On May 13th (yes, it was Friday the 13th!) at about 7:30 in the evening we all piled in to our SUV to begin our long drive to the gulf coast of Florida. Derek and I had debated going ahead with our vacation in the spring or putting it off until the fall because of our crazy busy summer schedules, but made the decision to go ahead with it in May about a month before. Now, if you don't know me or haven't been around me in a while you wouldn't know that I am a planner. I love to plan things and am a list maker. You will find lists all over my house, car, purse, diaper bag etc. Vacation planning is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. I love the thrill of finding a good deal or a super touristy place that I know my family will love. Well, usually I begin to plan our vacations months and months ahead of time. However, our spur of the moment decision to head to Florida before the busy season kind of put a crimp in my vacation planning style. I did manage to create my vacation folder that is a staple on all Freihaut Family vacations and is something that Derek constantly makes fun of me for. Much to my dismay I followed Derek's advice and threw caution to the wind and decided not to plan out our week ahead of time and elected to play it day by day. This was very difficult for me to do at first, but so glad the I did. This vacation was meant for relaxation and lots of family and beach time. We needed some time away from the office, stresses of selling the house, errands, appointments, etc.
The drive down went surprisingly well. The kids slept most of the way down and Derek's mom came with us, so she was able to entertain and tend to them if they needed something. It took us about 14 hours including stops and only made stops for gas and restrooms breaks. Since Addy and Carter slept most of the time neither of them required any additional bathroom or rest stops which really helped us on time. Our vehicle was packed to the brim and we also had things strapped on our roof in a luggage bag. I remember traveling as kid and seeing all those station wagon like vehicles with paraphernalia strapped on top thinking who in the world needs to travel with that much stuff. Well, I realized on our drive down that I was now part of one of those station wagon families and I wouldn't have it any other way:)
When were were allowed to check out our condo we headed to Seagrove Beach to check out our accommodations for the week and take a nap. We were staying in a townhouse right on the beach. Our steps from the lower balcony led directly to a staircase that took you to the sand. It was a great set up for us because there were three bedrooms and there was more than enough living space. Addy loved her loft bedroom and was a big fan of the cheesy beach decor of the townhouse.
After taking our afternoon nap to catch up on sleep our vacation really began. We spent the rest of the week exploring the surrounding beach towns, heading to nearby Destin and Panama City for activities, and most importantly spending hours and hours playing on the beach. We stayed in an area referred to as the "beaches of 30a" which is known as a much quieter and less busy area than Destin, which is exactly what were looking for. Since our kids our so young we knew we only needed the beach to entertain them and the Beaches of 30a are much less commercialized and also less crowded. Addy and Carter loved playing on the beach and it was so nice to be able to head to the beach in the morning, go back to the condo for lunch and naps, and then head back to the sand for afternoon beach time. I also took advantage of' nap time by heading to the beach chairs to read and relax on my own while everyone took their afternoon siesta. I was convinced that since Carter wasn't walking yet that he would be more confined on the beach and would generally stay in one location. Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong. Carter crawled EVERYWHERE. He loved the wide open space and enjoyed destroying sand castles, splashing in the water, and crawling after the birds. Addy enjoyed getting dirty and building things out of sand. She also liked playing in the water and searching for seashells; although there weren't many to be found, we did manage to come home with a few good ones. Derek and I have decided that we have two official beach babies!
We did go out and about a few days for some planned activities. We found a pirate themed cruise on the Internet that got great reviews, so we headed to Panama City to board a pirate ship. The cruise was geared towards kids and was a 2 hour ride packed with things for them to do. Addy loved it and had such a blast having water gun and sword fights, firing the "kid cannon," dancing, searching for treasure, and picking out her share of the treasure from the treasure chest that they pulled out of the ocean. Carter enjoyed the music and watching all of the older kids running around having a ball, dancing during the Pirate Dance Party, and just being out on the boat. It was a great activities for the kids and a very relaxing day for us because they had so many great activities planned that we could focus on enjoying ourselves and taking pictures.
We spent several evenings in a cute town called Seaside. It is the town that the movie the Truman Show was filmed in and is a picturesque beach town. They have several airstream trailers that serve as roadside food stands, which was really neat and also have a great downtown area to walk around. We headed there one day to paint pottery at a pottery studio. Addy painted a flip flop trinket box for all of her "treasures" from the trip and I painted a sea themed plate with Addy's hand print made into a fish and Carter's footprint made into a foot.
Of course I spent a lot of time taking pictures and attempting to improve my skills. We traveled to several beaches and state parks seeking out great backdrops for taking family pictures and pictures of the kids. Derek and I managed to fit in a date night on our last night in Florida. Even though we headed to a very nice restaurant early enough to get the Early Bird 2 for 1 special (yes, we are frugal!) we had a wonderful dinner and it was nice to have some time on our own. We headed back on Saturday May 21st and left at about 9:00 a.m. Our trip back to Illinois took a bit longer and the kids were more of a handful during the daylight hours. We drove straight through again, but made more stops than on the way down and rolled into our neighborhood at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning. I am so glad to decided to head to Florida in May and we all had a wonderful time spending time together on the beach. Even though it wasn't our typical jam packed full of outings vacation we normally plan, it was very relaxing and very much appreciated!
Beachy Birthday
When we started discussing possible dates for our vacation in May I eagerly threw out that we could go over my birthday. I was excited about the idea because I've never really been on a trip over my birthday and I though it might make the idea of turning the big 3-0 a bit easier to swallow if it happened while lounging in a beach chair overlooking the Gulf. Well, I am so lucky that I actually got to spend my birthday on the beach with my family. It was a perfect birthday and a great way to start those dreaded thirties! We spend the morning and afternoon playing on the beach together and enjoying the mild 80 degree weather. We headed into Destin for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants from our last vacation. After dinner we took a stroll through the marina and then headed to the Melting Pot for dessert. We had been to the Melting Pot in Chicago for dessert once before and wanted to head back there because we enjoyed our first visit so much. It was a great ending to my birthday and Addy LOVED dipping everything and anything in chocolate.
My first week of my thirties was wonderful! It's amazing how great family time and beach time can make you forget that you're getting old:! :)
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