Check Off Another Region...

We only have 1 more region of Florida left to explore - this week we checked off Florida's panhandle when we tagged along with Rick for a conference in Destin, Florida. We stayed at the Sandestin Resort - that place is over 3,000 acres and has EVERYTHING you could ever want to do, and then some!
One of the biggest Adirondack chairs we've ever seen. It was fun to slide down into, but almost impossible to climb out of. We got quite the laugh out of watching each other try.
One of the mornings that Rick was in class we rented bikes to explore the many miles of bike trails throughout the resort. Unfortunately, there was a very LARGE hill outside the rental place to go under the highway safely, that was the first and last 5 minutes that Ashlyn was willing to ride. I was forced to push her bike and mine all the way back with her screaming and Blake mad we were heading back already, talk about drawing attention to ourselves. 15 minutes after leaving with the bikes, we were back...the rental people didn't take pity on us and kept our money dang it!
There were miles of powdery white sandy beaches and beautiful emerald colored water. The kids had a blast playing and gettin' a jump on this year's tans...until Ashlyn got nabbed by a jellyfish! I felt really bad that we didn't realize that it had happened, chalking up the crying to being a tired drama queen. However, after the 3rd person came and offered us vinegar to pour on it we finally investigated - ooops sure enough, boy did I feel like a bad Mom!
The last morning we checked out some kayaks and took off to explore the Choctawhatchee Bay at the back of the resort. Rick and Ashlyn cruised all over the place...Blake and I did TONS of circles and zig zagged our way around the bay. Blake got REALLY aggravated with me, but when given the opportunity to try his hand at it, realized that it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked.
We tried convincing Ashlyn to let us bury her in the sand. Her waist was as far as she'd let us go, claiming she'd rather be a mermaid.

We've wanted to get over to that part of Florida for a LONG time, so I was glad to have the opportunity to tag along with Rick for a Conference. Now we just have southwestern Florida left to explore...Sannibel Island and Alligator Alley, here we come! When? I don't know....but eventually we'll get there.