"DESTIN"ation Non-Vacation Part Two

Work Trip Part Two:
Gulf Coast TAPPI Conference
Seascape Resort
Miramar Beach, Florida

(There are a lot of pictures so I'll try to keep my commentary brief.)

Destin/Miramar Beach is only 2 hours from Monroeville, Alabama.  It was a pleasant drive.
We were unloaded and ready to go before we got the code to get into our room.  Waiting....

 Matt and Tyler finished unloading the car.  (You can see them below walking across the arrow.)

 Once inside I immediately took a picture from our 16th floor balcony.  Yes!  The Gulf is still there!

 While Daddy worked on his GP proposal L and T acted like super heroes in the kitchen...

Then we got ready to explore the beach (while Daddy still worked on the proposal.)

Night Time Sand Angels...

The next day while Matt attended his conference the kids and I walked a mile (literally) along the beach in the 90+ degree dripping wet sun to find our complimentary umbrella and chairs.  By the time we got there both kids were in tears and I was dripping sweat and cursing in my head.

Still, I took the obligatory "toes, sand, and water view" picture.

After we calmed down we really enjoyed ourselves on the beach.  I took turns taking each kid out to the big waves while the other built massive sand castles on the beach.

To clean the sand off we stopped at the pool on our way back to the condo.  Daddy was able to join us on this adventure.

sippin' on Water mixed with a Pink Lemonade Crystal Light packet

playing monkeys and penguins (don't ask)

The next day we got to participate in the family part of the TAPPI conference.

Pontoon boats were rented and we had a blast.  We drove? boated? navigated! out to crab island.

Lauren learned how to jump off the edge of the boat (and into the 3 feet of water.)

And a gazillion hermit crabs were caught, inspected, kept in a bucket for awhile and then thrown back out (of course.)

I was blown away at how many boats (mostly partying 20-somethings) were out there.  There were enough boats out there that I wasn't surprised when an Ice Cream selling Canoe came by. (There was also a "Hot Boiled Peanuts" canoe too.  I must confess that although I don't care for peanuts, I really like "Hot Boiled Peanuts" (pronounced: Hot Bowled PEAnuts)  

enjoying their ice-cream

 

It was a fun day in the sun.  I can tell Lauren and Tyler had a blast because this is what they looked like 5 minutes after we left the dock.

 

After a quick nap and shower we geared up once again for the TAPPI family pool party.

There was pizza, wings, soda, booze, and best of all PRIZES!

Matt won a cooler, I won a $10 gift card to Walmart

and Lauren and Tyler are proudly showing their loot.

pink pool lounge and a Nerf gun

 

Unfortunately, all work conferences and non-vacations must end. Sunday morning, Matt and I packed up our condo, loaded up the car and headed out.  The 5 hour drive home was pretty uneventful.  We did drive through an afternoon thundershower which rinsed off our vehicle.  It was pretty cool to see zero percent visibility (especially since Matt was driving.)

I'm already ready for the next vacation.  Pacific Northwest; get ready!