We started our second day in Destin back at the beach, up and in our suits before they even had the umbrella chairs out. Beau and I grabbed coffee and the four of us walked along the beach past the high rises and soon onto a plot of sand that seemed to be ours for the taking. This was just what my soul needed. I literally felt any weight I was carrying dissolve into the sea that morning and I think I could have waded there with my people for hours that day. Beau and I watched Cruz and Mila in the sand working together to collect shells. We sang Moana songs and discussed which Disney character we were most like. We watched Cruz back float with a smile on his face in the breeze, the truest picture of contentment and joy. We felt close and so happy to be there together.
We had plans to spend that day renting a boat and heading out to Crab Island, a big water amusement park for adults and kids alike, but by the time we got to the marina, the humid skies had given way to off and on thunderstorms and big heavy downpours. But sometimes, when the best laid plans go awry, they leave something pretty great in return. We ended up at the Crab Trap, a multi-level seafood joint right on the beach and ordered steamer baskets, crab cakes, and rum runners, and decided to wait out the rain. The kids went on the sand to play on the playground and we had our own fun eating the best Bairdi crab we've ever had. Oh my word, it was good. It'd rain for a few minutes and then the sun would come out, and that pattern seemed to play on repeat for most of the afternoon. Soon enough, we cancelled our pontoon for good and ordered another round of rum runners, just in time to see what our beach bums had been up to in the sand...
They used their adorable kids' meal buckets to dig a hole deep enough for Mila to stand in. Then they buried her up to her neck! We pulled her out and they all went racing to the water to rinse off, chase some pigeons, and jump the waves.
We arrived back to our hotel just before dinner and continued to keep with our theme the rest of the night. And for a family that's pretty go go go on vacation, nights like these are a welcome reprieve. We made the kids' night letting them swim until the stars came out, ordered them a poolside pizza and strawberry smoothies from the hotel bar, and ordered sushi for us. And for the first time ever, we let the kids have a hotel movie night, just kids, up in the room before bed. They were over the moon excited and by the time we went up to check on them, they were all cuddled up, sound asleep together in their bunk beds. The kind of stuff kids' vacation dreams are made of...
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