Back in June, we took our first vacation as a family of 3. We headed to Grayton Beach, Florida with four other families for a week of relaxation and fun. Grayton Beach is described on its website as "a funky little beach town full of free-spirited folks with a laid-back attitude." We found this to be true and as we pulled into town along narrow roads, shaded by southern magnolias, towering pines and moss-draped oaks, multi-colored houses dotting the neighborhood, picket fences, funky art, kids on bikes and folks greeting everyone with a smile and a tip of their beverage cup, I knew I was with kindred spirits.
The town is bordered by Grayton Beach State Park on the east and west and a lot of people comment that it is reminiscent of yesteryear in Florida. It's not highly commercialized or congested and it's not spoiled by development. We absolutely fell in love with this charming, small beach town and it was a perfect place to spend time together as a family and with close friends.
{I have so many pictures that I am going to divide our trip up into two posts.}
Anyone who's ever traveled with small children knows exactly what I am about to say: My word, you have to bring soooooo much crap! Some of it you need, some of it you don't. Being rookies, we certainly couldn't decipher which was which.
Unloading our stuff, including the baby:
Lance and I didn't kid ourselves and knew that the 10 to 12 hour drive (in traffic) would be too much to ask of our nearly 9 month old. We divided the trip up into two travel days, stopping to spend the night in that lovely little Mississippi town of Hattiesburg. We arrived in Grayton mid-afternoon the next day. Here we are exploring:
I'm a beach person. I can plop myself on a beach for 8 hours a day, for 7 days straight. Obviously, this was unlike any beach trip I've ever taken {I'm looking at you, Mr. Crosby} but the next day, we didn't waste anytime setting up our post:
Oh, and the beach itself? Absolutely gorgeous.
This picture is taken from the boardwalk, on the way from our house to the beach. You can see the dune lake that runs from the park's brackish Western Lake out to the beach. A lot of people use kayaaks, canoes or paddleboards from the lake, down the lagoon to get their stuff to the beach. Really cool. You can also see a vehicle on the sand. Yep, Grayton Beach is one of the last beaches in Florida that allows cars on the beach. We were told that you have to own property in town and apply for a permit that is granted by a lottery, but it was really really cool.
I feel really lucky that we got to take this vacation. When Lance and I were holed up in our house all winter, in isolation from the rest of the world/friends/family, I didn't know if this trip was possible or if it would ever get here. We had been looking so forward to this for months and months and I am so glad that we got to do this. One reality that follows every person with CF is that they NEVER get a vacation from their disease. They never get a break or get to forego treatments. This includes Crosby. So everyday, twice a day for 30 minutes, he and I did our bopping routine. As you can imagine, being out of his element and in a new space didn't make for the most cooperative baby. Here we are during one of the better sessions:
The following pictures are just from the first couple of days:
Love,
Carmen
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