Vacationing in Gulf Shores, Alabama with my dad!!

Saturday June 1 my dad, Maria, her friend Marlen, and I pulled out of Crawfordsville in a fully packed car, very excited to be headed for Gulf Shores, Alabama!

We stopped in Nashville, Tennessee to have dinner with my Aunt Elaine! It was so good to see her! We ate yummy BBQ and corn on the cob. Then she took us on a tour of her school, Fr. Ryan. It was really pretty, and we all thought it was cool that even though they were close together there were different buildings. We went inside of the academic building and got to see her classroom, then walked by the theater, library, and through the gym. Maria loved it all and I can't wait to see her take college tours- oh boy! Afterwards we went back to her house (which is on campus and the upstairs of it is office buildings) for some ice cream and brownies (I opted for ice cream and strawberries), then said our good byes.

My dad continued to drive until we got near Birmingham, Alabama where we stayed the night in a Holiday Inn.

Sunday morning, June 2, my dad woke us up and we hit the road again, this time for a quite shorter ride. Yay!

We were almost there, but made a quick stop along the side of the road to get some delicious, fresh produce! We bought strawberries, watermelon, peaches, and corn on the cob. It made me miss babysitting Jensen and the afternoons we spent in the raspberry and strawberry patches, and also made me think about the paper I wrote in English this year and that I was supporting local food as I advocated in my paper.

My dad stopped at the rental office to fill out paperwork, then we went to Publix to get groceries for the week ahead of us. Maria and I were so excited that it was at a Publix, the grocery store my grandparents are so fond of in Florida. We even got Chicago hard rolls and Boar's Head roast beef, our staple lunches in Florida.

My dad did a wondrous job piling all of the bags into our already packed car, and we drove to our final destination! When we got to Surf Side Shores complex, we took in all of the food then our luggage as we took in the beautiful, cozy condo we get to call our own for the week! As well as it's prime view!

We ate quick lunches, unpacked a little, and quickly found our way to the beach!

My dad and I took a walk down a ways down the beach while Maria and Marlen laid on out. The weather could not have been more perfect! There was a deep blue sky filled with a beaming sunshine! It was hot, but not enough to make you sweat.

When we got back Maria and I ran with arms wide open into the ocean! We were so shocked as we walked out and were consumed by water, but were able to stand more easily than before as we continued walking because of the unexpected sand bar. It was so fun! And were quickly joined by Marlen. I love the ocean. I love the way my heart bursts with happiness that travels in high jolts all through my body as it's salty, refreshing water hits my thirsting body. I love when the waves crash into me, white and foamy. I also love jumping over them or diving into them before they have a chance to break.

We kicked the volleyball around and threw the frisbee back and forth- and got much, much better as we went. Then we headed back to the condo.

After snacking, showering, and hanging around we left for mass. There were only 2 or 3 songs sung the entire time, which were played by a cd or other sort of recording. The priest was old, and sick- but gave a good sermon about "we are what we eat" not just in a physical sense, but spiritually as well and that Eucharist is special because all of the other sacraments have great symbolism but Eucharist is literal and straight forward. I also liked that the second reading, which was from Corinthians was something I knew the basis of from my theology class and the Gospel reading was the infamous story of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish that Jesus used to feed a crowd.

Once we returned from mass we went back to the beach and watched the color that was left in the sky fade to darkness. Then came back in for the night.

Monday June 3 I woke up and ate my breakfast on the balcony while watching the ocean, if only this was my view every morning!!

Afterwards my dad and I hit the beach for a short run along the sand. It felt good to run even if it wasn't super far or fast!

When we needed a rest and slowed our pace to a walk I like to walk behind my dad, literally following in his foot steps with the occasional struggle of having to avoid other beach-goers, the ocean erasing the steps more quickly than I could reach them, and the fact that his stride is much larger than mine. I also worked to capture the perfect picture to pair with this quote by Sarah Key that I really adore- “Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.” 

We went back to the condo to change into our swimsuits and went back to the beach where we spent the majority of our day, with a few breaks spent inside to eat and at the pool. My dad and I walked along the beach, played in the ocean, and laid in our towels soaking up the sunshine! There was a whole wall of white puff clouds formed behind all of the buildings, but sitting facing the ocean all that was visible was a merely spotless blue sky. How lucky! I was happy that my skin quickly darkened and became more of my summer shade. 

Maria and Marlen had already eaten dinner on their own, so my dad and I sat alone on the balcony enjoying the caesar salad I made and the corn he shucked and boiled. Between being out in the sun all day and the corn grown and sold locally- it was especially delicious and we quickly devoured it munching away in straight rows across. 

After dinner Maria, Marlen, and I sat on the benches at the beach and watched the color fade in the sky. It was calming and peaceful, not buzzing with as many bodies in colorful swim suits like it is during the day. 

When we went back inside I was worried about my dad who had gotten too much sun in one day and was all of a sudden feeling it. I wanted to help him stop his shivers and fever and feel better, but there wasn't much I could do. I gave him the comforter off my bed and brought him some vitamin water that I insisted he drink to stay hydrated. I was happy that it had worn off by the following morning. 

Tuesday June 4 was another beautiful beach-filled day! It started by waking up to devour the sweetest watermelon that my dad had cut up. As he continued to cut it, I stood beside him eating the pieces right after he put them into the bowl. He noticed I was picking out all of the pieces that had the fewest seeds, scolding me with a laugh as we both knew this was true and I wasn't going to stop even now that he was aware of my doings. 

That evening my dad fixed dinner for us and we all ate together on the balcony. 

Afterwards my dad and I took a drive and ended up going for a walk down the pier, I was pleasantly surprised my dad was willing to pay the few dollars it cost just to sight see. Kind of silly, though I guess they have to make money some how to keep up the maintenance, or something. There were a lot of fisherman lined up on either side on the pier hoping to catch something. As we were walking we watched one boy struggling with his line. With the encouragement and excitement of his buddy, we watched him real it in only to reveal a shark on the other end! It was about 3 feet long as it surfaced to the top of the water. I tried to get a picture, but wasn't quite quick enough and they had already cut it loose before I could take another. I was successful in taking a silhouette picture of my dad as he looked out at the ever-lasting ocean, and asked if he would take a similar one of me. I tried to explain how it was done, but for some reason unbeknown to myself he just couldn't get it for the longest time. 

 When we returned from our adventure, my dad and I joined Maria and Marlen at the beach. We flew kites and tried to play soccer, though it was difficult with just us three girls so we ended up just passing it around.

Wednesday June 5 was also spent at the beach with my dad! Yay! (I guess by Wednesday I had taken enough pictures and just needed to enjoy the ocean and our walks in the sand). I think Wednesday was also the day we brought out the frisbee to the ocean. My dad and I stood on opposite ends of the sand bar and threw it to each other. I was pretty bad at getting it all the way to my dad, usually it just crashed into the water a few feet in front of him. I improved eventually, switching spots really helped. 

Wednesday evening my dad and I made a quick trip out to Publix for another box of bow tie pasta and to the produce stand on the side of the road for a few more ears of corn. We were all hungry by the time it was finally all cooked and ready to eat, however it was just my dad, Maria, and I. Her friend had already eaten and left on her own to take pictures at the beach. 

 [I took the first picture without my dad's knowledge, then told him to try not to have a double chin and ended up that one. It left Maria and I laughing until our hungry stomachs ached].

After dinner I went for a run on the beach. There were signs posted saying that tents could only be put up north of the signs (which I finally figured out had to be behind them since I noticed there were tents set up to both the left and the right). I sprinted until I would reach one of these signs, then walk to the next, then sprint and continued until I got too winded during the sprints and turned around to repeat the alternating run until I made it back to our condo.

When I came inside I found my dad in the living room with the long tail of the kite sprawled out all of the furniture. He was trying to unravel and untwist each string, of course he was doing this. Though it was tedious, I helped him until it was satisfactory then we rolled it up and decided to use the other one the rest of the week instead.

Then we went on a walk down the beach inspired by my desire to see the stars and also because I could see flashlights through my window every night as I laid in bed since we had arrived- and was curious! Though it was dark, I felt safe with my dad by my side.

Thursday June 6 I started the day with a run on the beach with my dad. This time we just ran (much farther than any other time) for as long as our bodies would let us then turned around and walked the whole way back. At one point we were so excited to find some really great shells, then all at once it was like we hit the jackpot and picked up a lot of them all within seconds of each other! It was such a thrill! Little did either of us know later in the day we would find many more. We also saw a tractor on the beach. I thought this was crazy because my dad had asked if someone came along and picked up all of the seaweed from the beach each day and I laughed at the OCD world he was dreaming we lived in, then found that it wasn't such a far-fetched idea after all and was happening right in front of my eyes! It also brought back memories of when Jacqueline were causally taking a walk in my neighborhood a few summers back and were interrupted by a tractor parade.

After showering, my dad took Maria, Marlen, and I to the outlet mall about 20 minutes away. Maria and Marlen were pleased as they had been asking for him to take us since Monday. Yes they were already bored of the beach by Monday. And we got there Sunday. I was torn between shopping at the outlets and going to the beach with my dad, but I decided I could use a break from the sun. After the first store, I ended up wandering away from Maria and Marlen who took much longer in each store than I needed to look around. I walked around the entire place, and ended up only purchasing a few tshirts from the gap outlet and lunch. I met the girls for lunch and then a again a little while after when my dad had arrived to pick us up. It was a miracle that we found Marlen, who had separated from Maria and not answered any of her texts or phone calls. I really didn't know what we were going to do about that and was relieved when we finally spotted her walking on the sidewalk.

The rest of the afternoon was well spent at the beach of course! On a walk my dad and I watched other people and tried their technique of digging for sea shells in the sand where the tide had brought the shoreline earlier that morning or late in the night. We found so many! It was a lot of fun.

We went back to the condo and showered then got ready to go to dinner. There was a lot of debate (well actually lack of since it was mostly among my dad and I who are both very undeceive) as we tried to figure out where to eat dinner. We ended up eating at a place called Ribs and Reds which was alright, but not as good as we hoped for.

When we returned I spent the rest of the night sitting on the balcony watching the lightening over the ocean. There was little thunder and little rain fall, but the lightening was exciting! I tried my best to capture it, but was only able to in a video and not a snapshot.

Friday June 7 when I woke up Maria and Marlen were packed up and eager to hit the road, unlike my dad and I who were not ready to leave. I went for one last run on the beach before showering and finishing packing my belongings and helping my dad clean a little more. I also wrote our name on a shell and stuck it in the glass to lie among the names of the other guests that came before us. Though all that remains of us is the shell, the photographs and memories are etched in our minds and will carry through the rest of our lives with us. I had so much fun spending time in the ocean, the sand, and under the hot southern sun- but by far nothing was as great or as valuable as all of the time I got to spend with my dad during the week taking walks and runs, flying kites, playing frisbee, making dinner, and helping shop for groceries. Going on vacation with him was a lot of fun and I hope there are many more to come in the future!