This month we flew down to my parents' in the Florida panhandle again to meet up with my older sister and her family for their Spring Break. It was amazing - as usual!
The day we flew in, we ate a quick lunch, and then headed straight to the beach. After a couple of hours in the sun, we moved to the pool when the wind kicked up. That evening as we dyed eggs for Easter, I discovered that I wasn't as practiced at applying sunscreen as I thought. Not only was the sunburn painful, but it was splotchy. As Nicole put it, I looked contagious...
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| Ethan decorating Easter eggs |
The next day was Easter, so we went to Mom and Dad's church for Easter Sunday mass - boy, was it packed (Spring Break season down there is March through April). Then back to the house for lunch and family photos while we were still dressed up.
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
It was still quite windy, so we hung out at the Commons and then had dinner and celebrated Charley's birthday (which was also that day). We ended Easter Sunday watching The Bible together as a family. We are so blessed!
Monday was the best beach day - we headed out early and spend almost six hours on the beach. It was great! The beach was packed with spring breakers, so we headed out "early" (4 p.m.), so we could get to Panama City Beach early for dinner. After taking the scenic route (Highway 30A) there, we went to Margaritaville for dinner (Andrew and I both had the Cheeseburger in Paradise) and then roamed around Pier Park for a bit.
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| Dad making pancakes |
Tuesday was the day on the water. Mom and Dad's friend John took us out on his new boat. First we did some fishing by the Destin Bridge (with a view of HarborWalk) - he caught a sheephead fish and let Ethan help him reel it in. That thing had some crazy human-like front teeth! Then we went back under the bridge and walked around the shallow waters of Crab Island. The boat trip ended with pizza at Helen Back restaurant that we pulled right up to with the boat. We then topped off the day with all of us trying paddle boarding on Mom and Dad's new paddle boards at Gulf Islands National Seashore. It was a blast!
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| Ethan learning how to drive the golf cart |
Wednesday was rainy...very rainy. The girls went to the outlets and tried shopping, but apparently everyone else had the same idea, so we left after a few stores. We all hung out around the house for awhile and some went to the movies. The rain stopped in time for us all to go to Pompano Joe's on the beach for dinner. I finally got my crab cakes, hush puppies and sweet tea! We ended the last evening together playing some games: Left-Center-Right and Apples to Apples (Charley won both).
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
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| [Photo by Andrew Gichard] |
Thursday morning the Sneddons flew out, and then Mom and Dad drove us to Pensacola. Neither of us had been there before. We first went to the National Naval Aviation Museum. We spent hours there, but probably could've spent days there. After a quick stop at the Pensacola Lighthouse, we drove to downtown Pensacola, which is a quaint historic area. Dad and I had a beer at Pensacola Bay Brewery and then we all walked to Seville Quarter for dinner (more seafood!). It was a very neat area!
Friday was cloudy and chilly, so we did some outlet shopping, beach walking and had dinner at Kenny D's. Mom and Dad had been raving about their grouper sandwiches all week, and boy were they right! They were ah-mazing!!!! It was the perfect way to end the trip.
Saturday we flew home and returned to a snowstorm. All in all, it was a great family trip (sunburn and all). The second year in a row, we are ready for next year's trip already! I love my family!
