Salt in the Air, Sand in My Hair...

June 27, 2013

Salt in the Air, Sand in My Hair...

"If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." -Psalm 139:9-10

So here's the deal, I don't really love the ocean. I KNOW, I KNOW. I'm sorry.

I love walking along the beach, I love laying out by the ocean (for a little bit), I love the sound and the smell of the ocean...but the ocean itself, not so much. Seaweed, random creatures, salt, waves..just not my thing.

BUT, we had a great vacation. It was much needed resting time.

Also note, I will NEVER turn down a beach vacation. I just want to make that clear.

The thing that draws me to the ocean, aside from the heat & "tan" that I come home with, is the power of it. I love it when the Lord places me somewhere that makes me feel small. Many people don't like feeling that way, but I love when the Lord's power is so obvious, when "my life as a vapor" is so real. The only other thing that really makes me feel that way is being on an airplane where you are able to see thousands of houses and cities.

The ocean is a kind reminder that everything is meaningless as Ecclesiastes outlines. It's a wake up call to make the moments we have count.

About our trip:

Tye and I arrived in Destin a little bit before my parents, Carlie (my sister), and Carlie's friend Brooke. We decided to go out to dinner at Bubba Gump's and then stroll the beach as the sun was setting. We didn't get down to the beach until it was nearly dark, but we had just enough time to walk from our starting point to the condo we stayed at.

Our days were spent by the pool or at the beach. We took a break one day for dad, Tye, and Brooke to go golfing. Mom and I visited the outlet stores, and Carlie spent a little time by the pool and watched movies.

We ate seafood most of the time (Bubba Gump's, The Back Porch, and Pompano Joe's to name a few). Tye and I agreed that the Back Porch was our favorite. Such a neat atmosphere! The restaurant was right on the beach, and the food was delicious.

One night, we visited Baytowne Village. It was such a cute area within Sandestin that had shops, restaurants, live entertainment, etc. We were able to walk the pier as the sun was setting (gorgeous!!).

We spent a few hours there, listening to the music and walking the brick paths. Brooke and Carlie did a little souvenir shopping, and we all got gelato before heading back to the condo.

On our last night in Sandestin, we (Carlie, Mom, and I) realized we had not taken any group pictures. As soon as the boys got in from playing a nearby Par 3 course, they were told to shower quickly because we were headed to the beach. They were thrilled. Tye's face in the picture below proves it. As we were leaving the condo, we heard thunder in the distance. Thankfully, we made it down to the beach before dark and before the storm hit.

We were able to get some pictures, although I wish we had been able to plan a bit more for it (considering we were in varying degrees of "casual" clothing and some of us (me) had not showered after a day in the sun. Oh well. I put on a headband real quick and called it a done deal.