Mason and I were up well before the kids the next morning (not surprising at all) so we took a walk to the main drag to secure some boogie boards and other beach essentials.
Not long in the water, and a jellyfish got me good! Man, it burns. But after about half an hour it was only mildly irritating and I went back in.
Zane dug a hole and kept me company while I brainstormed jellyfish tattoos since they're clearly my spirit animal.
A really big hole.
The excavation was quite the process.
Wash, rinse, repeat. We went to the beach every day. It was a 5 min walk from our Airbnb and we would pack snacks and drinks and then walk back when we got really hungry.
The flag was yellow on this day and the waves were so fun! Lots of big ones took us by surprise and boogie boarding was a blast...and a little painful when you scraped across the sand at the end.
This was our favorite place! We didn't discover New Orleans SnoBalls until we got to Gulf Shores, but they were a quick favorite! We went there 3 times (it would have been more, but we only had 3 days left when we discovered them). It's like a snow cone but so much better!! My favorite flavor was strawberry cheesecake.
Hannah needed an actual swimsuit. She'd been wearing work out gear and it just wasn't cutting it. And the kids needed swim shirts for our snorkeling adventure the next day. So we got her something and then she did some night swimming in the pool in our little neighborhood pool to test it out.
There was a little froggy friend by the door when we got back. We opened the door so the boys could see and the frog leapt off the wall and into the house! He was a bold little guy and eventually Hannah helped him back outside.
We booked a charter to take us snorkeling and absolutely recommend this company if you're ever in the area and want to snorkel, spearfish, or see dolphins. Captain Trey was amazing with his knowledge and skills.
The first spot was very shallow and a great spot to make sure everyone was comfortable before going somewhere more advanced. It was a breeding ground so we saw lots of little fish and some hermit crabs.
And jellyfish. Always jellyfish.
The 2nd spot was massively different than the first and the kids were here for it! The both geared up and jumped in before Mason and I and were off. Towards the rocks in the background were tons of large fish and shells! Hannah dove down about 10 feet to get some!!
Zane launched off the boat and was gone.
Sister was close behind.
The shell haul! Most of these were collected by Captain Trey, but we each added one or two to the mix.
Captain Trey let Zane drive the boat on the way back! Zane said "I think he thought I was older because he kept saying it's just like driving a car." He did find out later that Zane is only 14 and was like, "Oh sh*t!" We all made it back safely and Zane had a blast.
They even went up top to drive for a bit!
We enjoyed the ride :)
Just shootin' the breeze...
We have great memories of the Captain and "The Lady K!"
More snoballs that night.
The next day we drove to Pensacola, FL just to add one more state to our adventure. It was only an hour away. So in total we went through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. We had lunch at a place called the Smokehouse - delicious!
The Pensacola beach. We didn't swim, but we did walk around on the boardwalk for a bit.
We stopped in Orange City on the way back to hit the arcade. Zane kept his bball skills up.
Mason and Hannah fought some dinosaurs.
Zane got cheated multiple times by this claw machine. He had the beats headphones in the claw 3 times and every time it just opened before it was over the receptacle. There must be a thing where it stays closed every 1 in 100 tries or something. Lame.
Aaaaaand more Snoballs. This is Sandy, the shop dog. She was a good girl.
The beach never gets old. This time it was an evening session.
I spent quite a bit of time sitting on our porch reading/napping. I'll miss it.
Bye bye Gulf Shores. Hannah is curled on the couch because she doesn't want to leave.
