After a long year confined at home (thanks COVID), we took a much needed vacation to Destin, Florida. Knowing it would be impossible for Aria to keep a mask on throughout the flight, we opted for our very first family of 7 road trip. Thankfully the ever-so-helpful Uncle Jason was up for a drive and tagged along so that our vacation could be stress-free and full of relaxation.
We knew we wanted to be near the beach with warm weather and yet the shortest possible drive, which led us to Destin - the perfect little beach town for a wonderful getaway. The drive seemed daunting - 20 hours of driving which didn't include stops or traffic. But quite shockingly, the kids did fabulous! I'm sure the extra space helped too. Instead of cramming into a minivan, we rented a 15 passenger Ford Transit. Everyone had either an empty seat or Mom sitting between them.
Fighting was sparse. There was lots of napping, playing with surprise toys and fidgets purchased just for the occasion, eating snacks, sipping juice boxes and watching everyone's favorite flicks downloaded from Netflix.
We left bright and early at 5:30 am for the first leg of our trip. Our goal was to reach Nashville - a 12 hour drive. The trip was going great and we were making excellent time until the last couple hours. Accidents, traffic, and road construction keep pushing back our arrival time later and later. We had expected to reach our first destination around 6:30 pm but instead, it would be after 8:00 pm when we'd finally pull up to the hotel just south of Nashville. PHEW! The first leg of our journey was over. After such a long time in the car, it felt great to be settling into our room for the night.
The next day would be another long one filled with driving. This time, it was only an 8 hour drive - YAY! But with a late start getting on the road and hitting more traffic near Destin, it would be another late night arrival. Thankfully, there'd be no more long drives for the next week - we had finally arrived to our destination! Despite the late arrival, the ladies along with Pa couldn't resist throwing on our swim suits and jumping in the heated pool.
We'd spend the next week in a beautiful home we found on VRBO. It was a 3 bedroom house with its own private heated pool in a gated community. The house was right next door to a community pool and playground. We had a golf cart waiting for us in the garage and a short 5 minute trip on the cart to a gorgeous beach with sand as soft as powdered sugar.
We had wonderful weather nearly every day and spent most of our time outside enjoying the water. The kids would swim for hours in our pool. We splashed, floated and played catch while enjoying the beautiful sunny days. All our kids absolutely loved the water. If Aria caught sight of the pool, she would squeal with excitement. I made the mistake of taking her out near the pool without having her in her swimsuit and boy, oh boy! Did she let me know she was not a happy camper when we left the pool area to go get changed. She had wanted to swim right that very moment! I most definitely would not make that mistake again!
After enjoying the water in our private pool, we'd head next door to the community pool for even more swimming. It was a much larger pool allowing for a bit more wild play.
Every day we would load the golf cart (all 8 of us!) and off we'd go on our short drive to the beach.
Owen and Rose loved playing in the waves, Kate dug in the sand, Cole enjoyed strolling along the beach with Uncle Jason, and Aria took in all the sights, textures and ocean breezes.
The golf cart rides were definitely fan favorites for both Cole and Aria. Uncle Jason and Cole would take the golf cart out for a spin almost daily and Miss Aria would squeak with excitement every time she saw it. Once Aria and I only came out to wave goodbye and wish the boys a fun time and oh my, did she get mad when they drove off without her! The golf cart did end up giving us a bit of a problem - the battery always indicated it was fully charged, even when it wasn't which we found out the hard way when Uncle Jason and Cole got stranded down the road. Whoops! From then on, we made sure to plug it in every time it wasn't being used.
Our last day ended up being quite chilly as the temperatures fell 20 degrees. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the day. We still swam (thank goodness for a heated pool!) and still went to the beach. Despite the brisk air, it was a great end to a wonderful getaway. We can not wait to return!
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