FRIDAY--- We are off to great places we are off and away
So here I am... trying to catch you up on our week of bliss in Sandestin. I am going to give you a little bit of a play by play of the week, without boring you too much.
Our trip started off a little sketchy from the beginning. Jeff had been jam packed with work all week. By Friday, he was busting everything he had to be ready to leave. While we were supposed to leave at noon, we didn't pull out of town until a little after 1:00 (after a stop at Momma Sheri's and McDonald's for fry fries.)
Once we were on the road, we were southern bound and moving along. We pulled into our destination halfway point, Prattville, Alabama, about 8:00 pm. Things were still going downhill considerably. As we pulled off the interstate the car began chugging and missing. The Maxima is ten years old and working on 170,000 miles... I know she has a lot left to give, and I was hoping she would not let us down at the beginning of our vacation. As Jeff was trying to solve this mechanical problem, I was handling hotel issues...
first our room was charged for the night before leaving a charge on my credit card and no reservation for Friday night. Once we this issue was resolve, we found the room wasn't ready... uugghhh.....
Finally we solved the car issues, were given a room, and were ready for a restful night. As were slumbered off, the evening news enlightened us to a small traffic issue on I65. So a bit begrudged, we decided to leave an hour early and make it through Montgomery before the most of the other travelers were heading south.
So with just 6 hours to sleep... we both closed our eyes, hoping to put the events of the day behind us. Hopefully the rest of our vacation will continue a bit more smoothly.
SATURDAY--- Heading south
to meet good friends.
With our early departure from Prattville, we were heading into Destin about 10:00. Hannah and Jay were delighted. We would actually be pulling into the area of Sandestin at the same time. (I think they were both a little anxious about trying to find something to do while they waited on us to head south.) I was quite excited too! I had been keeping up with the Stark family vacation through Hannah's blog, and I was ready to have some fun with her myself. Hannah and Jay decided to make this a Mommy and Daddy only trip. While they knew they would miss Eve terribly, I think they were excited about the week ahead.
With excitement, we met up with them at my favorite grocery store ever, PUBLIX!!!! After a quick tour of Sandestin, we pulled into the condo early. Our cleaning lady had been there early and the place was ready when we arrived before lunch... We were thrilled. After everyone was settled in, we headed off for a great trip to Publix!
Publix was as exciting as ever... and we were filled to the gills with food for the week... Exhausted and hungry, we started trying to make our first decision for dinner. After a long day and even harder night (our less than perfect sleeping arrangements at the Home Town Suites and Hannah & Jay saying goodbye to Eve for the week), we decided to order pizza from Jordano's and stay in our first night. We ate until we were sick, but it was the BEST pizza all us had ever eaten!!!! I don't know if it was the long day, or if Jordano's is really that great, but it was yummy stuff. At the end of the day, we watched the sun go down from our back deck. With full bellies and tired eyes, we retired to bed.
SUNDAY-- Shopping 'til we dropped
Sunday started with a decision to find a church. With the good ole Church of Christ and Baptist kids in one place, we were truly wanting to find a place to worship. However, we were all still exhausted and decided we would watch a church service on television. The service we found happened to be a Christian Church. I guess it was a neutral choice for the two different houses.
After church, we got cleaned up and headed out for the day. Jeff and I had planned on Hannah and Jay getting to know the place a little bit; the Baytowne Wharf, the Beach Club and the beautiful Sandestin golf courses. However, as we pulled away from the condo, the gray clouds began to edge their way towards us. So, as all vacationers do when the rain comes their way, we headed to the mall. Sandestin has a great outlet mall and is a place for deals a plenty... Of course, Jeff and Jay were less than thrilled about a day at the mall.
To our advantage, a Cheeseburger in Paradise is on the property of the Silver Sands Outlet. After a short trip to the shoe store, Jeff and Jay were off for food and a NASCAR race, leaving Hannah and I to our shopping extravaganza. I have to say... Hannah and I were quite composed throughout our entire shopping experience. We brought very little... I more than her, but I was able to find everything I had been hunting for at home. It was mainly things for Jeff, but I was excited to finally find the dark brown trousers in which he had been searching, plus dressy and casual dark brown shoes... Who needs KY Oaks Mall when you have Destin!!
Once our feet were feeling worn and tired, we traversed the parking lot to pick up our boys. Understanding they had been there for 4 hours, each of them was in considerably good shape and in good humor. Luckily they had the television to watch and had not paid attention to the long time we had left them there. We waltzed with them to the car and headed home. After a short rest, we began getting ready for our first dinner on vacation. As Jeff & Jay had enjoyed themselves so much at Cheeseburger in Paradise, they were less inclined to argue with the girls about dinner choices. In common fashion, Hannah & I unknowingly share our favorite beach-side restaurant. Hannah found The Back Porch as a teenager when her family vacationed in Fort Walton Beach. I did not find it until our honeymoon last October. Nevertheless, our shared favorite is a great place to dine, with an ocean front view and a great menu to boot. Hannah and I were thrilled with our dinner choice. Even though a gigantic summer seaside storm blew up as we were driving to Destin, our soggy wait was well worth it for both of us. What a way to start our week!!!!
Our week is already quickly going by. Time with friends is precious and always too short.
We are half way through our time with Hannah and Jay. I will post more of our adventures tomorrow... and catch you up to our time alone by Wednesday. Hope you enjoy our little journal of events.
