We came back from our babymoon about a week ago- whew! This week has flown by, just as the vacation week had! I have to say, it was the most amazing, wonderful vacation. The time we got to spend together was invaluable.
We began our babymoon on Saturday, April 28. We drove down to Chipley, FL, to a campsite called Falling Waters. We had wanted to camp at Henderson State Park which is actually directly on the beach in Destin, but it was all booked. So we chose Falling Waters, home of the tallest waterfall in Florida. We got to the campsite, set up our tent, and then got invited by a park ranger to see him show off his collection of snakes. We went to that for a little while, but didn't stay. It was already hot outside and we were ready for a swim. We headed down to the lake which was actually really nice. The water felt amazing! A little chilly for Phil's taste, but I loved it. We laid out a bit, and then went back to our campsite and made some delish fajitas over the fire. We had really good conversation, and a nice fire going until the sun went down. We were tired from the drive down so we went to bed early. It was so difficult sleeping on the hard ground all night!! I tossed and turned and then kicked myself for going camping at 7 months preggo! Hehe. But at least we were together and making memories.
The next day, we hiked to the waterfall after breakfast over the fire. It was a nice hike, but when we got to the falls we were disappointed to find that they were almost all dried up! Apparently it needs to be rainy season for the falls to really be flowing. It was interesting though, all along the hike were these massive sinkholes. After a while we got a little bored, so we decided to go to the front office and ask if there was anything in the area to do. They recommended going to the Florida Caverns and taking a tour, so we did. It was cool- we saw the formations, the stalagmites and stalactites. The tour guide was informative and we took a ton of photos. Afterwards we went out for lunch at a Southern BBQ place that was really good. That night we stayed up talking for hours in the tent and had an amazing conversation about life, spirituality, the baby, etc. Even though trying to sleep sucked again, the convo was worth it all.
The next morning, Monday, we headed out early to Destin. We got there an hour later and made our first stop at the Donut Hole Café… It was soooooo good!! We shared an omelet, an apple fritter, and a red velvet donut. It was the best donut I have ever had in my life! Then we went to the hotel, and they kindly let us check in early. In our hotel room was a fridge and microwave, which we didn't expect but which was really good since we had lots of drinks with us to keep cold! We changed and headed out to the beach. The best surprise was that the beach looked nothing like the other beaches we have been to on the panhandle… It was GORGEOUS aqua blue water and looked like we were in the Caribbean! The sand was as white as snow and the water was so clear that even being 100 yards out you could still see your feet! It was perfection, and SO much better than I had expected. We were in heaven. We laid out, swam, bodysurfed, snacked, chatted, etc. In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool and hot tub (I didn't get in all the way), and then chose a spot for dinner called Dewey Destin's. It was this hole in the wall place right on the harbor that was the oldest restaurant in Destin. They had amazing fried seafood and an out of this world view of the aqua water with sailboats passing by and a sunset backdrop.
The rest of the week followed a beautifully laid out pattern: sleep in, have belgium waffles and sausage at the hotel for breakfast, go to the beach and swim, come back and hang out by the hotel pool in the afternoon (which was shaded, so we were less likely to get burnt), and then go out to dinner. We chose great places for dinner such as The Back Porch, which was overlooking the beach and had great seafood, Tops Hamburgers, which was a hole in the wall hamburger place with excellent burgers I must say, and Harry T's, which was probably the best place we went. It was right on the marina and had a gorgeous view. We even saw a pod of 6 dolphins swimming by during dinner! The shrimp pasta I got was so perfect. It was nice being able to go out for dinners rather than staying at a condo and having to buy food and make it at home. One of the nights we also went out to see a movie: The Five Year Engagement, which was cute. The night we went to Harry T's, afterward we walked around the marina and saw all the boats and little shops. It was so nice and peaceful and romantic.
The very last day we went to a little cove we had discovered that was a great snorkeling spot. It was right by the jetty's and there were snorkeling tours bringing tourists there, although it was a public beach. We laid out and swam, and we did see a few things such as little fish, jellyfish, and a massive stingray. The nice thing was that the waves were so calm and serene on this little beach. We took a long walk out to a little strip of land that we had seen from the marina, around where we had seen the dolphins. I was hoping to see more, and I actually prayed that we would see one… And all of a sudden we did!!! I whipped out my camera and started taking shots of the dolphin every time he poked his fin out! I loved that. :) We actually saw other wildlife throughout the week at the beach. We saw a massive manta ray, a stingray, a 5 or 6 foot long cobia and another smaller cobia, white fish swimming all around us, sand crabs, crabs in conch shells, and of course jellyfish (although we discovered they were comb jellyfish, which don't actually sting).
On Friday we headed home feeling rested, satisfied, rejuvenated… All of the things we needed to feel and hadn't felt in a while. Then we still had two full days of weekend before having to go back to work, which was also really nice. Overall… The perfect babymoon. I am so, so glad we did this. It was so worth it.
