Pensacola 2020, Part Two

Day Five of our annual beach vacation began with Nopsi taking all of the kids to Alvin's Island to spend their treasure money. They picked out a variety of things: little stuffed animals, a sequin hat, an inflatable turtle, knickknacks, candy, etc. They had a blast.

Once they were back from shopping, Kenny and I took the boys on a bike ride. This was the first year we brought our bikes with us, and it was a nice alternative activity to do. Some of the houses we passed were gorgeous.

The rest of the day was very lowkey. I don't think Riley put on his bathing suit at all, and the rest of the kids weren't down in the sand or the water for very long. The afternoon consisted of workbooks, reading, resting, huge lollipops for snack, and octopus hot dogs for dinner. And Nola and Kate made pain au chocolat for dessert. Yum.

On Thursday we decided to go back across to the Gulf side. The waves weren't nearly as good, but the kids had a great time anyway. They played in the water, Kenny and Riley created a sand city (which was reminiscent of Tatooine, in my opinion), Jeff carved out a "hot tub," and we turned Riley into an octopus. We also saw the Angels again, as well as a big supply plane doing practice runs up and down the coast. Too cool.

We stayed until around 4pm again and then headed back to the house. We spotted Harry the heron on our dock, watched Scoob during and after dinner, and took in another sunset.

Our last full day arrived, and we hung around the house all day, playing in the water and the sand. Nopsi took us for one last boat/tube ride that afternoon before he and Kenny went to put the boat back on the trailer. Then we had to start the cleaning up and packing up process, which is always a bummer. I'm not sure any of us wanted to go back home.

Kenny and Riley, however, had something else to take care of before settling in for the evening. When we arrived at the house on the first day, they discovered two crab traps in the water attached to the dock. They were so excited to have a legitimate way to catch crabs throughout the trip. Riley's interest waned a bit as the week went on, but Kenny kept at it. He probably caught 14 or 15 total, but a couple died and one escaped. However, he still had 9 at the end of the week, which he boiled on the stove. Erin was ecstatic. She and Kenny both love crabs, and they were so happy to sit down to an unexpected feast on our last night. The crabs turned out really tasty, too!

The rest of the evening passed too quickly. Riley finally agreed to try Rummikub for the first time, we took a family picture out on the deck right before our last sunset viewing, and the kids surprised Nopsi with a few early Father's Day cards before they vegged out in front of tv, worn out from their hard week.

We were up, fed, packed, and out by 9am Saturday morning. As always, thank you so much, Nola and Nopsi, for a wonderful, much-needed vacation!

Pensacola 2020, Part One

If ever there was a year we all needed a vacation, this was it. 2020 has been straight up bonkers. However, we weren't sure we would be allowed to enter Florida for our annual beach trip. In fact, things were uncertain until just a couple of weeks before we were scheduled to leave. But corona-related entry restrictions were finally lifted, and we loaded up and headed out on Saturday, June 13. Everyone was really excited; we were desperate for a change of scenery!

Like usual, we met Nola and Nopsi at the boat launch so Kenny could drive Nopsi's car and the trailer while Nopsi took the boat. We still ate lunch at Shaggy's, our first time dining out since March. Not many of the employees were wearing masks, but then again, we weren't either. They did space out table seating, though; the restaurant was only half full. Such are the times we're living in now.

We also had entertainment while we ate: Rory qualified for the finals in the District Pinewood Derby Championship, which was broadcast virtually on YouTube. Kenny set up his laptop at the table so we could all watch. More about that in another post!

We arrived at the beach house just before 4pm and quickly settled in. The kids got into their bathing suits, Nopsi took some of us on a short boat ride, and the cousins played in the sand for a bit before dinner. I had shopped for everything we would need for the week at home, so I did not have to go to the grocery that afternoon. It was glorious.

The owners of the house informed Nola a few weeks before our trip that they didn't want the kids digging deep in the sand anymore. That unfortunately meant that Riley was no longer able to create his volcanoes, which he was bummed about. But he managed to modify his sand set-up just fine.

Our first full day was a beautiful one. In fact, we had amazing weather all week long, which we were so grateful for. We were downstairs and in the water before 10am and had a great day. We all enjoyed a yummy fish and shrimp taco dinner that night and watched a pretty sunset. Then after the kids were in bed, I taught Erin and Jeff how to play Farkel before we called it a day.

Monday was the first day we went tubing, which would quickly become a favorite activity of the middle two cousins. Kate and Rory LOVED the tube this year, and we even let them go by themselves. They had a couple of really great runs!

Weekday afternoons were spent doing their summer workbooks, reading, and resting (Luke napped most days). We brought the Switch with us, which was also a favorite activity. All four of them loved playing Mario Kart and Super Mario Brothers U together all week long.

Monday evening may have been my favorite sunset of the week. And then Erin kicked all of our butts in Apples to Apples.

We had a lazy morning on Tuesday and decided to spend the rest of the day at the Gulf beach. We packed supplies, trekked over there around 11am, and stayed until 4pm. The kids all loved boogie boarding, Riley dug a big hole (of course), Kate turned into a mermaid, and we buried Riley in the sand. Oh, and we saw the Angels fly by!

When we got back to the house, Nola and Nopsi were ready to reveal a big surprise for the kids. Nola created a treasure hunt. The cousins worked together to decipher 22 clues, each of which pointed to a specific spot inside or outside the house, until they reached the last location, where they found an envelope with $20 in it for each of them to spend at Alvin's Island. They were so excited. What a fun day.

Second half recap coming up next!