Marchand Family News and Stuff: 2018

After years of going to Orange Beach for our summer vacation, we decided to try something new. So, we ventured across another state line into Florida...Seaside to be exact. The cobblestone streets are lined with adorable cottages and happy, tan people riding along on bicycles or walking merrily down the street.

The vacation didn't start off amazing. Despite a fairly easy going, uneventful drive, we had a bit of a culinary adventure. We reached our exit for Seaside around 12:30 and everyone was hungry. There was a Whataburger, but the line was crazy! In a hurry to get to the beach, we opted for the KFC next store. There was NOTHING redeeming about this lunch spot! The food was gross, the bathrooms were gross, and you couldn't even wash your hands because there was only scalding hot water in the bathrooms and no paper towels. Emaline affectionately now refers to KFC as "finger lickin' gross" I don't think the kids will ever eat there again, and if they do, they'll have a fun story to tell.

We finally made it to our house after driving around for a while and going to the grocery store. The kids couldn't wait to go check out the beach.

The next day we were out on the beach early! The water was so beautiful! The kids spent a lot of time trying to catch the little fish hanging around.

That night we went crabbing. There were so many crabs! There was only one other family crabbing that night...I wonder if people in Seaside don't crab or don't know what crabbing is. Either way, worked out for us!

The next day rain threatened so we lingered a little longer at the house. Emaline and I got bored and anxious so we walked over to the beach to check it out. We saw the most beautiful double rainbow and got some swimming in that morning before it rained.

The next day it was supposed to rain again, so we planned a trip to Wonder Works museum. It was a cool experience. The kids were sincerely worried about the upsidedowness of the building. Everything worked out fine and no one fell right side up.

The following day it rained all day. We woke up and played some cards and just relaxed a little. Then, we drove to Panama City Beach again and saw Transylvania 3, went to Dave & Busters and ate at Dick's Last Resort. Dave & Busters was really crazy because of the rain, but the kids really enjoyed it. Em hit a couple of jackpots and got lots of tickets to spend. Gavin and I earned a bunch of tickets too. We walked down to Dick's Last Resort for dinner. Gavin, Gary and I really got into the whole atmosphere, but Emaline was fairly offended. She didn't really get that the waiters were supposed to be mean and rude, and I think she got her feelings hurt. She wanted to give the waiter a piece of her mind!

The next few days, we were able to sneak in some more beach time. The waves were significantly rougher which made for some fun tubing and boogie boarding.