As if dolphins and gators weren’t enough, J and Ben managed to catch this ugly little crab while digging their giant hole. Ben named him Mr. Crabby Pants but we had to quickly let him go after Jack tried to yank off one of his legs. He didn’t understand that you have to wait to do that after it’s cooked and dipped in butter 🙂
One night we separated from the rest of the group to have some family time just the 4 of us. As great as it was having my entire family around, it was also nice to spend some time just the four of us. We ate at a local pizza place and then went to The Track, a huge family game center with go carts, mini golf, and a kids area with ferris wheel, merry go round, etc. Ben (and J) LOVED the go carts.
Little cart Ben could drive by himself.
Although Jack was a little too young to do go carts, he loved watching the cars zoom by.
The next day we traveled to the USS Alabama in Mobile, Georgia about 45 minutes away. We stopped and ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom and it did not disappoint. I had eaten there once before in Atlanta and it was every bit as good as I remembered. We finally got a Chick Fil A in our town so maybe Mellow Mushroom will be next!
The USS Alabama is huge with lots of places to explore both on deck and below.
The chapel
Kitchen
Sleeping quarters
On our final full day we made sure to get in as much beach time as possible.
By the end of the trip, Ben not only wanted his life jacket off, but he was swimming into the waves and giving me a little heart attack with his new found bravery.
J’s dad collects shark teeth from different beaches so we bought some fake ones at a souvenir shop and buried them in the sand. Ben was so excited to find them and dig them up to give to his grandpa. And yes, grandpa knew they weren’t real 🙂
A morning story with MeMaw.
This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. We stopped at a Dip n Dot store and obviously the boys loved it. Did you know Dip n Dot had stores?
Jack usually woke up before everyone else so most morning we would go out on the deck and just enjoy the breeze off the ocean or watch dolphins jumping in the water. This was one of my favorite times of the day and Jack loved being outside and roaming the deck.
One last photo before we left. Although we didn’t have to leave the condo until Saturday morning, J had the idea to leave at 6:00pm on Friday night to get most of the drive out of the way while the kids slept. Although we were pretty tired, it ended up working out great and we were in St. Louis by the time the kids woke up in the morning.
A great vacation with the people I love the most!
