Perdido Key, FL - The Beach

Since we were right on the beach, we spent a lot of time down there. I didn't take my camera every time since it fell in the sand once and got sand in it, so I was cautious from that point on. But I got some good ones on the first day!

I was a little afraid at how Jonathan would be with the beach, since the last few times we tried swimming, it didn't go so well. But he loved it, thankfully! Every day he got braver and braver! It was so fun to watch! Once we arrived there, he promptly let us know that he had a new (imaginary) friend, named Crab. Crab lived out in the ocean right in front of where we were staying. Jonathan was constantly talking about how he needed to swim far out and see his friend Crab. Thankfully he never tried!

COWABUNGA DUDE!

Ben was not a fan. Not sure exactly what he didn't like, but he was grumpy about it!  

Jonathan with a Herring Crane.

Ben insisted that I take him back upstairs, so now I am on the balcony peering on my guys!

The Gulf National Park:
There had been a Tropical Storm in the Gulf over the weekend, before we arrived on Monday. So we believe that was the reason the ocean was a little rough. But made for some really cool waves, but not the best for little boys! On the second to last day we went to the Gulf National Park and found us a little beach on the Bay side, which had no surf what so ever, which is perfect for our little ones!

Here is the one and only picture of me! And I will admit, it is a SELF-portrait. I was playing around with my camera when Michael and Jonathan went exploring and Ben was just sitting next to me. I have on my mom's hat and my brand new $3 Sunglasses that I had just purchased at a road side tent!

We found our own private beach by walking down that pier. Michael is searching for Hermit Crabs.

Finding More Crabs! You can see the condo off in the distance.

My buddy. He still wasn't excited about being on the sand or at the beach, but he finally warmed up enough to just sit with me and not cry. I covered his legs in sand to keep him from getting burned, even though we put sunscreen on, you just never know! Thankfully, none of us got burned!

Jonathan and yet another Herring Crane!

He made Sand Patty's for the Hermit Crabs.

Collecting Seaweed.

We saw these guys everywhere, but I thought this was so cute, they were together.

My name is Ben, and I eat sand.

Night Hunting for Sand Crabs:
We noticed each night that people were out on the beach with flash lights just walking and then sometimes, stopping to look at something on the ground. After 2 nights of watching these people, I finally looked it up...apparently you can go hunting for Sand Crabs at night. All you need is a flash light, a net and a bucket. So Michael made a plan to take Jonathan the following night (I wanted to go, but we knew Ben wouldn't like it, so I offered to stay back with him)! I am so glad they went; they both had so much fun! They only found one crab. But they were gone for a couple hours and both seemed to have really enjoyed themselves. Also, when they were down there, a guy was night fishing and caught a 4' Shark!! So that was obviously really cool for them too!!

What we saw every night from the balcony. That is the moon at the top. The lights line across the bottom is all the people with their flashlights. Michael and Jonathan are one of them.

Here is the sand crab they caught! Jonathan named him Fred. They brought him up so I could see him and then Michael took him back down and released him!

I snapped a quick photo of the guys in the pool!! It was a really cool pool! I really enjoyed going there every day!!