Just Enjoying

So, I didn't put anything up for yesterday, but this is the picture of the day. Scott floating in the ocean! He was only out there a few minutes, but he had to do it.

We walked on the beach for over two hours yesterday and afterward relaxed the day away!

Today was another road trip, this time to Mobile, Alabama. I love Alabama. I love rednecks. I love southerners! Scott was excited to get some boiled peanuts. Bleck! He got a whole pound and liked them! No, I didn't eat any!! I tried to take some pictures of this disgusting thing. The blurry peanut was so huge! You can't really tell in the picture. Scott was happy. 

We drove around the old areas we served in and tried to recognize a few things. Then I wanted to take a trip out to Dauphin Island. It's a neat little strip of island that has a bunch of houses all on stilts. So we did! We went, over the scary bridge right into chaos! They were just finishing up a (pre) Mardi Gras parade and there were a million red necks and good 'ol southerners! It took us forever just to get the 7 miles down to the end of the island! This is the bridge going over to the island. It's about a mile long. I get freaked out on bridges! Breathe Billie, Breathe!

This is a few of the rednecks just sittin. I think they were too drunk to move. Had wait for it to wear off! I wish we could of taken more pictures of people because they were funny! But it's kinda weird when you're going about 2 miles an hour. People wonder why you're taking their pictures!

And this is what we came to see! These houses up on stilts! And there were not a few of them. For this tiny little island, there were probably a hundred! I couldn't believe how big some were!!

This one had a foundation that was built right into the ocean!! It was the last one on the island so I'm sure it gets the brunt of any weather! But wow!! 

This older one was what they mostly looked like when I was here 20 years ago before hurricanes knocked them off their stilts and FEMA bought them new houses to put on the stilts. There are still some smaller old ones and there are plenty of large new ones! They are pretty cool.  

At the end of the houses there is maybe a half mile of just beach out into the ocean. and just in from where the water breaks there were millions of shells. It looked like desert landscape, only all those things you see in the sand aren't rocks, they are shells! It was like a moon walk or something! 

I am a compulsive shell hunter! Always on the prowl for the prettiest one!  Scott was trying to do a sillouette picture. I think it turned out pretty cool.

I found one! Very vibrant color! I thought this picture was cool too. Ocean behind me, all shimmery from the late sun.  

After we walked out on the sand bar-ish end of the island we turned to look back. Those are the houses at the end of the road. Each of those facing the water on a different side. That's all the wider the island is! Pretty cool actually. You should look it up on Google maps!  

And this is me doing what we did most. Driving!! We drove to Pensacola where Scott served for most of his mission. Of all the things we didn't remember, this was a nice surprise because he actually remembered things in Pensacola! Yay, success! We met up with an old friend from the mission and had dinner with him. It was nice to visit and talk about the grown or non-growth of the areas there. 

Now we're home (in the condo), packed and ready to go to the airport at 5:30am! I'm so sad to leave. I'm looking forward to seeing our kids for sure, but I am going to miss this place! I can't believe it took us 20+ years to get back here!! It is so amazingly beautiful. I love the California beaches, but they don't hold a candle to the beaches here! I'm sure there are other more beautiful oceans than even this one, but I can't hardly imagine it. God is so good to make these wonderful things for us to witness! I feel so blessed to be able to take a trip like this. Scott and I are blessed to be together 20 years! The next cliche thing to say is, "it hasn't always been easy", and it really hasn't! But somehow we are still together after 20 years and we'll do our best to keep it that way. Who knows, maybe in another 20 years we'll come back to the Emerald Coast to celebrate again! (Dangit, if it takes us another 20 years to get back I will be really sad!!)