Way yonder back in May of two thousand and fourteen, we drove to Seagrove Beach, Florida, and rented a house near the beach. We liked it so much that we rented the exact house again this year for spring break, which happened to coincide with the husband's FORTIETH birthday. Both times, we drove to my parents' house, which is on the way. We dropped off the dog and spent the night, and then we got up at 4 in the A.M. (and this year it happened to be on the Sunday of Day Light Saving Time, so THREE in the A.M.!!!!!!) and drove across Louisiana, Mississippi, a tiny bit of Alabama, and into the panhandle of Florida. It takes around 11 hours. This year we listened to
The Black Stallion. I think it was
My Father's Dragon in 2014. It was a little chillier going in March instead of May, but the kids didn't seem to mind. We spent most mornings, and some afternoons, on the beach. We ate in twice a day, and ate out once a day, rode in the golf cart at BREAKNECK SPEED to the nearby Seaside shops (Sundog Books!) and generally relaxed. I had checked out a stack of never-seen-by-us movies from the library in case of rain, and we did end up needing them a couple of days. We watched "My Neighbor Totoro" (love!), "Pollyanna," "Finding Nemo," (They were FANS.), "Sleeping Beauty," and "Hugo," (weird, but beautiful!). Oh, and the girls and I watched the Gwyneth Paltrow "Emma" which happened to be on t.v. one evening. (Hudson chose to play FIFA soccer on the Playstation instead of joining us. WHO can account for taste??) I had to pause it about every two minutes to explain the vagaries of British social structure to Helena, but it was still delightful.
Here are some pictures. First, 2014. We celebrated Harper's 9th birthday while we were there:
Oops! I see that my chin is being sun-exposed! DANGER! (Love, The Covered-Up Family)
Compare/Contrast with March 2016. The husband spent MANY hours throwing the Frisbee with Hudson. We took miles of walks along the beach and came home with a large bag of sand dollar pieces. The Destin-area beaches are not known for their shells, but it is still fun to search. I didn't read as much this trip as I did last time, and I am not sure why. Though I did buy a pair of reading sunglasses at Sundog Books that I will be thankful for all summer long. The kids got some "mad money" to spend this time and they bought snowcones and ice cream and Silly Putty.
The years really are like sand through the hour glass, aren't they?
