That Tall Girl's Tales: Gulf Shores

It was a semi-last minute trip. I had wanted to go to the beach for awhile and was doing my best to convince/persuade Ben. He, however, was of the opinion to save money for house projects. Then one day during local area spring breaks, I got a text from Ben while he was at work. He wanted to go to the beach. I think he was hearing about people going on trips and decided he wanted to go somewhere as well. Especially after the long winter!

I booked the trip before he got home so he couldn't change his mind. (Not really, but I did act fast.) We decided on Gulf Shores, AL because of the following criteria:

1. It was on the coast. (Read: Beach!)
2. It was a doable drive to warmer weather (and beaches!) versus driving 18+ hr to some FL spots. Or flying ($$$).
3. We could get a reasonable price on a beach-front condo. (Timing right between spring break and summer vacations.)
4. Family friendly location.
5. Did I mention it was on the beach!

We arrived on a Sunday after leaving Indy on Saturday. We went the grocery store that evening and bought food for the week. We cooked and ate all meals in the condo. It was cheaper and easier than going out all the time. On our way down we got some fresh AL shrimp that was just off the boat that morning. We steamed it and had a delicious peel-and-eat shrimp dinner. The shrimp were so fresh. They had almost a butter taste to them.

We only left the condo once, to go to a souvenir shop that Ben found on Roadside America. The rest of the time we hung out at the beach, pool, and balcony. It was a great family vacation and we decided that we needed a beach vacation at least every other (if not every!) year.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

Our shrimp dinner. The is before Ben removed the heads.

From the balcony of our 9th floor condo. It had two bedrooms so Heidi had a quiet place to nap/sleep.

Family photo at the pool. One of my favorite places.

Heidi splashing in the pool. She loooooves the water. Bath time is a favorite time for her so we knew she'd love the pool as well.

Heidi had no hesitation around the sand or waves. When we set her down in the sand, she was immediately grabbing it and trying to put it in her mouth. She would crawl off to the other people sitting on the beach but would act shy once she finally reached them. She would squeal with delight around the waves, kicking the water.

First few days the waves were rougher. I think it was some leftover energy from the recent storms that had come through. The beach also had evidence of the storms in the form of seaweed, which the workers were tasked with raking up throughout the week.