Beach Bums

My brother, Rob, asked us a few months ago about going to Gulf Shores and we were all about that since we live only 4 hours away (I know! we kick ourselves every year we don't go) and we haven't been to the beach since Will was 5 months old. My mom also jumped on board because she loooooves the beach and the ocean and pretty much never passes on the chance to go anywhere, much less the beach. So she, Rob and my nephew, Kyle, came to our house Saturday afternoon with gifts and a cake for me since they weren't  here for my bday!

Sunday was the big day, we went to church first (with a fully loaded vehicle I might add) then headed for the coast! Mom, Rob & Kyle went straight to the beach Sunday morning but were unable to check-in early so they grabbed lunch and arrived to the condo just as we were getting into Gulf Shores. We didn't do anything really fun the first day because there's unloading and grocery shopping to do and by the time we did all that and ate dinner it was time to put Maggie to bed. Mom, Rob, Kyle & Will tried to vist the pool but it was closed due to "human waste" as the security guard said....Daniel impersonated this phrase and voice (think Putty the car mechanic that Elaine dated on Seinfeld) for the rest of the trip. So they hit the beach and Will had a great time. We watched them walk to the beach from the 14th floor but could only see them for so long.

after his first swim in the ocean (he mostly rolled

along the shore as waves crashed)

We agreed to eating out the first and last nights and cooking in the middle three; we ate at a Creole restaurant called Les Roux that served authentic lunch, dinner and brunch which Daniel also found very humorous. Do we normally eat non-authentic lunch etc.? Anyway, I'm not that into Creole but Daniel is, Rob could get a steak and it was Father's Day. Monday through Thursday were spent almost entirely on the beach...well I came in during the heat of the day to eat, feed and nap Maggie and because I burn easily...and we took a group walk almost every evening around sunset. Monday and Tuesday the jellyfish were really bad and after Will got stung on Monday he was a bigger fan of the pool than the ocean. We still went to the beach but after a little while he asked to swim in the pool. They had a great kids pool- the kind that starts ankle deep and gradually declines to about five feet but most of it was 3 feet and under. The last night we ate at Franco's Italian Eatery which was quite yummy. We had a very enjoyable trip, we're already talking about going later in the year when the rates and crowds slow down! Hopefully we'll make this happen. :) I'm probably going to do a slideshow, but here's a few pics for now...

 our little beach setup...same spot every day

 we don't know this kid, but it was so cute: the

waves knocked over his castle and Will said, "don't

worry, I help you"

 Maggie and daddy in the tent...first day was the only

day we got to use it because beach patrol stopped by
and said we had to move it to the back of the beach. We
didn't want to do that and be too far away to watch the kids

 after the jellyfish sting