Spring Break Beach Trip-Day 5

Thursday morning was our last day at the beach, but the weather obviously didn't get the memo. The waves were really rough and the skies were really dark, but we decided to go out and enjoy the beach for a couple of hours. 

Josh and I hadn't taken a picture together the entire trip so I convinced our budding photographer to take one of us. I think he did okay :)

The sun came out from behind the clouds every now and then but the weather pretty much stayed overcast and cloudy. Eli still had lots of fun playing in the waves as they crashed close to the shore. 

With the weather not being perfect we decided to call it and go do something else. We were happy that we'd gotten a couple of hours on the beach that morning. We said a final goodbye to the beach and packed up all our stuff. It had been a great week of relaxation and family time.

We ate lunch and then took a little field trip to the National Museum of Naval Aviation over in Pensacola, FL. Josh had heard good things about the museum and thought our whole family might enjoy it. He was correct! It was amazing to see all these planes, some dating back centuries, under one roof. Unfortunately, we had no idea how large and how extensive the museum would be so when we arrived we only had about 2 hours to explore and walk around. This is a museum where you need to plan to spend at least half the day there and you most certainly want to join a tour group. The guides there knew so much about the planes and their history. We all agreed that we could definitely come back to this museum next year so we could really learn about these amazing planes. Even though we didn't have much time we made the most of it and walked around most of the museum trying our best to see as much as we could. 

Anyone else singing "Danger Zone" yet and having visions of Tom Cruise stepping out of one of these in a flight suit? 

We were all quite fascinated by the Blue Angels display. I hope that one day we can take Eli to see them fly. We told him as much as we both knew and even looked up some of their videos on YouTube for Eli to watch. He was captivated and in fact his souvenir from this trip was a Blue Angels hornet. 

We can't wait to come back to this museum next year and learn about these planes. What an amazing place! We got in the truck to leave and on our way out we noticed a lighthouse. If you know me, then you know I have quite an obsession with lighthouses and think they're fascinating. I made Josh pull over so I could see if it was open to the public. Unfortunately like the museum it was also closed for the day, but climbing this lighthouse is on my list of things to do next year when we visit.

Since it was vacation, we decided to forego a traditional supper and had ice cream for supper instead. That's my kind of supper! My little mini-me thought so as well :) 

Once we got back to the condo, I started packing up all our things and then played a couple of games of UNO with this cutie. I love that he enjoys playing card games and board games like me. It was a great ending to a wonderful week spent with my boys!

Spring Break Beach Trip-Day 4

We woke up Wednesday morning and took our morning stroll on the beach. Then I enjoyed some coffee and read a little bit on our balcony. If only every morning could start with a beach walk and morning coffee while overlooking the ocean...#dreamingabouttheretiredlife.

We all got dressed and went down to the beach and enjoyed a few hours of beach time before lunch. 

We tried out a local pizza restaurant for lunch and then found an ice cream parlor not far from the pizza place for an afternoon treat. I think we had ice cream every day at the beach because VACATION :) 

We decided to surprise Eli with a visit to the arcade and he gladly spent the afternoon hours playing game after game. He even went on a virtual roller coaster ride with his Daddy. My little thrill seeker loved every minute of it, especially when they went upside down!

We got back to the condo and spent the rest of the afternoon resting. Josh napped, Eli watched some TV, and I read some of my book on the balcony. That night for dinner we used our favorite vacation app YELP and stumbled on a fabulous restaurant called Big Fish for supper. It was AMAZING! This was definitely a case of "don't jude a book by it's cover." The outside of this restaurant didn't compare to the quality of the food they served inside. If you're ever in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area, you need to go here!

I ordered the crab cakes and OH MY WORD talk about delicious. They seriously were the best crab cakes I've ever had in my life and don't even get me started on the fried green beans!

Josh ordered the snapper and he said it was mouthwateringly good! It's safe to say we'll be going back to this restaurant next year when we go to the beach. 

We finished our meal, ordered dessert, and then headed back to the condo. We had one last day at the beach and we were going to enjoy it to the fullest!