We have moved to Murfreesboro from Grayson, GA. We are now living in an apartment in Murfreesboro. The apartment is nice, but we have been in it since January. It is time to get of the apartment for a little while and take a vacation.
Through the years in Atlanta I went on multiple business trips and the use of lads to leaders (paid through my credit card for the whole Church) I gained a lot of Marriott points. We decided to use the points for a room at the Marriott Resort and Spa in Panama City Beach, FL. The hotel was near the beach. I found out that there are no hotels on the beach in the Gulf of Mexico. So this was the best we could find. It would be great fun.
We had some beach blankets and other items still at our house in Grayson, GA. So we left Tuesday after work. I got home a bit early from the office and packed the van up. It was time to head on a vacation. It was Kayla's first time to the beach. We weren't going to be able to stay long but we definately would have a great time. After getting the van packed up we headed to Zaxbys to get some dinner. We decided to eat dinner in the car since it was later than we planned.
We headed to Grayson, GA. It should take about a 5 hours to get there. We got at Grayson fairly late and put the kids to bed. I knew this would be our last night in the house for a long time. We were trying to decide to rent out the house or keep trying to sale it.
We got up when the kids got up. I wanted to wait till after rush hour so that we wouldn't run into as much traffic. No matter however late it was we still would run into traffic as we went to the other side of Atlanta. We got what we needed and headed down.
The kids did great on the ride down. We passed down through Columbus and Eufala. We stopped in Eufalla at a diary queen for lunch. When we left Georgia it was kind of chilly, but by the time we got to Eufala the sun was starting to be hot.
It took us all day to get to the Beach. It seemed like by the time we passed over I-10 we drove for miles and miles to get to Panama City Beach. We arrived at the Marriott Resort and Spa. It was really nice! The hotel had multiple buildings with 3 pools. We sure were going to have a great time.
We went to our room. We had a suite overlooking to the golf course. The suite was exceptionally nice. That way the kids can take a nap and Heather and I don't have to. We had a living room, kitchen and a bedroom. We were not expecting such a nice room. Once we got there the kids ran around the room crazy. They had been siting in the car so long. It was nice to get some energy off.
After getting everything unpacked, we got the wagon set up and head to the beach. The hotel said it had a beach and we wanted to check it out. We got our swimming gear on.
The hotel was located on a lagoon side of the ocean. There was a barrier island in front of the hotel which had the ocean beach on it. The hotel had a long bridge out to an island in the lagoon with a restruant on the island. We walked past the restruant off the beach. When we arrived at the Beach it was the beach to the lagoon. It had no waves and actually was just yucky. It smelled bad, etc. We stayed for a little while and decided that we would drive to the actual Ocean Beach to enjoy the Beach. We headed back to the hotel. We also wanted to walk around the hotel to see what was there. One of the pools was especially nice with a zero entry portion that the kids would love.
We stopped by the lobby and asks the ticket guy in the hotel lobby. He was very helpful. He told us about a State Park that is just about 5 minutes away which has a great beach, picnic area, etc. We decided we would try this out on Friday and see what we thought. He also made some recommendations for places to eat. We wanted to eat at a few nice places, especially seafood places in Panama City.
Today was the beach day! The weather was great! It was hot and sunny. We packed up the car with everything we needed for the beach. We drove the 5 minutes to the State Park. (St. Andrews State Park). When we arrived we found one of the board walks that took us over the sand dune to the actual beach. We love the gulf beaches. The waves are as tough, the sand more chrystal and white and the water is clearer than the Atlantic side.
We set up shop and took the kids out in the water. It was Kayla's first time at the beach. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was great seeing her expression. She didn't know what to think. She sat in the water and played.
I went up to the store and rented a raft for the water the boys could ride in the water. Josh didn't like going out in the water. Michael being that much older enjoyed going out with me. He rode in the raft. We played at the beach all morning through lunch. I took the boys for a raft ride to the pier which was about 200 yards from where we were. They were getting really hot in the raft so they ended up walking in the surf on the way back after we got to the pier. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For lunch we went up to the store and had hot dogs and french fries and ate there at the store. We sat in a shaded area because the sun was so hot on the kids. We took a break and rested while we ate. The State Park wasn't crowed at all. We picked a great day to go.
Heather and I discussed what to do after lunch. It was time for Josh's and Kayla's nap, but Michael wanted to stay and play at the beach. So we decided that Heather would leave with Kayla and Josh to the hotel room and leave me and Michael to play at the beach.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Michael and I played at the beach for an extended period of time. Heather and I didn't have any way to communicate with each other. I was a bit concerned that she wouldn't be able to find us. So we stayed at the area that we were at. Michael and I had a great time. We were able to go way out in the ocean together. After about an hour Michael got tired of the hot sun beating on us. We went to the store at the beach and looked around. I purchased Michael some ice cream and we waited on Heather to get back from the nap. We waited for a long time. Heather and I didn't have a time set to meet up. It was when Kayla and Josh woke up. We waited about an hour or so. We were ready to be picked up. Once the kids woke up Heather showed back up.
We had a great time at the beach. We went back to the hotel and got ready to go out to eat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We decided to go to a seafood place at Panama City Beach. It was pretty good. The kids were tired, but Michael sure enjoyed when they sang happy birthday to him. His birthday wasn't till tomorrow, but I thought he would enjoy it.
Once we finished eating we headed back to the hotel. We played a bit and hit the sack. Tomorrow was Michael's birthday.
Today we got up and had the presents ready for Michael. What a great birthday! To be at the beach. Today we planned on taking the dolphin cruise. We decided to swim in the pool in the morning. (We had breakfast in the hotel room). Then we were going to drive to Destin for the dolphin cruise. We selected a dolphin cruise in Destin because the one we selected fit what we were looking for.
We swam in the zero entry pool in the morning. The kids loved the pool.
We got the kids out of the pool and ready for the dolphin cruise. I figured the time we needed to leave along with when we needed to get there. We headed to Destin. As we got closer the time was getting closer for the cruise. We had not set enough time to drive to Destin. We were rushing pretty bad. Now it was lunch time, but we have limited time to eat. We stopped at Subway and got some things to eat in the car on the rest of the way to the dolphin cruise. We finished eating the lunch in the car and arrived at the dock. It was time for the cruise to start and there were lots of stops on the pier. I searched for ever to find the starting spot. After searching we finally found it. It was not marked very well. At least we made it. We sat in the back. The boat was a large boat, but it did not have any shade. That was the negitive to the dolphin cruise.
The boat left the loading area. Finally we were a bit relaxed. We had really rushed to get on the boat. I had that feeling that you have right after you rush and get a bit stressed. Finally we could relax a bit. We headed to the snorkle spot. Our kids were the youngest on the dolphin cruise.
We arrived at the snorkle spot. It was near a beach area out a bit into the ocean near some rocks. The boys got their snorkle gear all on. It took us a while to get the snorkle gear on for Michael and Josh. Once I got their stuff on I put my stuff on. Michael and Josh looked great in the snorkle gear. Heather stayed on the boat with Kayla. Kayla was too young to go snorkling. She just hung out on the boat.
The boys and I went snorkleing. Michael did great he was looking at the fish and the rocks below. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Josh rode on my back the whole time. Josh was a great snorkler. I was a bit sunburned so I knew Josh was on my back the whole time.
Some were jumping off the boat. The boat was about 10 foot or so off the water. Michael saw them and wanted to do it himself. I figured Michael would get nervous and back away when he got to the top. He got up there and I was down in the water waiting for him. The water there was about 20 foot deep. Michael wasn't scared at all and jumped right in. He landed in the water and went under. His lifevest pulled him back up. He had jumped off the boat. I was surprised that he did it. It was now time to get the snorkle gear put up and go look for some dolphins.
The dolphin cruise headed down the coast moving pretty quick. We went down the coast about 20 minutes or so. It was relaxing to ride in the boat and let the wind blow. They gave all the kids an opportunity to drive. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Both Josh and Michael drove the boat. Then they took us to the dolphins.
We hooked up with about 15 dolphins right by our boat. It was great. You could see their eyes when they jumped right by the boat. Michael and Josh were having a great time. Kayla just rode the boat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The dolphin cruise lasted for about 2 hours (1 hour for the snorkle and 1 hour for the dolphin side of it).
We were planning to take Michael for a special birthday dinner. After a long day with the dolphin cruise and the beach we decided to head to a restraunt at the hotel out over the lagoon. It was a great choice for Michael and them. They loved eating over the water. You could look down and see some fish in the water. It was not crowded and they got a hot dog. This was one of Michael's favorites.
What a great trip! One that we will never forget!
