Monday, April 30, 2012

Spring Break :: The Caribe

On Wednesday we left one of our favorite vacay spots for another one...Orange Beach.  We couldn't check into our condo until after 3:00 pm so we visited the Smith's at their condo.  We quickly sunscreened up and hit the beach...

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...where these four [Mary Reese, Chambless, Owen & Banks] played for hours!  They played in the ocean...

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Dug a hole and jumped in...

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Rolled every monster truck we owned down the skim board ramp into the sand...

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Had a little Lillian's Pizza picnic...

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The adults devoured a couple of orders of their nachos...

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Let me tell you that there was not a piece of silverware or napkin in sight.  We could have cared less!

After he ate most of his pizza, Owen decided the birds needed a bite of crust...

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They played in the sand some more...

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...until it was time for us to check in our condo.

This trip we opted to stay at the Caribe.  Normally we stay on the beach but I didn't want to haul all the chairs and toys that go along with beach play for 3 days...so the bayside Caribe was a good alternative.  They have 3 outdoor pools all with amazing waterslides, a super long lazy river and an indoor pool in each building.  We found a great deal on VRBO and had a great renting experience!  This was the view from the balcony...

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Ono Island, the bay and the beach all from one balcony...amazing!  We hit the pools for a quick swim before showering up for the day.  Jody got a call from Dimetri [our rentor] saying he had a little gift for us...

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A key lime pie.  Nothing says beach vacation more to me than a key lime pie!

As soon as we unloaded our bags, the kids wanted to try out the pools...

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The pools were super fun. 

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Lots of waterslides, zero entry, waterfalls and a lazy river...

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...that went on forever and even had a little shaded hut...

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After a quick dip, we showered up to meet the Smith's at Cobalt for dinner on the patio.  We started off with some delicious oysters.  The rest of the dinner was amazing as well.  The setting is beautiful...it is one of my favorite spots.

Bright and early the next morning, Jody, Banks, Brandon, Alan and Sam went off on a deep sea fishing adventure.  A first for Banks and Sam.  Kate and Chambless came over to enjoy the Caribe's pools.  Owen and Chambless played monster trucks all day long...

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...while Mary Reese entertained herself on the slides...

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We ate picnic-style poolside while we waited on the fishermen to return.  They called us when they were heading back to the marina.  We loaded up to see what they caught.  The fishermen returning from a long day at sea...

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Everyone checking out the catch of the day...

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The two biggest fish...

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An amberjack and a black snapper [I think]

The fishermen [minus Alan] with their catches...

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Now that is a big fish...

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The fish waiting to be cleaned...

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The deckhand filleting the fish...

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The guys bagged up the fish for us to enjoy at home.  Then the hungry fishermen and their families headed to Tacky Jack's for fish tacos!

We spent the last day of our vacay lounging by the pools...

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...before showering up to enjoy our last seafood dinner.  Cosmo's was calling our name!

All  our fun in the sun wiped everyone out...

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Owen slept in his clothes every night.  By the time we got back from dinner, he was fast asleep.  We just tucked him into bed and never heard another peep out of him until morning.

Speaking of mornings...I really could get use to waking up to this view every morning...

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...but Spring Break was coming to an end.  It was time to head north.

I would be lying if I said Monday was a breeze.  It was super hard to get back into the school routine with homework and after school activities.  Only 19 more school days.  Bring on the lazy days of summer!

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