Gulf Shores 2010

My last post was almost a month ago, and as I posted that evening asking for advice regarding our trip to Gulf Shores, I knew full well that the trip to the beach was my final summer treat, a calming getaway before life got crazy.  It's almost one month later, and crazy doesn't even begin to cover it.  It seriously seems like that trip was ages ago!  But, it was the absolute perfect way to end our summer and we soaked up every moment of family time, beach time, sun time, and rest time that we could before our return to reality in early August!

Thank you all for your recommendations on yummy restaurants!  We don't really do "eating out" when we are at the beach; we much prefer to order takeout and avoid having to actually come off the beach before dusk and get showered and clean!  To me that just wastes beach time!  We had takeout from The Shrimp Basket, The Gulf Shores Steamer, The Wheelhouse Restaurant, The Original Oyster House, and Bahama Bob's.  We'd recommend any of these restaurants - and Mark definitely made his goal of not eating anything but seafood while he was there!

Thank you to the HCC's from 2010 for your thoughtfulness in giving us this wonderful end of summer getaway!  Here are a few of my favorite pics...

I don't know these two women, but I was overcome at the sweetness of this moment. I want this to be me and mom...and then me and Turner...

This is Turner's first experience in a hot tub - she loved it!

Do you think this little girl is in heaven with both Pop and Daddy to entertain her?

One evening, we did actually get dressed and put on clothes that weren't beach coverups and attempt to take some more beach family shots since Mark wasn't able to join us at the beach in June. We had about 10 min of a clear lens, and then just as a very nice passerby offered to take one of our entire family, the lens clouded completely over. Like, couldn't see to take a picture cloudy. So some of these are cloudier than I'd like, but we did finally get the lens to cooperate and we did get some really neat shots after this minor setback.

Mark and I had a photo shoot at the beach while we were engaged, but since then we've not been at the beach together with someone who could snap a few updated photos of "just us"...

...and while we were busy smiling for the camera, Turner decided to do this!

And for the record, I really was reacquainted with many of the charming and appealing aspects of Gulf Shores vs. the Florida beaches with which I am more familiar.  It reminds me of the Ft. Walton and Destin of my childhood - a real beach lovers, family town.  Not overly commercialized, or designed to cater more toward the elite.  It was laid back and easy going - just the way I like the beach.  And we didn't encounter a ton of tar balls, or petroleum smells...there was some evidence of the oil spill, but we swam every day in the ocean and on the last day the water was more clear and calm than I have ever witnessed. The perfect end to the perfect summer.