Marina, Michael Jackson and Mammals

As we woke on our 6th day there was a thick, noticeable cloud in the atmosphere....it was our last day.  Although we wanted to soak up every second of our time here in Florida, the heaviness of having to leave was felt by all.

We went out to the beach for one last time in our spot with our cabana.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  The waves were perfect.

After some fun in the sun Greg, Anthony and myself drove back to the Marina to get some more photos before we left.  It was an amazing place to take pictures.

So sweet....

Unfortunately my battery died before I was able to take all the photos I wanted to take.  Thank goodness Greg had his camera too.

The three of us wandered around taking pictures then went into AJ's Restaurant to have lunch.   We all ordered sea food, we felt it was appropriate since we were at a Marina and we were sitting on the water.  The food was delish.

Greg found The Old Man in the Sea... his favorite book.

 
The ceiling was full of wooden stoppers... it was really cool.

We watched a couple speed boats pull back into the dock at AJ's while we were enjoying our lunch.   They were playing music and it seemed like they were having a great time.

 
Our receipt from our lunch had a 20% off coupon for the Sea Blaster on the back so we decided to check it out.  We found out they  had a sunset dolphin boat ride, Greg and I thought we should probably do it since it was our last night in Destin.

We finished walking through the Marina then headed back to the condo to get ready for our sunset cruise.  We decided to eat in the condo considering we still had food to eat and we didn't want to take anything home with us.  I made Spaghetti for anyone who wanted it and people ate odds and ends of what was left in the frig too.

We loaded up in the van to head back to the Marina for our dolphin, sunset boat ride.  Traffic of course was terrible.  They asked us to be 15 minutes early to prevent the boat from having to wait on us... needless to say we did not make it 15 minutes early.  We couldn't find a place to park so Greg dropped us off so we could run to the boat and keep it from leaving without us.  Les stayed back with Greg so he wouldn't be by himself.

There were 2 seats left in the back of the boat and a few up front.  I sent the kids up front to sit down while I waited in the back for Greg.  I was a nervous wreck... it seemed like an eternity before he and Les showed up.  Once we were all aboard I could relax... we had plenty of time by the way... the boat didn't leave for another 10 minutes.  Geeesh.

 The guys on the boat were a lot of fun and the music was fantastic.  We didn't really think it through very well.. the cruise listed free beverages on its sign... and boy were there beverages! UNLIMITED Free Beverages!  AND it was a Friday night so the crew crammed their own friends onto the back of the boat too.  We were rockin it out on the water!

We weren't even out of the no wake zone when the beer and wine started to get passed around. Greg and I laughed because if you wanted wine or beer they would give you a normal sized cup to drink your beverage. If you wanted a pop/soda they handed you a tiny, squatty can.... BUT it was free and unlimited so if we had to drink 5 to add up to a regular can of pop so be it. :)

 Once we were out on the water Greg and I moved up front with the kids.  It was a gorgeous evening to be on the water.  There was a lady in the front of the boat who was REALLY having a good time, the kids enjoyed counting how many cups of beer she and her husband were drinking.  She was hanging waaaaaay over the railing and was waving to dolphins we had not seen yet.  Quite entertaining. :)

They played great music so there were people laughing and dancing... it really was a fun boat.

They drove us all around to look for dolphins.... finally we found some.  Boy was the lady in the front of the boat excited.  She yelled to the dolphins, yelled to other boats about the dolphins, yelled to the captain to find MORE dolphins.  Pretty funny.

I would have liked to have been IN the water with the dolphins, but I was happy to at least see some too.  So graceful and beautiful.

Such pretty sights on the water....

Plan to have our next house built here....

The sights on the BOAT were not too shabby either....

On our way back into the marina the captain told us he wanted us to dance and sing and wave to all the people in the restaurants along the water.  He said the name of the boat was "The Thriller" so he wanted us to dance along to the song Thriller by Michael Jackson as we drove by.  Nick looked at me and said... " I don't even know what that dance is."  I then began to lift both of my hands to one side and then shift to the other side showing him the original Thriller move.  The captain happened to notice me doing this and said over the loud speaker.... "Yes, everyone look at her... that is how you do the Thriller...go ahead,  show them."  I think I turned 4 shades of red not to mention the embarrassment to our kids... BUT, now that I look back on it... it was priceless!  Who said all the drunk people get to have all the crazy fun? 

We were so happy we purchased these tickets last minute, we had a great time.  We headed back to the condo to pack and get ready for our drive home the next day.  I am always so very sad to leave the beach and to leave Florida.  I usually cry when we get there, and cry when we leave. I love the ocean, not so much that I would want to live on it, but the majestic beauty moves me each and every time I visit.

I love the ocean the most at night.   I love to listen to the waves crash along the shore and look out into the blackness and imagine the sea life beneath.  There is something about standing in front of something so huge, so beautiful, so profound as the ocean that makes me want to fall to my knees in God's presence.  I feel so small and yet so loved., loved because God created such beauty for me to enjoy.  I feel overwhelmed and it brings tears to my eyes.  Needless to say it is always hard to leave vacation, but I know if I lived there every day I would take it for granted and I wouldn't have these moments I have now.

Photographs, Pompino Joes and Portraits

Day 5 was cloudy, but not as rainy as the day before.  Greg, Nick and Jonah decided to head out and watch the new Transformers movie.  Anthony, Les and I stayed back at the condo to hang on the beach.

I walked down the beach further and hung out with the sea gulls again and captured some "beach"  activities with my camera.

The waves were so high and beautiful.  Little did I know as I was walking the beach and taking pictures, Les and Anthony were getting beat up by the waves outside our condo.  They were boogie boarding and a wave took Anthony and slammed him to the bottom of the ocean.  He had scrape marks on his forehead to prove it.  They were having fun regardless.

 

Blue Jelly Fish... .I assumed he was a boy.....

      Someone took his piece of bread..... and he was NOT happy.

 Anthony, Leslie and I went back to the condo to get cleaned up and wait for the rest of the group to return for dinner.  We had plans to eat at Pompino Joes (thanks to Anthony we have the name of the restaurant 3 months later when I am writing this blog).  We had passed this restaurant several times during our trips to Wal-Mart and thought it looked like a nice place to have dinner.

We all had a wonderful dinner together.  We sat near an open widow with a warm, salty breeze blowing across the table.  We laughed and had a great time.  Our waiter continued to make us aware of the fact his service would have been much better had he not still been recovering from a horrible upper respiratory infection.  It was lovely thinking of all the germs we all probably ingested from him over the course of our meal.

After dinner we went back to the condo and changed into our "group photo" outfits.  I had purchased everyone matching shirts from American Eagle specially for this picture.  My first trip to AE I purchased "v" neck T-shirts for the guys.  Apparently it is not cool for high school guys to wear V-necks... how was I to know it was a social statement?  I went BACK to AE, exchanged their shirts for regular T-shirts so they would agree to be seen in the group photo.  ANYWAY, don't they look nice?

              

      After all of the serious poses we had some fun.....

     I believe the  remaining photos are courtesy of Anthony Joseph Rohrer

The rest of the evening was spent watching corny TV, snacking on food, laughing, video games, and picture editing.  Another great day of vacation in Destin Florida.