Day 13 - Gulf Shores

Year 36 escaped as I closed my eyes last night and year 37 emerged so I figured I better start it off on a high note. I laced up my shoes and went for a morning run. I was unsure where the route might take me as I didn’t want to weave in and out of condos or run on the highway, but I mentally committed to a quick 2 miles wherever that might be. My path took me to the golf course and I braved the “watch for alligators, stay on the path” signs which worked as a great motivator to PR my first 5k as a 37 year old. It was a beautiful run and I was only slightly annoyed that numerous paths that I thought were taking me back in, were actually just dead ends to the next hole. It reaffirmed that I have no business being on a golf course.

I could handle views like this every day.

I thought I was headed in, with alligator signs everywhere I didn't think it would be wise to "jump the moat" so I headed back out. 

The girls were just waking up when I got back and decided they were in charge of documenting the day, so they were pretty excited to get in some morning selfies with the bday girl and get ready for another day at the beach. 

Emma, the selfie queen. Curious what the day will look like through these girls' eyes. 

The forecast called for rain today so we thought we’d get our beach time in early and beat the impending weather. Turns out…it was a beautiful morning at the beach. Slightly overcast with a warm breeze and calm waves. We lounged in the tubes, built sand castles and made sure we lived up to every definition of beach bum we possibly could. Our stomachs reminded us we’d been out nearly 4 hours so we grabbed a bit of lunch and went to scope out a few more pools.

One short boardwalk to relaxation!

Ready for another day on the beach!

The waves were perfectly calm for a float in the Gulf.

Our castles and sea turtle today!

We played games, found some awesome fountain pools and lounged around. It was the perfect day. 

My lounge buddies.

The girls were certain we couldn’t eat in on my birthday, so we cleaned up and headed downtown for dinner. Though the weather was beautiful all day, we didn’t figure we would chance it by eating outside as the forecast still called for rain, so we found a covered patio that offered the best of both worlds. It was a beautiful evening and just as our food arrived the rain came in. It was perfect timing to create an awesome atmosphere for dinner and we were so thankful we ditched the idea of eating outside at the Hangout as we would have gotten soaked. 

Headed to dinner

Mark had a delicious cajan wrap and I had some crab and shrimp, It was all so delicious. Can you tell we’re foodies?! We picked up a little ice cream treat afterwards and headed back to the condo to finish the celebration with some dessert. Year 37 started off with a bang, I’m excited to see where it leads.  

Had the whole patio to ourselves since it was starting to rain! Looks like a romantic dinner for two, doesn't it?!

We had a spectacular view while we ate, couldn't have asked for anything better!