Sunday, April 16, 2006

Back to reality... already?

So, we're back from the beach... already. Our vacation flew by, but it was so wonderful while it lasted. I don't know if I will ever get tired of going to Destin because of all of the fun memories I have with family and friends. This being our first vacation together since our honeymoon, we learned a lot about how we envision beach trips and how compatible we are on those trips. (I actually gave him a run through of all of my "friend" beach trips along with several "family" stories our first night at dinner. He obliged me by listening and smiling...) Luckily, we learned that our ideas of "fun at the beach" are very closely aligned.

A few learning moments... First, in our excitement about getting away and our rush out of the house after an extremely busy week, we forgot some important equipment. #1) Our bikes. We got bikes for our birthdays 2 years ago and have ridden them about twice each and never together. Bikes would have been perfect for this trip. We seriously thought about turning around to get them an hour out of Montgomery, but seafood was calling our names more loudy. #2) Our camera. Who goes off to the beach and forgets their camera? Well, the Crawfords did this weekend. Patrick is usually "Mr. Camera" as he catches every photo opportunity. This weekend we saw beautiful sunsets. We dressed up in our new springy beach attire. We got a tan. We were on our first married vacation. There will be no pictures to document this event.
How sad, but we learned a valuable lesson. #3) No tennis rackets. We always talk about playing tennis, but we never do. We missed another opportunity. Oh well.

A few wondeful moments... Well, Patrick and I both agree that a good vacation has to be marked by one thing: GOOD FOOD. And good food we did enjoy. The Back Porch's fish sandwiches, twiced baked potatoes, and cole slaw, Baytowne Wharf's (at Acme's) fried shrimp and oysters, oyster po-boys, fries, and hushpuppies, and ultimately the Red Bar's Saturday night special: Crab Cakes, pasta, and salad. Um, my mouth is watering in sweet remembrance. We also splurged on Key Lime pie for dessert and continued a Dean tradition by stopping off in Andalusia to pick up a 7-layer caramel cake at Dean's Cake House. (But we walked it off every morning to avoid the pooch/bulge on the beach.) We walked every morning and afternoon to talk, dream, laugh, and people watch which we both enjoyed doing. We read for pleasure. There is nothing better than an escape read at the beach. Patrick, who usually reads nonfiction, informative books, even got hooked on a Vince Flynn book. (His books are like reading a season of 24...) I must admit that him reading pleasure fiction thrilled me beyond belief... We shopped at the outlets and found great deals at BP and JCrew. We just got away and relaxed, and it was so good for our marriage.

Now it is back to the real world, and though we were sad to leave, we were excited to have something to come home to... Thank God for good weekends!

3 comments:

Cary said...

Wow that sounds like a Hallmark fairy tale Kodak moment soft-focus vacation. I'm glad you guys had a great time.

Patrick said...

Kristy, It was truly a great weekend. Despite our goofiness of forgetting the camera, we have all the memories stored in our hearts and mind. We had so much fun, and I cannot wait to do it again. I love you!

Jesse Faris said...

OH i am so jealous i literally might be green. But also so glad that you guys had such a great getaway. Sounds so fun and memorable!