2 Dogs, a Baby Make Five: Florida Birthday Trip Part 3

I know, it has taken me so long to actually write about this vacation that it is almost time for another! I'll make it quick.

We left Orlando and headed for Destin, FL. a.k.a. the Emerald Coast. This is where most people that live in Nashville (that I know anyway) go on beach vacations. Destin is the Rocky Point and San Diego of Arizona (although not quite as close distance wise). The first time I had been to Destin was on my road trip from Arizona to Florida when we moved there in 2006 (OMG it has been that long, crazy). My sister and I stopped briefly to look at the white sand beaches. We let Mako and Kona out to run around on the beach and then got back on the road. It was way to quick now that I have seen how beautiful it is. We should have stayed there for the night :)

We rented a one bedroom condo right on Miramar beach. Our patio overlooked the ocean. It was gorgeous. It was a very short walk down the stairs and on to the beach. We got there later in the afternoon on Thurs. It was enough time to enjoy an evening trip to stroll along the beach.

This was Nathaniel's first time at the ocean and in sand. The time of year was perfect. It was off season so there were hardly any people around. I LOVE that. We set Nate down on the sand and he wouldn't move... haha. He wanted nothing to do with walking in that weird stuff. He did enjoy playing in it though. He scooped and dumped sand into his pail. The water rushing on to his legs left him a bit speechless too. He did not know what to think about what was happening, but he loved the little birds that kept coming up. Those beach birds with the skinny tall legs are always so cute.

We headed out to a beachside restaurant. We sat at a table outside overlooking the ocean. Nathaniel was very good all dinner and ate a lot of my black bean side dish. It was really a nice relaxing evening. We basically hung out at the beach all day Friday (with small trips around town to check things out). Nathaniel's attention span even on the beach is at most 1/2 hour so we just went with the flow. It was another nice relaxing day. Once Nate was asleep Kevin and I just had a beer on the porch enjoying the sound of the waves. We headed home the next morning :(

Nathaniel called the condo our 'new house' and he still brings it up. He says 'Go new house' He actually cried the other day when he was talking about the 'beach' and 'sand' and 'new house' - he ran to the garage door and said 'go new house' and when we said we can't go there he was upset. I guess we need to buy a beach house *hint hint*

He never really got the gist of walking in the sand so I think we need another longer trip soon! *hint hint* again.

We took a 2 year old to 3 different places in 9 days and we survived. That sounds like a shirt or badge or something. The sleeping issue was really the only downfall. He hasn't ever slept anywhere but his crib in well over a year. He doesn't sleep in a pack n play anymore without a tantrum so that leaves a regular bed. Well, that meant one of us had to sleep with him until he fell asleep or he would have never stayed put. Plus, the worry of him falling off in the middle of the night (which he did once the first night at Disney. I heard Kevin go 'Oh No' and there was Nate on the floor. Nate managed to squiggle all the way to the bottom of the bed and off the end. We were prepared with pool noodle borders and everything, but he found the hole). So besides a pretty restless sleep most of the nights it was a great vacation.

That wasn't very quick was it... owell. Here are some of my favorite pics.