Vacation, day 1.

Yesterday started bright and early. So early, in fact, that it was still dark when we left for the airport.  Melanie refers to it as "the crack of awful." How is it that so many people are at the airport at 5 o'clock on a Saturday morning? When the alarm went off at 3:40 a.m. I immediately started whining, but then I  remembered I would be on the beach before day's end.

We got our first flight to Atlanta, where we went in search of breakfast-type sustenance. We settled for scrambled egg substitute, one piece of lukewarm toast that turned ice cold in the first fifteen seconds it sat under the gale wind that was blowing on our table (Ben wrapped a napkin around his neck—why did I not get a picture?), and the best hash browns I've had in a long time. I'll remember that the next time I fly through Atlanta sleep- and food-deprived. But I'll make sure I have a scarf.

While we were waiting to get on our Pensacola flight, we were surrounded by about 20 fresh-from-boot-camp sailors. You can tell who they are because they're all wearing the same uniform, most don't know how to make a proper square knot in their neckerchief (just in case you want to know, you can find out here, and then you, too, can criticize their inability to get it square with two even ends), and they're all carrying a yellow manila folder which contains their orders. It brought back such memories! They were on their way to Pensacola for A school (training specific to their jobs in the Navy—it's what you do right after boot camp).

Anyway, we made it to Pensacola, got our car, met a Baptist preacher at the baggage claim, and started for Destin. We're actually staying north of there, but we got sort of sidetracked along the way thinking about the restaurants we had eaten at last time we were here (about six years ago.) After a lot of searching, we found our favorite:

Here's the view from our table:

It was lovely. This place has the best blackened mahi-mahi on the planet. If it weren't for the fact that a house just up the road from the Whale's Tail is a mere $1 million (firm), I'd move here just so I could have fish on the beach at least once a week.

By the time we were finished, we were ready to curl up under the table for a good, long nap (something about the crack of awful), but we still had to find our hotel. We started driving, found our room, and slept. I woke up after about 15 minutes, but Ben played Rumpelstiltskin (yes, I had to look up the spelling of that) and snoozed until 7:30 when I woke him up because I'd read every blog I could find, the last six weeks of facebook, and 50 pages of The Blind Side.

We decided we didn't want much to eat, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't eat something. So we found a Wal-Mart (what would be do without Wal-Mart?) and got some Ritz crackers and peanut butter, and milk. And cookies.

Dinner of champs. Watched a little NCIS, read a little, and slept the sleep of the dead until 6:45 this morning.

The perfect start. I'll be back later with the day 2 update. But first we have to live day 2. That makes sense, right?

Be thankful ~

Karen