I finally got a blog entry put together from our trip to Florida.  We left on Sunday, March 15 at 5:15 a.m. and got back on Thursday, March 19 about 6 p.m.  I hope that I didn't make any typos and I know that some of my pictures posted in reverse order.  You will have to click on 'OLDER POSTS' at the bottom to read the very end.

Spring Break in Florida

We kept it from the girls right up until the Friday before we left....that on Sunday of Spring Break, we would be leaving to go to Destin, Florida for Spring Break.  (well...at least for a few days of spring break!!!)  We got up and left at 5:15 A.M. to head south.  We traveled through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida.  We purchased a TomTom the month before, but we kept arguing with her on the trip.  David said eventually she would just flash the sign, "WHY DID YOU BUY ME IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO ME!!!"  There were just some things and places we wanted to see as we traveled.  We drove over the Mississippi River and we passed this really nifty looking tower in Alabama.  I took the picture because I thought it might be a tribute to the Washington Monument or something.  (I found out a few weeks ago that it was actually a cellular phone tower.  The city didn't want the normal, metal looking tower, so they built this structure instead!)  We knew that it was getting darker, so we decided to alter our route so we could head straight to the beach.  We actually got on the beach for the first time in Biloxi Mississippi.  It was kind of sad though, to travel through those parts of Louisiana that were affected by the hurricane.  Some places still look barren and weather beaten.  I couldn't fathom what those people went through in that hurricane.  WOW!!!  After some time on the beach, we finally headed straight east to Florida.  We finally checked into our motel room at 11:15 p.m.  

First Day in Florida

...and it rained off and on all day.  Darn it!   The temperature was warm, but the rain was kind of a bummer.  Since it was rainy, we spent Monday going in and out of tourist shops.  We visited a shark museum and gift shop.  When the rain would let up, we would find a public access spot and hit the beach.  The girls waded in the surf, looked for jellyfish, and sea shells.  We ate lunch at a sea food place.  Kacey thought the stuffed crabs looked funny because they still had eyes.  Later that evening we went to Fudpuckers.  This restaurant had over 100 live alligators.  The girls got to pet one and then use fishing poles with bait, to feed others.  There was even alligator on the menu.  I had to include the picture of Kacey's face when she ate the alligator.  She thought it was very good!

Gulfarium

Tuesday morning, we woke to very beautiful clear skies and thank goodness....no rain.  In fact, there wasn't a cloud in sight.  Our first stop was the Gulfarium.  The Gulfarium is like a sea animal aquarium.  We saw all sorts of things, dolphins, sea lions, sea urchins, sea stars, stingrays, sharks, sea turtles, alligators, penguins, sea gulls and cranes.  They had a dolphin show and a sea lion show.  We also visited their wave pond, where the girls got to hold crabs, sea urchins, and star fish.  When we left there, we walked out onto a fishing pier.  Then from there, we went to the boardwalk to catch our boat tour.

Dolphin Sight Seeing Tour

We scheduled a dolphin sight seeing tour on a glass bottom boat after we left the Gulfarium.  The girls were pretty excited.  We started out touring the coast line of Destin.  The captain pointed out how Destin was actually an island and then developers closed in the sand dunes and started building on them.  He also pointed out houses owned by Garth Brooks, John Grisham, and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.  The girls got to take turns driving the boat, we got to see dolphins in the wild, and Kacey learned that she doesn't have sea legs!

on the beach and eating out

After our busy Tuesday morning, we headed to the beach.  The girls were ready for some sun and sand, now that the rain had stopped.  IT WAS AWESOME.  My little Kansas girls had insisted that we buy them nets at some tourist gift shop.  Katy kept catching these little fish and Haley kept scooping up sand, then would hold it in the surf, so the waves would wash away the sand and she could collect sea shells.  The water was very COLD, but they all braved it and had a good time.

We wound up our busy Tuesday by finding an all you can eat seafood buffet.  I think we were there for four hours...hahahaha.  The girls love seafood and they had so many new items for us to try... Katy even tried crab legs and decided that she kind of likes them.

Haley, Kacey, and me

While David and Katy were deep sea fishing, Haley, Katy, and me....visited the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin.  Then, we visited Home Depot to see if we could find a palm tree small enough to fit in the car and bring home.  No luck though. Darn it.  Then, we went back to the dock to check things out and wait on David and Katy.  We came across this pirate that was making balloon animals.  He was a real sweetheart!  Kacey thought it was pretty cool!!!

David and Katy's Deep Sea Fishing Trip

Wednesday morning, I got up early and drove David and Katy back to the boardwalk to get on a fishing boat for a 5 hour deep sea fishing trip.  I really don't know who was more excited!!!  Katy thought it was so cool.  She probably took a hundred pictures.  They used squid for bait and caught red and white snappers.  I thought they looked pretty cool, I couldn't get over how big their eyes were.  They saw a sting ray and tried to take a picture.  Katy said they went out far enough, they couldn't see land.  

Thursday morning

We got up Thursday morning and checked out of our motel that was near central Alabama.  We left Florida late Wednesday night to get a jump start on the drive home (and the girls were wiped out, so they slept quite a bit too).  We drove by the USS Alabama battleship.  I couldn't believe how big it was.  And....I posted a picture for all you Forest Gump fans.   Bayou La Batre really does exist.  (David and the girls thought I was crazy when I hollered, "look at the that sign!!")  We crossed back over the Mississippi River and in central Arkansas, David ALMOST had to contribute to one of their counties.  hahaha