Perdido Key, Fl- All Good Things Must Come to an End

So to finally wrap up our trip synopsis...



The Mariner Condominiums- view from the beach

 Mom, David, Brieleigh, and I walked to the dock on the bay one afternoon. We REALLY wanted to fish, but fishing poles and planes did not seem to mix so well. Instead we watched another family fish (and catch something every few seconds then feed it to a brave blue heron), and we pulled up the crab traps to catch a peak of the blue craps for a second. We taught Brieleigh how to walk like a crab. :)

The bay

Not good lighting... but our little family of three from our condo front door. Beautiful view!

One morning, we went out to the beach and caught a few waves and shells just before a huge storm rolled in. Once the sky fell out, we decided to run to the outlet malls for a few hours. We left David at the condo to work. None of us are big- all day shoppers, so we probably spent about 2 hours there total. I was not planning to buy anything, but I found a great sale at J. Crew and bought 5 shirts for $20 total!

A kids water fountain at the malls. Notice Brieleigh is the only one playing there because it is still raining. She LOVED it! We had to strip her down for the ride back to the condo.

Eating out for supper is a favorite on the beach. There is always a great atmosphere (which if you have ever tried to find a restaurant with my mom, you will know that is a priority anywhere we go :).

Cal and Madeline at Tacky Jacks where our table was RIGHT on the intercoastal waterway.

Brieleigh and Millie at Tacky Jacks

This year was our first time to eat at Lulu's- Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant. It is a resort in itself, let me tell you. I am glad we went, and I would definitely go back, but you have to plan to be there your whole night really. We had a two plus hour wait which is very typical. While we waiting, we walked around the "beach" where they had alot of sand toys for the kids, games, live music, a gift shop, and snow cones/smoothies/margaritas. We were tired by the time our supper finally arrived, but it was my favorite meal all week.

Brieleigh trying out the back scratcher at Lulus. She saw someone do it once, then we found her trying it out herself. 

Brieleigh loved playing in the sand with all the toys at Lulus.

Brieleigh would just run around Lulu's and one of us would just follow her. She had so much energy!

The whole crew- sipping our smoothies at Lulu's

We did not spend near as much time in the pool as the ocean, but we still enjoyed alot of time there. It was nice to soak in some calm, shark and jellyfish free water after a few hours of the ocean. Brieleigh loved to show off her new learned swimming skills.

Brieleigh in the pool- Maddy bought some floaties for her the next to last day. She was not sure what to think about them!

This is Brieleigh being a "cwab".

Brieleigh was so sad on the way back to the airport. She looked like she might cry when we left Cal, Madeline, and Mom. She was not interested in pictures.

David driving our Volkswagon Jetta rental car.

Thus ends our beach vacation 2011. Thank you Lord for allowing us to go spend some much needed time together and with family in your breath-taking creation!

Perdido Key 2011- On the Beach

My favorite part of going to the beach is being ON the beach, watching in amazement God's beautiful creation rolling in as far as the eye can see. I often wonder how anyone can look out at the ocean and think about its vastness with so many sea creatures and life inside of it and not believe that God is real!

      Our typical/general day: We woke up (usually between 7 and 8) and ate cereal on the porch overlooking the ocean. Sometimes I would enjoy reading my Bible there, and sometimes I read it in the sand. Both my favorite places to sit and read it ever... Once everyone was up, we would suit up in our swimsuits and apply sunscreen (different amounts and SPF levels based on cloud coverage and redness amount from the previous day).

     On a side note, Brieleigh wore Coppertone baby 50 SPF all week and never got burnt. She is one of the most tan 19 month olds though I have seen (thank goodness she got the Crawford skin and tans alot easier than she burns). So she is proof you can wear heavy duty sunscreen and still tan! Since it was rainy and cloudy the first morning, the rest of us did not really wear any sunscreen that morning. David self applied some on the back of his shoulders. Well that worked really well for those two spots while the rest of his back was lobster-ish. Poor thing! So another myth proven- you can still get alot of sun when it is cloudy. David bought a swim shirt halfway through the trip and greatly benefitted from it (SPF 50). Thankfully, none of us got burnt that badly... mostly just red skin that turned into a tan or straight tan.

       We would then spend most of the morning frolicking in the ocean either riding the waves or swimming out to the calm sandbar depending on the roughness of the water that day. The adults all enjoyed reading on the beach (often under our new tent shelter to get a break from the sun) from time to time (especially Mom), but the majority of our time was spent in the water or playing in the sand (especially Brieleigh and I as she was not into reading on the beach). Brieleigh loved the water. If I ever went in without her she would run to the edge and call me to come get her or often try to come get me herself! She loved the sand just as much. Her favorite activity was filling her bucket up with water and dumping it on dry sand.

       After being at the ocean all morning, we would start to get hungry. We would head to the pool to swim a few laps or float around for a little while before heading up the the condo for lunch. We had almost everyday turkey or ham on rolls with ruffles (Low-fat) with french onion dip- a Crawford family beach tradition. We also ate alot of fresh peaches and some pepperidge farm cookies- traditions as well.

       We would often then relax. Brieleigh and sometimes others of us would take a short afternoon nap. Brieleigh played HARD this whole trip and loved showing out for her extended family so much that she was zonked at naptime and bedtime everyday. Sometimes we would watch a show or two on TV... often something called Swamp People on the History channel where they hunt and kill crocodiles to sell (Cal's favortie). David also caught up on some work in the mornings and afternoons some days. Then when we were rested, we repeated the morning- ocean then pool.

      We went out for supper most nights. After we were nice and hungry from playing hard in the waves and pool, we would all go get showered up and head out for dinner. Waits were sometimes long, but we enjoyed waiting together, looking at boats at the marina, listening to live music, playing on the playground, or enjoying the beach atmoshpere to pass the time. After dinner, we would usually eat Blue Bell ice cream (tradition), watch part of a movie, read, or walk on the beach. (Brieleigh did not care for the beach at night. She pointed to the condo and said, "Light!")



Brieleigh enjoying reading her Bible on the balcony while also looking for boats, dolphins, and fish.



Aunt Maddy and Brieleigh working on a sand castle. I love that I caught the sand Brieleigh threw down still in mid-air.

Sand play with the bucket (her favorite toy)

Brieleigh and Daddy working on a castle

Taking a break from wave riding

Watching the tide roll in :)

Aunt Maddy and BBug

This was my first time to ever see a flying fish. He was beautiful! So many bright colors. And he really flies! We also saw a shark about 2 feet long- small but very close to the shore. He left when I got my camera out. :(

Brieleigh wearing a life jacket running from Aunt Maddy.
Much of the gear (such as this life jacket, sand toys, chairs) we used was already there in the condo which was great!

Our Family of Three- we LOVE the ocean!

Brieleigh, Jamey, and Maddy

Riding the waves together

Nothing like a morning nap in the sand!

Our spot- complete with our camping tent shelter. A very nice addition!

Bucket! Water!

Brieleigh and Daddy headed to the water

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Perdido Key, Florida 2011- Getting There

Last week, July 16-23, we went on a much needed beach vacation. My mom Beth, sister Madeline, and brother Cal were also there. We used some free Southwest tickets (from David's points he accrues flying for work) to get there since we did not have time to make the drive (and did not particularly want to make another 12+ hours road trip for vacation since it leaves us exhausted when we return). We flew into New Orleans, rented a car, and drove to the beach (about 3.5 hours).

We stayed in Perdido Key, Florida which is not only where my family went every year growing up (until I was 18), but we stayed at the same condos again! My dad referred patients to another doctor, and he would let us stay free at his condo for a week every summer. He asked us to stay a far a few more years after my dad died, but then we lost touch with him. This was our first time to be back at The Mariner- my favorite because of the years of memories, lack of being a high rise, family- friendly, nice owners, right on the beach, beautiful views, and an awesome pool!

Waiting on our flight. Brieleigh LOVES "abiets" and her Daddy! This should be a Southwest ad...

Waiting on our flight. Brieleigh LOVES "abiets" and her Daddy! This should be a Southwest ad...

Brieleigh was glued to the window most of the trip there. She was facinated! She was very good on the flight too which was a blessing. She ate snacks, read books, colored, and just took everything in.

Since we were flying into New Orleans and got there early morning, we decided to stop at Cafe du Monde for breakfast and order some beignets. David had never been there much less ever tried beignets. It was super crowded in the French Quarter. It took awhile to get parked, get a table, finally get our food, and get back out, but it was a fun little experience. Sorry, I left my camera in the car. The beignets did not disappoint, and we washed them down with free squeezed orange juice and cafe au lait. We were glad to not be vacationing in NOLA- just too crowded for our taste and not much to do other than walk and shop.

We stopped at the Mississippi Gulf Coast for Brieleigh to run around for a break on the beach. I had not been since Katrina, and let me tell you- I would not have recognized it if I had not know where we were. There is not much there other than a few scattered houses. It was incredible how different it looked! The beach though was still nothing compared to Florida.



We got stopped for a draw bridge while a big boat came through. Cool!

 After loads of traffic and rain that we could barely see through, we finally made it to our condo (slightly faster than we would have since we now have a trusty GPS to give us alternate routes!). The rest of the crew had just gotten there. We unpacked, ran out to the beach, jumped in the ocean (which was freezing with all the rain and overcast), and dived in the pool before treking out to supper.

After trying at least 3-4 other places we finally landed at Bubba's. Everywhere told us it would be an hour plus wait (even here, but we only waited 10 minutes). This was our least favorite place to eat on the trip, but we started off the trip right with fried shrimp and fish.
Maddy and Brieleigh bug coloring the kid's menu.

Swwet Cal and Mom

Me and David- so happy to be on the beach! God's creation is so breathtaking.

More Brieleigh-isms

Brieleigh constantly makes us laugh and suprises us with all the new words she picks up on. She is very good at remembering and saying people's names. and she will just about repeat any word you say. Here are some of my recent favorites!

~Whenever she wants me to hold her (or someone else), she always looks up at me holding out her little hands, opening and closing them into fists trying to reach me, and says, "Need do (you), Mommy! Need do!" It is nice to be needed.

~I have told her I love her constantly since she was born, and often say it while using hand motions. She often tries to repeat the motions in some form or fashion, and often tries to say I love you, but it has never been anywhere close. She resorted to saying, "Mommy, Daddy!" after we tell her we love her to let us know she loves us too. Last night though she was giving me big hugs ("Hug, hug!") and said, "Luv oo!" It melted my heart.

~I often smell Brieleigh's feet (she often sticks them in my face making sniffing noises for me to smell them). She thinks it is hilarious, especially when I say, "Pew-wee!" She always cracks up. Lately though I will tell her that her feet smell like roses when they smell fine. Today she stuck her feet in my face, and I responded with, "Pew-wee!" She then said, 'Woses!" (roses) Precious!