The Beach

We slept in until seven this morning! As we packed up the van you could hear the bull frogs croaking and see the thick Mississippi fog that everyone said would burn off by noon. Then, we drove back towards the ocean and drove west along the beach. It was so beautiful and peaceful. But it would take forever to get were we were going. So, we took highway 10 across and then down into New Orleans. We were shocked by the devastation that still is evident from hurricane Katrina. Then, we drove through the French quarter and we saw Decatur and Bourbon Streets. The architecture was cool, but the prevalent sin was not.

We drove through four states today. We started in Goutier, MS, (read go-shay, ms) and drove to New Orleans, LA. after that we backtracked through Mississippi and into Alabama. We were greeted by at least five Alabama State policemen waiting for the unsuspecting vehicle to come flying through their terrritory. We finally figured out that no one in Louisiana or Mississippi follow the speed limit. So, this must be Alabama’s way of welcoming people into their state. Luckily, for once, we were not speeding.

Driving through Destin was spectacular! The white sand beaches and the enormous sand dunes were breathtaking! The ocean still has everyone enraptured. We are staying in Panama City Beach and the Ocean is turquoise and lazily fades into deep blue. Definitely a dazzling site. We are right on the beach. Our back door opens up onto a balcony overlooking the beach.
Karen and I went down and played in the ocean. Karen had a big fish swim by her legs and totally geeked out on me. It was pretty funny, “A fish…Oh my gosh there’s a really big fish! It touched my legs…Kelly, there’s a fish!” I’m thinking…duh…it’s the Ocean…Mom and Nancy stayed up the deck and watched the ocean.

A cold front rolled in and it brought with very nice un-humid temperatures. We were all very comfortable and a little reluctant to leave, but we were starving! So, we loaded ourselves up into the van and drove around for an hour site seeing. Finally, we went to an Olive Garden for dinner. We all had the bottomless bowls of pasta, but each only ate one bowl. Finally, we drove back to the hotel and unloaded the van. We won’t have to repack tomorrow!!! We are staying a couple nights here. Karen and I took off and went swimming. One of the restaurants or hotels were shooting off fireworks and next door there was live music playing. It was pretty cool. Mom and Nancy were worn out and went to bed. I plan on going to bed soon, too. I want to get up early and play some more on the beach!