Family Vacation - Part 2 (the Beach)

Tuesday afternoon, we arrived in Orange Beach for the remainder of our family vacation. We kicked it off right...after making arrangements while on the road, we arrived just in time for the 2pm Dolphin Cruise departure. That was a beautiful, relaxing cruise and we were able to see several dolphins along the way.

We then proceeded to an awesome condo, Escapes! the Shores...1700 sq ft., directly on the beach with a balcony overlooking the beach/pool, and 2 bedrooms so the boys could have their own room for the remainder of the vacation. The boys were excited about that, as well as the big screen TV in their bedroom. I could totally live here!

After expecting a dreary forecast, we ended up with 100% beautiful, sunny days! Considering we only had 3 1/2 days in Orange Beach, we made the most of it. Following are the fun things we did....

• Played on the beach for hours in the mornings...catching waves and digging in the sand
• Splashed around the kiddie pool and the big pool at the Condo
• Played on the beach in the evenings...flying a kite, throwing Frisbees, searching for seashells, and catching some more waves
• Visited the "Little Zoo that Could", Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo and saw a Bengal Tiger Show as well as got to pet some 2 month old Bengal tigers.
• Took a day trip to the Naval Aviation Museum to see some older and modern war planes and jets. We saw some Blue Angel planes, but unfortunately did not get to see their practice.
• Went to the Wharf to see and ride the largest Ferris Wheel in the Southeast as well as grab some dinner at Johnny Rockets.
• Upon departure from Orange Beach, we stopped at an Alligator Farm, Alligator Alley. It was really neat to see the owner with his alligators (170+ of them). We also met Captain Crunch....a LARGE alligator.

Friday afternoon, we started our departure from Orange Beach. We were originally supposed to stop 1/2 way and stay/visit with a friend, but the boys requested that we drive straight home. They were anxious to get back to their own beds and toys. It took us 10 1/2 hours to get home after making necessary stops...the boys were on their best behavior the majority of the drive home. Apparently, we didn't give them enough credit about making that long of a trip.

Family vacation comes to an end...but we have lots of new memories and hopefully a new tradition. The boys really enjoyed the beach, so we will be repeating this vacation again.