Last full day in AL...make it a good one!

Today was our last full day in Alabama, and we started the morning off right with milk and beignets!  Ever since our trip to New Orleans, I have been in love with beignets.  I thought I would never get another one unless I made the long trip to Louisiana.  Fortunately for me we found a little hole in the wall called Cafe Beignet.  We have been driving past it all week and decided to try it out for breakfast.  All I can say is watch out Cafe duMonde!

After breakfast we decided to take another trip out to the beach.  The swimming conditions were red flagged because of strong currents and rough surf.  We found out about the rough surf alright!  Check out the pictures below...you can see where the surf was when we first settled and then you can see it creep up and give us the ol' sneak attack!  What a mess it made of our towels and belongings.  You know the locals were saying, "stupid tourist!"

We didn't let the surf get us down.  Hadley and I enjoyed a little splash time in the ocean!

Hadley didn't have a great time today.  I can't imagine why? 

Here she is with Austin and I both trying to comfort her...

We liked The Oyster House so much that we decided to eat dinner there again tonight.  Before we headed out, we decided to try our luck at the "camera timer" again.  Here's the picture we took on the balcony.

 

At dinner we all got a specialty drink.  Austin got a Pina Colada, I got the Victoria's Secret (P.S. I know what the secret it! :) and Hadley ordered up her staple: milk.  We are responsible parents...I promise! 

Well sort of...

And here's to a great vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama!  We heart the sun and we heart you!

And an evening in Perdido Key, Florida...

Hadley turned 8 months old today.  She's growing up so fast!  The morning started out nice and slow.  Hadley and I were sitting out on the deck enjoying the early morning breeze and she actually fell asleep in my arms.  She hasn't done that in months, and I was loving every minute of it! 

After Hadley's early morning nap, we got ready and headed over to the inside pool.  It's housed inside a solarium to afford exposure to the sun.  Because of this, the water temperature was very warm.  Hadley loved it! 

Hadley showed off some of her swimming skills she's learned from swim class. 

Cheesing for the camera...

Hadley loved her baby float and found it quite relaxing!  I LOVE this picture of her...

And here she is rockin' a new do...

For dinner we drove about 30 minutes to Perdido Key, Florida, and ate at the "Crab Trap." 

We ate outside at a picnic style table.  I started cracking up when I looked over and Hadley was using the bench to stand up (she loves to stand) in her high chair.  She gave me a look like "Hey, check it out mom!"  She's too stinkin' cute for her own good!

We ate lots of shrimp while on vacation.  This is a picture of my yummy shrimp basket.  My mouth is watering just looking at it! 

After dinner we headed back to the condo to take an evening stroll along the beach...

While walking out to the beach we realized that we didn't have any pictures of the three of us together on vacation yet, so we asked an older gentleman to take a picture of us on the boardwalk.  It was terrible and at a strange angle.  A few minutes later we asked a younger couple to take our picture.  It was blurry.  Because both picture attempts were a bust, I decided to try our "timer" on the camera.  The first one I didn't make it into the picture in time, but this one ended up pretty good.  Poor positioning on our part, but no weird angles and no blurriness.  We'll take it! 

Ta-da!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

Today was our second full day in GS's.  I'm learning quickly that vacations change when you have a baby.  You no longer spend all day striving for the perfect tan while lounging pool side sipping on your mojito.  Now your day consists of quick swims, eating multiple times, taking naps, and playing inside or on the deck with lots of toys.  Oh the joys of being a parent! 

So, we started the day off with lunch at DeSoto's.  It was a great little seafood restaurant that had won several awards.

Instead of going to the pool again...we decided to take Hadley to the Zoo. 

It was nice to do something different, however, it was sort of a bust.  Hadley was not at all interested in the animals (well only the orange tiger...not the white one...just the orange one) but more interested in watching all of the kids at the Zoo.  I should have saved myself $25 bucks and took her to the boardwalk instead!

 

The alligator below weighed 1000 pounds and was over 21 feet long.  Can you say "Holy Cow!" or more like "Holy Alligator!"  That thing can eat you alive, literally!  

 

Here I am stealing a kiss from my sweet little girl while at the Zoo.  Someday I'll hear, "Eww, gross mom!  Get away from me!" Not today however, not today.

We couldn't take Hadley to the Zoo for the first time and not buy her a souvenir.  So, we bought her a tiger puppet and she loves it!  She giggles so hard every time we play with it, and this makes me smile, of course!

 

As we left for the day, I had hoped that Hadley would wear her sunglasses, but she wanted no part.  We can't have it all, and at least she wears her hats with no complaints!

We ate dinner at Lulu's.  Lulu's is owned by Lucy Buffett, the sister of Jimmy Buffett.  It's the staple "tourist" eatery, so we decided to fall prey.  It ended up being pretty decent food, but we both agreed that Lucy's "sista style" just doesn't cut it like her good ol' brother's "margarita style." 

We ended our day with an evening, or should I say, night stroll on the beach.  While we were out there some kids were fishing.  I told Austin that I can't possibly see how they can catch a decent sized fish by just standing on the shoreline, and I would just die if one of them actually caught one.  I had to eat my words, because two second later one of the kids pulled a decent size fish out of the water!

 

Good Night Gulf Shoes...it's been a pleasure so far!