The Hood Family Blog: Summer Vacation 2018

On Sunday, July 15th, we headed to Lumberton to make the first pit stop of our 2018 Summer Vacation. Since it is two hours closer to our next destination in Alabama, and the fact that we needed to drop off the dog, it always makes sense to go there first so the boys can spend some time with Shane's parents and get spoiled prior to heading out on the road.

On Monday morning we got up bright and early and headed east to Gardendale, Alabama where Shane's Uncle Ronald and Aunt Manya live. They were so gracious to host us two years ago when we made a trip to visit family and again had us stay with them while in Alabama. We have such a great time while visiting them because Ronald and Manya not only love my boys so much, but they spoil them (and us) rotten too!

On Tuesday, Ronald and Manya took us to the McWayne Science Center in Birmingham. I think it brought out the kid in all of us and we all had a great time! We did a lot of cool things while there including playing with bubbles, touching a shark and sting ray, and watching a movie about Pandas in a IMAX dome.

Manya and the boys

Ronald watching closely over Camden

The Bed of Nails

Me, Casen and Manya - can you tell who is who?

Shane and Camden putting together
a car

Manya and Camden had all sorts
of butterflies landing on them

Camden and Casen being weathermen.

Touching the shark

Touching the stingray

Casen in the wind tunnel

Fun with bubbles

Get ready for the movie 'Pandas'

On Wednesday, we headed to Odenville, Alabama where we visited Shane's grandparents, Pop Pop and Nadine. For lunch we headed to the Waffle House, which I had been looking forward to for awhile. Manya loves Waffle House patty melts as much as I do so we made sure that we were going to eat there while we visited. I hate to admit that this was the first time the boys had been to the Waffle House, but I think we have made Waffle House lovers out of them! Once we arrived back to Shane's grandparents the boys played some corn hole and had a good time visiting.

Ronald, Manya, Nadine and Pop Pop

Cheers to yummy patty melts!

Even though we had a wonderful time in Alabama and our visit just didn't seem long enough, it was time on Thursday to head on to Macon, Georgia to visit Shane's other grandparents. I always love going and visiting them - they are truly 'good people' and are loved by so many.

Granny, Grandad and our family

On Friday, they took us to Lane Peach Orchard so the boys could see how peaches are processed from the time they are picked from the tree to the time they leave in boxes to head to the store. We then enjoyed some wonderful peach ice cream and took a little time to play on the playground they had there.

Peach Tour

Watching how they sort peaches

Everyone enjoying some peach ice cream

On Saturday we did a little shopping and reorganizing of Granny's kitchen. Once we got home, the boys played with the Hood's next door neighbors kids and enjoyed being boys. There is about 80 acres of land behind their house where the kids can just run around and be kids playing hide and seek and just exploring. Needless to say, the boys were not ready to come in side when it started getting

dark.

And just as our time with family in Alabama felt too short, so did our time in Georgia. On Sunday we got up and headed back to Alabama, but this time to Orange Beach, Alabama. They boys have very much enjoyed our trips to the beach the past two years, and while we love Panama City Beach, I really wanted the boys to see the Blue Angels, which are stationed in Pensacola. So, since Orange Beach is only about 30 minutes from Pensacola, we decided to stay at a Phoenix III condo there.

The boy's room

Kitchen

Our room

Living area

Our view from the Condo

Once we arrived the first thing the boys wanted to do was head to the beach. So everyone put on their swim suits and away we went. The water was very rough as there had been thunder storms the previous days prior to our arrival and yellow and purple flags were flying which were indicators of rough water as well as a hazard from dangerous marine life (i.e. jellyfish).

Unfortunately our first day at the beach was a rough one. Both boys got stung by jellyfish. Camden got the worst of it getting stung on both his leg and arm. With the rough waters, Casen lost his boat and Camden lost his mask. But still, they were all smiles. That evening we headed out to dinner and made the first of about 10 trips to Alvin's Island Souvenir shop - this particular time we were purchasing a new mask!

Jellyfish stings . . . :(

The next morning we woke up to beautiful skies and very smooth water. The dolphins spent a lot of time in front of our condo and were a joy to watch. We headed out to the beach again to let the boys have more fun. The jellyfish were scarce that day, however Camden still managed to get stung again. But have no fear, after the sting fest yesterday, we went to the grocery store the previous night and I was armed with meat tenderizer.

If you look closely, you can see the dolphins
in the background.

After lots of fun in the sun, we all got cleaned up and headed to Foley, AL to Lambert's - Home of the Throwed Rolls. If you have never been, it is such a fun atmosphere and the amount of food you get is insane! They boys enjoyed the fun and food!

I think the beach is wearing the boys out!

Throwing Rolls

On Tuesday we got up and headed to Pensacola to the National Aviation Museum. The Blue Angels had practice and I was so excited for the boys to be able to see them and experience them flying in person. Honestly, I am not sure who was more excited to see them, me or the boys!

While there, we enjoyed the MaxFlight 360 Simulators they had where you full control of the simulator to pitch and roll 360 degrees if you so chose to. Camden had no desire to go upside down, but Casen did, so I chose to ride with Casen. We each had an opportunity to control it, and it was fun to say the least.

Camden was very apprehensive to do this, as he did not want to go upside down. But, as you can tell from the picture, Shane made certain they went upside down at least once (maybe twice). Camden was not a huge fan, and was ready to get out when the ride was over.

Camden is in here and it is upside down . . .

The practice was awesome. It was extremely hot, as you could imagine on a sunny July day, but we all still very much involved the show. Unfortunately I completely forgot my DLSR camera at home, so I relied on getting pictures with my phone. While the pictures are not as clear as I wanted, I was at least able to capture some decent shots.

And no trip to the National Aviation Museum is complete without pictures in the Blue Angels jets.

Luckily, we made it back to Orange Beach in time for the boys to enjoy more time at the beach.

For dinner, we ended up at the Waffle House - the boys have been asking for it since we had it in Alabama. And as much as I would have liked to get some more great seafood, a low key night at Waffle House was just what we needed. After wards, we of course made another trop to Alvin's Island and then headed to Starbucks where the boys sat drinking their hot chocolate and reflected on the days events. For a minute, I saw a glimpse of the future with them . . .

Wednesday marked our last day at the beach and it was a beautiful one! The water was finally turning more blue and the clarity was the best it had been since our arrival. This year Camden was not really into finding sand dollars, as he was last year. Instead, we bought the boys body boards (at yet another one of our trips to Alvin's Island) and they spent so much time catching the waves on them. Money well spent!

Once again the dolphins were out playing in the water.

Not sure who was having more fun,
Shane or the boys.

We spent the majority of the day on the beach, until mid afternoon we spotted jellyfish again. I think between Shane and myself we caught about 11 of them. To keep from the boys getting stung, we decided to head up to the pool. They boys ended up having a great time playing in the pool with a couple that had a football they were throwing to them.

These jellyfish were little but fierce

Before heading out to eat, I of course had to take the obligatory 'pictures on the beach' of the boys. You would think that at the boy's age, my struggle with getting a good pic would improve, but this year proved otherwise. Maybe next time. . .

For our final meal in Orange Beach, we decided to head out the The Hangout. It was fun time with a bubble machine, live music, good food and a beautiful rainbow at the end of our meal.