So Tuesday morning we packed up - armed with movies, nintendo ds, and the iPad for our trip down south...
The trip down was relatively uneventful...only a few "How much longer?" sessions and trying to force Owen back in his shoulder straps [he is a Houdini]. We made it to Mobile around lunch. We traveled through the children's favorite stretch of road...
...the George Wallace Tunnel. [When we go to The Grand, we always take I-65 all the way into Mobile, then hit I-10 until it runs into 98. The kids always enjoy seeing the sights of downtown Mobile and passing the USS Alabama. Maybe one day we will actually stop and tour the ship.]
We stopped off on the causeway to find some lunch. We ended up at The Origninal Oyster House. I am not a huge fan of the one in Gulf Shores but everyone we talked to in December said the one in Mobile was much better. I opted for the Shrimp Po Boy and Jody got the Blackened Sutchi Po Boy...delicious. Later in the week at the pool, a local suggested Ed's Seafood Shed. We almost pulled in there...I guess we will have to try it out next time.
After a drive through downtown Fairhope, we finally we arrived at our destination...
The beautiful Grand Hotel! It always reminds me of a modern day, southern version of the resort in Dirty Dancing. We fall deeper in love with every visit. The grounds are immaculant. They were busy changing out the pansies with spring flowers...beautiful!
We checked into our room...
...on the first floor of the North Bay House with a breath taking view of Mobile Bay. It was the perfect location for us...halfway between the cannon/craft patio and the pool area. The arcade and the Fun Camp Room are located in this building. I noticed most everyone staying in this building had children...several of them being from our hometown. [These rooms were renovated in December. On our last visit we were in the Spa Building. Those rooms are the furtherest away from the main lobby area, the rooms are slightly smaller but the bathrooms are much bigger.]
Next door to us was another Murphree family [no relation] and just down the hall was a friend from high school and her family. Her son [Put] and my children played beautifully together. They played pirates on the beach...
...practiced baseball, crafted and splashed around the pool together. It was such a blessing to have them there at the same time.
We spent our mornings...
...snacking on breakfast admiring the beautiful view of the bay. [One morning we ventured into Fairhope for breakfast at Heavenly Creations on Fairhope Avenue. They offer a variety of breakfast croissants, doughnuts, muffins and Conecuh sausage & cheese wrapped in puff pastry like a huge pig in the blanket. Delicious & Delightful! I tried to order beignets but their frier was down.
The first morning, a couple of ducks ventured up to our patio...
...which thrilled Owen! I gave him some goldfish crackers to feed them...so every morning and afternoon they would come by for a little snack.
The first morning the 10:00 activity was feeding the ducks, we went to the front desk to snag some food before heading to the pond in search of the white ducks...
We found them at the far end of the pond...
Owen was thrilled to find his other duck friends. He fed them and then followed them around the pond...
...quacking at them the whole way.
After our morning visits with the ducks, we would get sunscreened up for a lazy day at the pool...
Owen splashed and chased a ball...
Mary Reese practiced cheerleading stunts...
...when she wasn't sliding...
She has come a long way since last summer. When we first got the the beach last June, she was too scared to go down the slide. She never hesitated this trip.
Banks and Put threw the football when they weren't hot tubbing...
One day we lunched from the poolside from the Pelican's Nest and Marlin Bar. The second day we smuggled in some hot dogs from...
...Battles Wharf Mini Mart. It is not really a restaurant, more like a converted gas station. If you are leaving the resort, you turn left and it is right down the street on your left. It is so close you could actually ride your bicycle. They have sandwiches made from Boar's Head meats, the best hot dogs, pasta & potato salads, lemon pound cake slices and delicious triple chocolate muffins.
At noon, the "big kids" ran to the craft patio for a little crafting session...
One day they made button bookmarks, the next day was glitter crafts.
The last day by the pool, the dads took the kids over to the the Colony pool for a change of scenery while the moms took a little snooze. They said the pool was FREEZING, so they didn't last very long.
Speaking of snoozing, Owen napped poolside each afternoon...
We would just take him to one of the fabulous swings along the boardwalk facing the bay and swing until he passed out. Then we would lay him down in a louge chair under one of the umbrellas around the pool.
At 4:00 each day we could hear the drums coming around the pool...
...the kids quickly jumped out of the pool to join the parade to the cannon firing ceremony...
During one of the ceremonies, Mary Reese and I snuck over to visit one of our favorite spots, the Chef's Herb Garden and the Secret Garden...
We smelled all the fresh herbs and admired all the beautiful flowers.
After the cannon fired, we all bolted to the lobby for tea and cookies. Actually, we just grabbed a handful of scones and cookies on our way back to the pool.
Before heading to dinner each night, I made my kids take pictures around the pond. You would have thought I was the WORST MOTHER EVER making them take all these pictures. I told them they would appreciate it one day! Here are some of the outtakes...
There are so many great spots for good photo ops!
Owen would get a little side tracked when he spotted the ducks...
I think he might need a pet duck.
For dinner, we explored some great local restaurants! On Tuesday night the kids and I ran up the road with the Webster's to Wintzell's Oyster House while Jody dined at Felix's Fish Camp with customers. On Wednesday night, we loaded up with the Websters and met the Smiths in Bon Secour for dinner at Tin Top. Thursday night we took a tip from a local by the pool and tried out Jesse's in Magnolia Springs with the Websters.
Next door to Jesse's was this precious little market. I absolutely loved their candy display...
After dinner each night, I rocked my baby to sleep in the rocking chairs on our patio and watched the sunset over the bay. It was the perfect ending to each day!
We headed home early Friday morning. I would have loved a leisurely departure but we were trying to beat the threat of severe weather back home. We even scooted on past our normal stops along I-65...the Conecuh Sausage plant and Peach Park! We hit rain just north of Birmingham and stayed in it the rest of the way home.
It was the perfect Spring Break trip. We all came home with sunkissed cheeks. Now we have the rest of the weekend to get organized and geared up for our last six weeks of school until summer vacation!
Hopefully another visit down south is in our near future. I already have a list of a few more restaurants I want to try on our next trip...Panini Pete's, Down by the Bay Cafe, Tamara's Bar & Grill, Master Joe's and Ravenite Pizzeria.
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