The Vacation Continues...

After several days in Selma and Mobile, we arrived on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon. The trip down was much less eventful in terms of car repairs and odd conversations -- in fact, we had the opportunity to have some wonderful visits with old friends and eat some great Deep South cooking (when in Mobile, I highly recommend a crabmeat omelette po'boy and a bushwhacker; now THAT'S a great meal). A. and I talked several times about how much we miss living in Alabama, but we also recognize how wonderful our lives are now and how many more opportunities we and our kids have in our current location. Besides, living away from here makes the visits back even more memorable.

The night arrival was very nice, and we got to take the girls out for a stroll on the beach to see the stars and watch the intrepid families out hunting crabs. After several days of miserably hot weather, it was also great to be sitting on the beach with a great breeze blowing in off of the Gulf (also as a friend of mine told me via email during our trip, "It's August; what were you expecting?"). MB had been to the beach before (although it had been several years) so she knew what to expect -- and had a pretty good time. E. on the other hand had never been and was experiencing a child's "first time at the beach" syndrome: Don't put me in the sand! Don't let me touch the water! It's too loud! Oh! OHHHHH! (Note: you should read that in the style of the Sam Kinison for the full effect...)

Now we get to the real relaxation...