The Hoppers: Vacation: Day 1

Well the 9 hour drive to Gulf Shores, Alabama was surprisingly good. Of course Evan had a few meltdowns, but nothing a quick stop couldn't fix. Mark and I were thrilled Evan did so well in the car. Once we got here was another story. We did after hour check in, so we just pick up all our information from a lock box. We had our room number on a sheet of paper, but couldn't find that number anywhere in the building. It turns out that our room was on the penthouse level, so instead of being listed at 2001, it was listed as PH-01. The trouble really started when we finally found our room and we could just push our door open. After talking with the on site cop, it turns out that a few people in the building have had this problem. So after about an hour of room issues, we decided we would take Evan for a quick look at the ocean. He wouldn't walk in the sand. Something we will have to work on! Once we had him on the wet sand he didn't really mind the sand. However, he HATED the water. We let the waves crash on his feet and he starting crying. He doesn't mind watching the waves from afar, but he doesn't want anything to do with being in the water.

Day one started off waiting. Mark had called the office and they came up to look at our lock. They said it needed a lock smith, so we waited for the lock smith to arrive. Well, two hours later he still had not arrived, so we just decided to leave and go eat breakfast, which was lunch at this point. There was a cute little place right on the beach and it is was right next to our hotel. We had a quick little lunch then took Evan for a walk on the beach. He wasn't very happy. He woke up with a terrible runny nose and we are pretty sure it is teething related. His third molar is just starting to poke through and we really hope pops all the way through soon. So, needless to say, he wasn't his normal jolly self. After our quick beach walk, we went to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials for the condo. Once we got back, Evan took a nap. He slept for two hours, which is much longer than his usual afternoon nap, but we knew he probably need it. We finally got him in his swimsuit and took him to the beach to actually get messy and play.

Evan was really funny. He wouldn't sit down in the sand. We finally made him sit on the sand and he didn't really want to touch it. Eventually, once all the fun sand toys were out, he started to play. He loved to destroy Daddy's sand castle and point at the seagulls. We made the mistake of taking Evan into the water again. He just doesn't like it. Once he was in the water, we had to pack up from the beach because he just was too afraid he was going to have to go back in. We didn't go inside just yet because wanted to take Evan to the fun kiddy pool. He seemed to enjoy the pool a lot more than the ocean. Unfortunately, we went to the kiddy pool too late and the sun was not shining on it. In the shade it was a little too cold for Evan, so we didn't stay long enough to really let him explore. We plan on going back during peak sun hours (with lots of sunscreen) and seeing if he enjoys it a little more. So, as a back up plan, we went to the indoor pool. Evan LOVED this. The water was warm and the wind wasn't blowing. He made a few little kid friends and really enjoyed it. We hope the tomorrow he will feel better and we can have some more fun in the sun!!