Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Posted by Will on August 28, 2011

We figured it was time to swap the summer heat and humidity of D.C. and the continuous diaper interchange with the summer heat and humidity of Georgia/Florida and the higher challenge of swim diapers.

I jest.

We have been looking forward to our beach trip for months. I, personally, had some reservations about flying with a squirming, fidgety, wriggling 7 month old and the problems sand could present when hidden amongst the folds and rings of Nola’s meaty thighs. But, both fears were alleviated, any disaster was averted, and we had a great time with family and friends.

Before we hoofed it down to the Gulf of Mexico, we made a pit stop in Lawrenceville. Brittany and Nola got to spend time with her parents while I organized a festive get-together to celebrate the bachelorship of my good friend (and frequent blog commenter) Ben T.

Frankly, I had a great time hanging out with Ben and bunch of other folks from our hometown and college days. Some of these guys are my closest friends that I don’t get to see very often so there was nothing better than a “last hurrah” with Ben and the boys.

The next day, David and I met everyone up in Athens to celebrate our grandmother’s, Mama Marge, [redacted]th birthday along side her brothers, children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchild (that would be our very own, Nola) with comforting amounts of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, road-stand tomatoes, sweet potato soufflé, etc. Of course, David and I made a detour to the Varsity for a few chili dogs (under the ruse of securing a birthday peach pie, a Mama Marge favorite).

The rest of the week was spent at our (David and I’s) childhood beach vacation locale — Destin, Florida … specifically, a spell at the Beach House condominiums.

This was Nola’s first time at the ocean and it looked like our outings at the local pools, splash parks, and occasional half-filled bath tub paid off as she had a salty blast in the briny emerald Gulf. As soon as we unloaded Monday afternoon, we squeezed her into her porpoise swimsuit and literally got her feet wet before we did anything else.

The following mornings that week were spent in the sea and sand. The Gulf was placid enough to spend at least a good 30 minutes with our baby girl splashing and kicking under the sun (this all depended on Nola’s waning attention and attrition). The second act in the afternoon was filled puttering around in the pool with naps of varying length in between.

It was a bit shocking (yet not totally surprising) that the beaches were pretty empty and quiet … it being the beginning of the school year and all. Since we have started going to Destin when David and I were young tykes, the area has slowly yet steadily grown and developed to obscene proportions. Empty stretches of highway have been filled with strip malls, outlet stores, and residential properties. In fact, the main highway expanded from two to four lanes quite some time ago.

Destin had transformed from a quiet town west of Panama City to a congested, money-grubbing, sprawling megatown. Yet, for this week, it was quiet and empty … a perfect time for us.

I am very thankful to get a moment to be able to spend with my family, to be with Nola and Brittany all day, and to set aside time, especially during a very busy point at work, to get away from it all.

We were abruptly cut short by the pending Hurricane Irene so we made early arrangements to come back to town.

All-in-all, it was a great time of camaraderie and rejuvenation.

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