Orange Beach: DAY 1

This day had finally arrived:  May 17, 2012. We were so excited to finally be leaving for our beach vacation!! Andrew and I were up until around midnight last night packing as much as we could so we could leave out early this morning for Orange Beach. We woke up at 6am, but did not finally make it out of Florence until 8:30am. Things always take longer than expected - at least for us anyway.

We bought Audrey a portable DVD player for the trip. We weren't sure how well she would do since we would be traveling during the day. This was the best $100 we have ever spent. I honestly do not know what we would have done without it! We got it out once we hit the interstate, which is only 45 minutes from our house. We wanted to see how long she could go without fussing. Plus, we really didn't want to spend our time listening to "kiddie" videos if we absolutely didn't have to.

We made our first stop at the Pelham/Helena exit which was about 2 1/2 hours(ish) from home. We took a potty break, let Audrey walk around, and then hit the road again. Once Audrey realized she could watch Veggie Tales, there was no letting up. She fussed unless her movie was turned on. Little stinker! We stopped for lunch at Zaxby's in Prattville. We got out and ate inside. Zaxby's was very slow and Audrey was in rare form. She was busy, busy, busy! She immediately grabbed the salt and pepper shakers and poured them on the table. This kind had large exit holes, so the salt and pepper quickly spilled into piles on the table. Once she got her drink (half water/half Hi-C) she spilled all of it in the floor. We had to move tables, which also meant moving her, all of our stuff, and "re-Lysoling" the area. Not to mention, I had sticky shoes at this point. Once we received our food, all was much better. I ordered her a grilled cheese and she ate half of it. I was shocked because she usually will only eat french fries at Zaxby's. (She does not like fried chicken.) We got her belly full and were on our way. Our next stop was Bass Pro in Prattville. We thought this would be a good place for her to run around and see the fish and all the other mounted animals. Once we finished our stops, our lunch break had turned into a 2-hour event. Not exactly what we had in mind, but at least Audrey had a nice break. We stopped at a gas station before we got back on the road and headed for our destination once again.

We felt confident that Audrey would now take a nap. It was after 1:30 which is on the later side of her normal naptime. Her eyes were heavy and she was very peaceful as she watched her movie. After about 15 minutes of traveling we hit extremely slow stop-and-go traffic. We did not go more than 5 mph for the next 45 minutes. BUMMER! I think this hindered her ability to fall asleep. I was getting nauseous myself from all the stop, go, stop, go. There was construction work on the roads, so this turned into a not-so-fun part of our trip.

Audrey would get fussy every so often. If her movie ended, she quickly got upset. I had to constantly keep a movie in and/or food in her hands. Bless her little heart, she was not the easiest to occupy at times. We stopped again for another potty break around 4:00ish. We met my mom and Celia for dinner in Foley at Mellow Mushroom at 5:30. We had finally almost made it to our condo!! What a great feeling after a lonnngggggg day. Foley is about 15 minutes from where we are staying at Orange Beach. The pizza was awesome and I loved getting to see my mom and sister. I hadn't seen them all week since they arrived several days prior.

After dinner we headed to Bender Realty in Gulf Shores to pick up our key code and parking pass for our condo. There is a music festival going on right now, so there is a detour from Beach Blvd. That was a little confusing at first to find our way back to the condo. Once we arrived at our condo, we realized we would be staying on the 9th floor which is the highest part of the condo. This makes me a little uneasy, but Audrey is not allowed on the balcony. We are keeping it locked at all times unless she is asleep. A little paranoid, but it never hurts to be cautious!

The condo is sooo nice! I am pleasantly surprised. The pictures looked nice online, but it definitely exceeded our expectations. We have an awesome beach view!! It is so relaxing and peaceful. So far, we have not had any problems with noise from the hallway. Audrey's bedroom is right by the front door. We are hoping she will sleep very soundly!! I gave her a bath once we arrived and put her to bed. She did not want to lay down when I put her in her pack and play the first time, so I picked her back up and we rocked and sang some more. After a few minutes I tried again and she was fine. She went right to sleep - not a single peep! She's been asleep for over two hours now and not a wimper from her. Oh I hope she sleeps well. Poor baby, she was so so tired!

Andrew is at WalMart right now getting our necessities to make it through the day tomorrow, which also includes beach chairs. Hoping he gets back soon! I am ready for bed. We are so exhausted. I am really glad we are staying seven days. I don't think this would be worth it for just a few days after what we went through today with Audrey. She was not terrible, but she was not easily content. What did people do back when there were no DVD players, iPods, etc???  Maybe once you have more kids they entertain each other? All I remember is fighting with my sisters when we younger, ha. Oh well, we are here and we are happy. I am so thankful to God we are getting this vacation. Such a blessing!! And so very needed!!