Gulf Shores Alabama - Part 3

 Wednesday - As we did every day, we started out our morning on the balcony enjoying the view. :-) 

Once we left our hotel we headed on a road trip towards Pensecola Beach.  We stopped for lunch on the way at Bubba's Seafood House.   For me, this was my least favorite place.  Darryl loved his gumbo though and ranked it as one of his top favorites. 

It's kind of fun being so close to Florida :-) 

We enjoyed exploring in Pensacola - Something we didn't get to do in April because the bridge was out.  This was a Fish Market I had read about.  It was pretty cool - cases upon cases of fresh fish coming in on boats from the Gulf!  

We stopped at this neat park and saw this boat named "Jacklyn" - sure it isn't spelled the same but it was still cool.  From there we found a place to get a coffee drink before heading to Pensacola Beach. 

Remnants of the old bridge we think.  The bridge from Pensacola to Pensacola Beach was closed in April as it had been badly damaged in the last hurricane BUT it was finally opened again!! 

We snapped this photo heading into Pensacola Beach for the kids to see!!  I guess I didn't take any other photos!  We spent most of our afternoon out on the beach enjoying the sand and the water.  It was such a relaxing afternoon.  

We stopped for dinner at Carver's Steakhouse  in Orange Beach on the way home - it was our "fancy dinner" for our anniversary.  I loved my steak - it was amazing!  Darryl got prime rib and he's had better.  BUT, it was still fun to go out to a nice steak restaurant! 

Thursday - was another day of exploring! 

We started our day with lunch at King Neptune's.  We ate here in April when we came to Gulf Shores for the day and loved it.  It was really good but we both agreed we got better food for less cost elsewhere. 

We then went to Pirate's Island Mini Gulf .  This was a fun place that we really enjoyed and would do again! 

From there we took off exploring until we ended up in Orange Beach at a place called "The Wharf" where we found this great coffee shop called The Southern Grind .  It was hot and humid out!!  I got this amazing frozen drink instead of a hot drink and it was so chocolaty and good!  

We also picked up some sweet treats that were super tasty too.

We headed back to our condo for a while before returning to the Shrimp Basket for dinner since it was overall our favorite food.  

Every night we would see people on the beach with flashlights so we decided to go exploring too.  This is our condo building at night from the beach. 

There are these little crabs that come out at night that you can catch for fun.  Don't worry, you let them go when you are done! 

 These were photos I took earlier in the day of the birds "fishing" for dinner.  I just love the ocean and all the wild life that it brings. 

Don't worry, we aren't done yet!  There is still more vacation to share! 

Gulf Shores Alabama Trip - Part 2

 Monday - We started our day out on the balcony of our condo enjoying the view! 

Eventually we headed out for some adventure.  Our first stop was lunch at Sunliner Diner which was a fun looking place with what we hoped would be good food.  It was very good - huge sandwiches and great fries!  

After lunch we took off to check out Fort Morgan which was at the very end of a long strip of land.  I'm not going to lie - it was hot.  Really hot.  But we still got out and walked around the fort. 

Anytime we visit one of these amazing forts I'm always humbled to think about the men and women who served and worked on these groups so long ago.  Sure it was hot the day we went but it was nothing compared to the conditions those soldiers served in years ago. 

When we were leaving the Fort we happened to be able to catch the car ferry over to Dauphin Island. 

We were the last car to get on the ferry.  

We were able to get out of our vehicle and stand along the side of the Ferry to get some great photos. 

We wanted to tour Dauphin Island because it looked really cool.  Some of the attractions were closed or by reservation only thanks to Covid but we still enjoyed our drive around the island. 

That is all sand.  "Snow drifts" of sand.  It was crazy.  We aren't 100% sure but we think some of it this happened recently due to the most recent hurricane that hit but as we drove out to the end of the island we were amazed at the way the houses are just built on the sand right next to the water.  

The bridge from the Island back to the Mainland.  I'm not a huge fan of bridges in the gulf HA! 

We ended our long day of exploring with dinner at LuLu's.  Lulu's had everything from beach volleyball to benches by the water to wait until your table is done.  It was an hour wait which wasn't too bad since we could enjoy fun outside. 

Darryl tried his hand at a game outside for a bit until our table was ready. 

Now, I totally get that service is slower but we waited over an hour from the time we ordered until we got our food.  Our waiter was great though and we both got a free dessert due to the wait.  

I ordered shrimp and grits and it was really good.  I was impressed with the flavor and would order it again.  

BUT - this was probably the most amazing thing I ate the whole trip.  Lulu's famous homemade Key Lime Pie.  It was to die for - I would go back to Lulu's and wait an hour just for another piece of this pie!  

We finally headed back to our condo for the evening.  It was a great first day in Alabama! 

Tuesday - We enjoyed a quiet morning at the condo before heading out for coffee and breakfast.  I found a neat looking place in a tourist magazine called BuzzCatz that got really high reviews and had been featured on Good Morning America.  I got a piece of quiche and a cinnamon roll while Darryl got just a cinnamon roll.  He enjoyed a coffee and I got Hot Chocolate.  It was nice that we could sit outside as well.  The food was ok - not great but still enjoyable.  It was kind of a drizzly morning so enjoying our sweets and hot drinks on the porch of the cafe was really nice.  

After leaving Buzzcatz we stopped at Publixs to pick up some groceries before heading back to our condo.  We then relaxed all afternoon.  I kicked back in the recliner where I could enjoy the ocean views while reading but . . .it enjoyed an amazing nap instead.  Talk about a great vacation!  We did wonder outside eventually when the rain let up and walked down to the water.  We got to see schools (pods?) of devil rays swimming along the shore.  Finally we headed to dinner at the Shrimp Basket.  Talk about amazing food!  I got a seafood queso (that I shared with Darryl) and coconut shrimp.  Yum!!  Once done with dinner we wondered through some souvenir shops that were right next door before heading back to our condo for the evening. 

Our trip is really a much needed break from the reality of life and we were thankful (and are still thankful) that were able to do it!  More to come soon! 

2021 Weekly Photos #36

 A look back at our week! 

Saturday - I was able to enjoy a much needed scrapbooking retreat.  It actually started on Friday night but was only 15 minutes from home so I was able to come home to sleep :-)  

This was the view for the entire weekend.  It was so calm and relaxing! 

Nothing better than working with photos.

Sunday - We started with snow!  Then we had church and Nate had an event at his youth group. 

Darryl joined our praise team at church and it was such a blessing to hear him play again.  Since leaving Alive and losing his hearing in one ear, he hasn't played as much.  This was a great opportunity for him to step back into it again. 

Monday - School!  Nate also got to go to a birthday party with his best friend.  The benefits of homeschooling - you get to have over nighters during the week! 

Tuesday - Nate was at his friends for the morning still.  Then came drum lessons and piano lessons! 

Wednesday - Nate got to go with his youth group to deliver things that were collected for Treasures for Troops. 

Thursday - Just school.  

Friday - Our final day of co-op AND our presentation night AND Josh had a youth activity!  Pretty busy day.  

Nate took this fun shot in one of his classes today :-) 

 This was one of the speakers from last week in Nate's class that he really enjoyed. 

Our presentation night is a great way to showcase the work the kids did in class: 

Josh worked on this Dotz Art in his Art class with my mom.  All of her students loved her and her class. 

This was my Landforms class. 

And my Simple Machine's class

Josh loved his knitting class.  Actually I think all of the students loved it! 

Josh and Nate were both in Outer Space.  

The whole group on stage singing the semester song! 

Josh actually skipped Presentation Night because he had a guys youth activity.  They went out to Culver's for dinner and then did an Escape Room.  He said he had a great time :-)  

There's our week! 

Weekly Menu - it is Thanksgiving week!

 Isn't it just crazy that Thanksgiving is this next week?  I'm not quite ready for that yet. School this year has really taken up much more time which is totally fine but it means that other things are getting pushed to the back burner.  I AM ready for a nice break though!  

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Tonight is our semi-annual Presentation Night for our Co-Op so most of us will be eating there while another one has a youth activity that includes dinner. 

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's :-)  

Sunday - This is a carry over from last week - Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans. 

Monday - Chicken Drumsticks, Amish Noodles, and Corn

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Ribs, Crash Potatoes and Broccoli

Wednesday (AKA Thanksgiving Eve)  My "tradition" is to always having something totally different than Thanksgiving for dinner and to try not to make it too heavy. So we are going to do breakfast - Amish Breakfast Casserole, a breakfast bread, blueberry coffee cake and asparagus.  This will be nice because leftovers of the casserole and bread are great for a simple breakfast on Thursday morning. 

Thursday - Thanksgiving!  My mom is cooking this year so we just get to enjoy eating!  

2021 Weekly Photos #35

 I did not get my normal photo post up on Saturday but I wanted to still get it posted!  It was a busy weekend!  Here's a look back at a week ago!!

Saturday - A quiet day at home to get some projects done!

Sunday - Church, Football and youth group! 

Monday - Josh and Nate had haircuts.  This was my view . . ..I was kicked packed in a super comfy chair and may have even had a little time of "just resting my eyes" HA! 

Tuesday - It was a beautiful day so while piano lessons were happening, I took a little stroll and enjoyed the beauty of fall. 

Wednesday and Thursday - We did a lot of school :-) 

Friday - Our Co-Op ! 

Nate loves his Grateful Hearts class.  

It was another fun, busy week! 

Weekly Worship - TobyMac - Lights Shine Bright ft. Hollyn

A week or so ago this song played on our way to our Friday Co-Op and it was great!  It is not my normal genre of music but it's a great Friday Morning song and the message is fabulous too! 

Weekly Menu

 Last week I mentioned that I tried the curbside pickup for the first time.  I can say that there are pro's and con's to the whole system.  It is not something I would use often but it is good for in a pinch or when things are busy. 

Pro's: 

• It's a great way to control your budget since you can see exactly what you are spending before you spend it
• It's fast and easy once you know the system/how to search for items
• It's great to just park and pick up - saves so much time
• You don't pick up extra food not on your list
• You can add things to your list up until the day you are picking up your order

Cons:

• If  the item says it is out of stock on line, you can't add it "just in case" it gets restocked
• If the item says it IS in stock so you think you are getting - but it goes out of stock, you have no idea until it doesn't show up in your order
• Substitutions -- I put "no substitutions" because I didn't want my shopper adding something more expensive instead of what I picked.  
• Expiration dates - The gallon of milk I got expired 2 days later. 
• If you remember things you need after mid-night - you can't add them
• Missed items - my shopper missed quite a few things.  I know she missed them because I needed them and went back into the store to get them . .. they were all stocked.
• You don't know what isn't purchased until you get home AND try to make dinner HA!  I couldn't find a way to see what was not purchased on line but knew quite a bit was missed because my total was $40.00 less then expected. 

So, really, it was ok.  I did have to go back to the store the same day and finish my shopping.  It did change my dinner plans because I had planned chicken for dinner and did not get my chicken; I switched to baked tacos and realized I also did not get taco seasoning.  (I did have enchilada sauce in the cupboard though and ultimately made the best enchiladas I've ever made AND did it on a total whim HA!) I think if I ordered again I would say "ok" to substitutions but put notes on anything specific that I wanted to make sure they didn't substitute something weird. 

Now, after all of that - here's the plan for the coming week. 

Friday - I have a scrapbooking retreat I'm heading to (but it is local so I get to sleep at home!) so I'll be eating there.  The three males in the family will get take out of their choice. 

Saturday - I'll be, again, scrapbooking but the plan is for the the guys to head to my mom's for dinner still :-) 

Sunday - I'm back home :-)  There is still scrapbooking but, since it IS local, I've decided to head to church with the family and attend choir.  We enjoy our church :-)  Plus Football.  Anyway, lunch is Grammy's Swiss Steak (not my grammy - just the name of the recipe HA), Mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans

Monday - Chick-Fa-Lay Nuggets and French Fries

Tuesday - Chili 5 Way (Spaghetti, Cheese, Sour Cream, Onions, and Fritos) 

Wednesday - BBQ Cups and Fries

Thursday - Crispy Orange Beef and Broccoli with baked rice