Raborn Beach Trip 2018!!

RABORN BEACH TRIP 2018!!!!!

FINALLY!! WE ARE BACK AT OUR FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD!!! THE BEACH!!!!!! The ocean is our only medication!!! We try to go every other year and practically look forward to it every day leading up to it! The beach is our therapy, our happy place. I am eternally thankful that Cody loves the beach as much as me! We went to Gulf Shores Alabama this trip to change things up. At the beginning of this year we didn't know we would be in Alabama three times in three months! Who knew we even liked Alabama that much!? In May we went to the camp site, in June we went to my third cousins wedding, and July we went to the beach!

And of course, we had to start our beach trip off right!

Life is truly better at the beach. We will retire here, mark my words!

So on Sunday July 1st we were off, the trip we had been looking forward to since coming back from our honeymoon in 2016. Cody had just driven 7 hours from Ohio from his week long masters degree convention at Ohio University (while I held down the fort at home that week, finishing out our vacation bible school at church, celebrating Cody's mom's birthday, and packing EVERYTHING), Cody drove on in, jumped in the house for 7 minutes to change out one of his bags and we were off again for 6.5 hours to the beach. Cody is a hero y'all he drove over 14 hours (including bathroom breaks) in one day. I am/was SO incredibly impressed, my man 😍😍. I had my nails freshly painted, the car packed with plenty of snacks, GPS stand, comics, crochet, and of course what every long car trip needs, jumbo large gummy bears (shown below)!

We arrived at the beach house at 12:22am that night (hour change was on our side ;)), unloaded the car, carried our stuff up 3 flights of steps, unpacked, and was asleep by 1:27am. We slept until about 10:30am that next morning waking up to the sound of the waves from the distant ocean.

We weren't on the front row of condos directly on the sand but one row behind. We still had a great view!

These cute blue condos were where we stayed this year! They were so great!

Right outside our back door we had access to a nice little pool!

This was our suite upstairs which had a balcony over the downstairs area.

The den area leading into the kitchen. If you are wondering why everything is so dim it is because no one believes in lights anymore. Seriously, out of the 5 places I have lived in the past 8 years, there have been poor poor lighting in every area of the apartment/house. 

The cute little kitchen!

So after I woke up, I kissed Cody good morning and headed out to the beach to feel the sand, the water, and the ocean wind in my hair. Just breathing in a full breath of clean fresh sea water! It was absolutely magical. I began my semi-daily 30 minute beach run. 

After getting back in, I changed into my outfit for the day getting ready for our errands and beach breakfast.

Our first breakfast outing landed us at Picnic Beach where they are known for their healthy foods and amazing bbq. Of course Cody got the bison burger and I opted for the unique health foods. Oh and there's turf inside the restaurant, no big deal. BUT TURF!!!! So cool and unique, perfect for a very picnic feel! Hats off to you, Picnic Beach!

This is an acai bowl! It was the first acai bowl I had ever had despite the all the rage for the past year. And the verdict is....I loved it!!! But I also determined that I HATE bee pollen. I didn't even know what that was but was all in! I love trying new foods but bee pollen is not a new favorite. I can't even describe the taste, it was just....spicy?....bitter?..I don't even know😷. 

Anything involving meat, Cody is all in! Picnic Beach was a win for us!

We then headed over to Walmart to buy some refrigerator staples such as a pack of waters, boiled eggs, rotisserie chicken, hummus, and milk. We also went to Alvin's Island to buy Cody a beach chair.

When we got back to the condo it was already 5pm so we just walked on the beach. The water was glass, beyond perfect, not a wave in sight basically, crystal clear. The only problem was there were 1,000's of jellyfish. No one could get in. That was such a bummer.  Sitting watching the sunset as our toes dipped in the water was the perfect way to end our first day though! There is NOTHING better in the world than spending one-on-one uninterrupted time with my Cody on the beach!

An example of one of the large jellyfish washed up on the beach. The painful tentacles were so long, they created a web of sting across the ocean entrance. 

Before the sunset, I didn't let a few jellyfish effect my tanning! I still laid out and may or may not have gotten badly burned on that small sliver of stomach 😓.

Before the sun started to set I ran back inside and grabbed my new dress and took a few pictures with the amazing ocean views. I've never seen the ocean so calm. Cody was a great photographer but I wish he could have been in some with me. 

The next morning we ate a late breakfast at Lulu's! Lulu's is Margaritavilles sister restaurant named after Jimmy Buffets sister, Lucy.

I personally liked Lulu's MUCH better than Margaritaville. 

While waiting on the table we got to explore Lulu's island. They had a ropes course, gift shop, games, and live music. LOVE the atmosphere!

And the best part about Lulu's is the pammena cheeseburger! It is a juicy cheeseburger with pimento cheese, a fried green tomato, and bacon! Aaaaamazing! I was so stuffed I couldn't eat anything else the entire rest of the day!

At the gift shop I got a bracelet and a t-shirt below as my gulf shores souvenir. 

After swimming on the beach for the rest of the day with the much rougher waters and less jellyfish, It was time to watch the fireworks for the 4th. I knew if Gulf Shores was anything like Panama City Beach, they were going to shoot the fireworks off of the pier, which they did!

We got a "front row" view and waited for the fireworks show to begin!

Because of the storm that was coming in, you can't see the pier but we were pretty close!

The fireworks show was amazing even with the rain!

So the next morning, Cody and I decided to face our fears and go parasailing! We were terrified but held each others hands so incredibly tight!

We were 600+ feet high! I tried not to look down.

The skyline was absolutely breathtaking!

Towards the end of the 10 minute ride, they took us down to be dipped into the water.

I was SO glad the sharks weren't really waiting for us.

We give parasailing a 10/10 experience. There was nothing scary about it and it was so relaxing and peaceful, much different than we expected!

After parasailing, we relaxed around the condo and swam at the beach and pool.

We then ended the night with putt-putt, one of Cody and I's favorite past times! I also got to wear my new comfy outfit Gigi got me for my birthday for the trip! I loved it so much!

We chose pirate island putt-putt, we loved this location so much! Each of the 18 holes on the course was so incredibly interesting and challenging! Some had waterfalls, drops, and even some holes on the actual pirate ship! It was by far the best putt-putt place we have ever been to! We putt-putted for hours having an absolute blast! (and I won 😁).

My favorite color and Cody's.

So Friday morning I woke around 8:00am for my beach run!

Who needs music when you have the waves?! And when you overheat, jump in!! Best of all worlds!

After my run, Cody and I headed for breakfast and lunch in one, the Yard Milkshake Bar creation! We had to wait 2 hours which is BEYOND ridiculous considering we were at the door at the second of opening AT 10:00AM!!!😡😡 But the ice cream was so so good. I chose a custom creation of brownie and cake batter ice cream for the milkshake base, peanut butter dipped rim, sprinkles, whipped cream, butterfinger, and oreo balls. It was a DREAM! And yes you had better believe I ate the whole thing!! 😋😋

A close up of ice cream heaven. 

Cody went with a custom creation of the peanut butter brownie supreme. His was even better than mine! He devoured the entire thing too! I mean, seriously!! Check out that brownie on top!! :):) Amazing!

To walk off our ice cream food baby, we headed over to the pier on the boarder of Orange Beach. We immediately noticed the purple flag at the entrance (below) indicating dangerous marine life. 

We asked the lady up front and she said it always stays purple because there are sharks around 24/7 but that doesn't stop people from swimming close to the pier unfortunately. We were shocked hoping to see a shark ourselves! 

The pier wasn't as long as PCB's but it was still less crowded and awesome!

And guess what?!?! We did get to see a shark!!! Look closely at the 4 foot dark shadow in the water! There were 6 sharks with the little white jellyfish swimming around them (look close). People were indeed swimming 200 feet away without a care in the world. 

Look at the skyline view! I was pointing to our condo next to the tallest skyscraper hotel. 

The end of the pier. The ocean just goes on and on and on. It amazes me that we know more about outer space than the ocean but I would believe it.

After walking on the pier, I was DYING to walk underneath like the insta pictures circling social media lately. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The song Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat was playing in my head the whole time. 

It was 20 degrees cooler down here too! 

Don't worry, I didn't get any deeper than this because of the fish hooks and sharks. And it's against the law...literally. 

Paradise!

We spent the rest of the day at the beach, enjoying my new bathing suit, meaning every word of it 😅.

Our last full day, Saturday. We sure made the most of our day! I started out at 8:30am with a very nice long beach run. I could just run forever on the sand!

The sand 😍😍😍, the beach reflects my soul, peace.

Then Cody and I headed to a local breakfast joint that served beignets and stuffed french toast! It was so amazing!

I literally ate this entire plate! So delicious!

After breakfast we spent as much time as possible on the beach. I snapped this little video of Cody at total peace. He was in his happy place.

Finally the ocean was calm, clear, and *mostly jellyfish free!

Breathtaking! God's creation is so marvelous!

I also spend the last part of the day FINALLY learning how to skim board and then perfecting it! I embedded this video but I have been trying to get it to work. I hope it plays for you guys!

We ended the evening with a swim in the pool and a new movie I had bought prior to the trip and snuggling on the couch.

The next morning I woke up to the view of the ocean for the last time for a good while. 

Cody and I were so sad to leave our vacation and get back to reality but this trip left us feeling new and fresh, much more able to face going back home. We always have so much fun together and I cherish that about our marriage and relationship so much. Going back home meant that Cody is back into the second week of his next online class (yes he was still having to do school work on vacation, poor guy) full swing and there would be much less time again for "us". College, graduate studies, etc, sucks. Too bad its is 100% necessary and needed nowadays......and it is important 🙄. 

But now we are excitedly saving up our money for our house, a dog, buying Cody a bigger truck one day, a Hawaii babymoon and of course the most important part, our 2-3 kids. HAWAII!!! I have been dying to visit my whole life! I WILL go there! So we have lots to look forward to and don't even mind that we won't see another beach until 3 years from now on our babymoon *Lord willing. Until then, here's to life, family, and so much happiness :). Life is good!

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn

8-5-18