then we tried (and failed) to make it to Harborwalk Village in time for a sunset dolphin cruise.

Too windy for Theo – he bundled right up.

Right away, the boys spotted the area where you could pay to mine for fossils and shark teeth. Since Dexter’s favorite thing is ANYTHING to do with water, we didn’t hesitate. They had so much fun sifting the sand and finding their little treasures.

After checking out our surprises, we wandered around the fishing pier. It was interesting and very lively. We ate at another delicious waterfront restaurant along the way -Dewey’s Harbor House – and ended our evening afterwards.

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Only 1 full day left – and we could feel it. At the end of the day Thursday, Ryan and I both started feeling like vacation was over, even though we still had one of our favorite days ahead of us (I know, every day was our favorite). One more post to come to wrap up all the fun we had on our trip. Maybe two. Two tops. Swear.

xo,

~C~

Okaloosa Island 2014: Part 2

Posted on November 17, 2014November 18, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

Catch up HERE if you missed the first part of our first family trip to the beach.

Tuesday, October 14th: We started out our 3rd morning with plans to eat at The Donut Hole for breakfast, but on this day the boys actually slept in. We didn’t get there until almost 9 and by then, the line was out the door. So we went on down the road to The Pancakery, where we quickly discovered that we weren’t going to get immediate seating anywhere. We decided to wait it out and browse the store next door….where Cute Cute came into our lives.

Once we got seated and ordered our food, I started messing with Dexter’s hair to get it out of his eyes. As you can see, he wasn’t happy until we slicked it all over to the side like… you guessed it… Bruce Wayne. He’s so silly.

YUM!

After breakfast, I realized that we were pretty close to a couple of other places I had hoped to visit – The Village of Baytowne Wharf and the Disney outlet store (I’d never been to an outlet store before). I fell in love with Baytowne Wharf, it was so cute and colorful.

A little boo boo briefly interrupted our fun.

We didn’t buy anything but it was fun to look. One of the boys’ favorite things to do at home (and therefore, anywhere) is go to a playground. A big reason that we wanted to go to Baytowne Wharf was because I read they had an awesome one. Well, they did…or at least it looked like it. But it was closed for repairs. We were so disappointed. I did a quick search on my phone and found another local park. We didn’t stay for a very long time because it was getting hot and late and we were ready to get back to the room for lunch and then get to the beach. BUT, it sure was different playing on the sand! It felt kind of weird to imagine ourselves as locals, just taking our kids to the playground. Ah, to live at the beach!

It was in the high 70s but the wind was so strong that it felt pretty chilly when you got out of the water. We got to the beach later this day because of all our morning adventures so the boys were pretty tired. So tired that they both fell asleep right on the beach for an hour or so. We didn’t have any plan for the evening so we ended up wandering to the fishing pier just in time for sunset.

I think, if my memory serves me, that we ate in our condo that night since we’d gone out for breakfast. I didn’t take any pictures the rest of the night so that’s probably a good guess. 🙂 This was a great day…very laid back and no plan in place, we just wandered from one thing to the next without rushing at all. So that was Tuesday.

This was our first family vacation, just the four of us. We went to Disney a year earlier, but with 6 other people. That was an amazingly fun vacation, but this was special in it’s own way. Taking vacations is something that’s a priority to me, for my family. For myself. Some of my favorite and brightest childhood memories are from fun family vacations. I cherish those times – remembering my mom and dad so carefree and happy. Lots of trips with lots of wandering from thing to thing, never knowing what was in store for us next. Something I don’t think I’ve mentioned here is that my mom, sister (and her family), and me & Ryan all went to this same beautiful area of Florida just 5 months after my Dad died. We couldn’t bear the thought of having a “normal” Christmas at home without him so soon after losing him. Many sights and sounds reminded me of that time in my life – feeling guilty for being there (and enjoying it) while knowing at the same time that he wouldn’t have wanted us to sit around sobbing because he was gone. Old memories, new memories. I hope there are lots of family vacations in our future.