L.J. and I had the opportunity to join Mike in Destin for a Georgia State golf tournament. We planned for it to be a short family getaway with a bit of work thrown in, but it didn’t quite work out that way!
I envisioned pool and beach time with L.J. in the mornings with Mike joining us in the afternoon. Well, there was no pool, the weather was mostly terrible and the golf tournament schedule was rearranged due to severe storms Sunday morning.
We made the best of it. There were a few opportunities to go down by the water and L.J. seemed to really like the ocean. That’s encouraging for our upcoming trips to Hilton Head!
On Monday I had 12 hours to fill. That was really intimidating. I’m not a SAHM so I’m not used to having a full-day schedule at the ready. I had no clue how we were going to fill that much time without losing our marbles.
I discovered that the Gulf Breeze Zoo was 45 minutes away, so we decided to go check it out. It was well worth the drive! It was a smaller zoo, but had wide flat paths the whole way through and we got up close with many animals. It was absolutely perfect for toddlers, and quite enjoyable for adults too.
The petting zoo had pigs, goats, sheep, bunnies, lamas and giraffes. Yes, giraffes. L.J. and I got to feed giraffes – what a cool and unique experience!
This zoo was not like larger zoos in that there were large, simulated natural habitats for the animals. They were all in enclosures. It was a little sad to think about, but they all appeared well-cared for and had plenty of space to roam. The upside was that we were able to get very close to them!
It was fascinating to watch the monkeys manipulate their food, and the tiger was about two feet away from the path. I stood in front of the tiger enclosure just marveling at how close I was to a real tiger. Pretty cool.
L.J. was bummed that there was no elephant in residence, but he thought the lamas and giraffes were pretty neat.
We managed to fill up the rest of our afternoon, but were very glad when Mike called to say golf was done for the day!
Tuesday was the best day of the trip. Feeling a bit more confident after successfully filling our hours on Monday, I was ready for the day. The weather was supposed to be nice, Mike would be done by early afternoon…bring it, Tuesday! My positive, confident outlook lasted until 7:27 a.m.
That’s when L.J. began to lose it. By 8:00 I was ready to lose it. He was completely exhausted, so I put him in the car drove until he fell asleep. Is he 2 years or 2 months?!
Afterwards, we took a very long walk, during which I enjoyed a delicious white chocolate raspberry latte from Bad Ass Coffee. The weather was as perfect as weather gets. Clear blue skies, slight breeze, just-right temperature.
My positive, confident outlook returned on the walk – between 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. we accomplished: one car nap, purchasing seafood, coffee shop, walk, beach time, showering, two stores at the outlet mall and a short trip to the playground. Go mama, go! 
Checking out a new destination (Destin) was interesting, the zoo was cool and we had a great morning on Tuesday. I have to be honest, though. It was a lot of work. By the time we left I was frustrated and completely exhausted. L.J.’s age is hard enough, but throw in an unfamiliar environment, lack of naps and lack of Mike – it was not easy. I’m glad we had the chance to go, but I am even gladder our upcoming trips will include multiple extra sets of hands.
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