The Gulf Schorr Family Vacation has come and gone and we had a wonderful time! We have tons of pictures and amazing memories from our trip and wanted to share some of our favorites. Bailey had a lot of firsts - first family vacation, first plane ride, first time at the beach, first dip in the ocean (Gulf), first fresh seafood and many more and we were able to capture most of them! Warning - there are lots of photos below (don't act all surprised) that may drum up a bit of jealousy so proceed with caution!
Gulf Schorr Family Vacation 2016
With a well rested Bailey and Mom and Dad running on an hour and a half of sleep, we made it to the airport with plenty of time for our first flight...a little too early as security hadn't clocked in yet. But no worries, Bailey can totally entertain herself and Mom was prepared with a lot of backup activities (thanks Grandma for the Princesses).
Reppin' the Jayhawks for our travel adventure
Let's get this show on the road
Future's so bright
We were one of the last to board so Bailey got to wave to everyone as we made it to our seats which helped loosen everyone up. We were prepared for endless activities (thanks Pinterest!) but Bailey nursed herself to sleep before we were up in the air and was out until just before landing - hooray!
Tula for the win!
#wokeuplikethis
Where are we?
We had a quick stop in Dallas before our next board and were just getting ready for takeoff when the co-pilot announced the pilot had an emergency and we had to wait for a back up. Waiting on a hot plane in Dallas with a one year old isn't ideal, but luckily we had some handy animal flashcards and the Pout Pout Fish to keep us entertained...we may have had to apologize to a few around us because when she sees photos of animals (mostly dogs) she squeals (loudly) in delight...fortunately everyone had a sense of humor. After about an hour or so, the new pilot was ready and we were off. And as soon as the wheels came up, Bailey was out for round two and awoke about 5 minutes before we landed (success!)
Dallas to Mobile...no problem!
Woah...we moved again!
We were so proud of our awesome little traveler and with the flying behind us we were ready to hop on the ferry and head to the beach house! Or so we thought. What happened next was a series of events that seemed to come straight from a National Lampoon's flick. We got held up for an hour in the car rental line and found out we missed the last ferry for the day and Brian called his sister Erin to check on the traffic coming in and they had been parked on the road for almost 2 hours driving into Gulf Shores due to a fire. Then the big one...we called Grandma and Grandpa Schorr to find out that the van had broken down in a small town in Mississippi and they were stranded with Granny, puppy Nala and all their stuff without access to a rental car because everyone closed early on Saturday! Fortunately they broke down right next to the only restaurant in miles and were out of the tropical storm (oh yeah...forgot to mention the torrential downpours) and extreme humidity, being tended to by some of the nicest people in the South. Left without options, we plugged in the restaurant's address and began heading their way and had to make the call to Aunt Erin and Uncle Tyler (who had just gotten past all the standstill traffic and had been on the road for over 12 hours already) to tell them to turn around and meet us because we couldn't fit everyone and the luggage in our small SUV.
We didn't get to far before a huge storm came through and had us parked for almost an hour before the roads were safe enough to drive on, added to that a one year old that was definitely over being strapped in for travel and it took us about 2-1/2 hours to get to them. We pulled up to a line of luggage and an exhausted Grandpa outside the restaurant when he informs us that puppy Nala (who is very skittish) escaped from her leash and had been gone for over an hour in the woods/pond area right next to the interstate. The wonderful owners of the restaurant were setting plans in motion to retrieve Nala and keep her safe if we couldn't find her before we left, but we all knew we weren't leaving until we found her. Just before Erin and Tyler pulled up, Grandpa heard a faint howl coming near the pond and we all rushed over to see if we could find her. With Bailey in the Tula (babywearing for the win!) we manned the phones and watched Dad and Grandpa muck through the pond and blackberry bushes to try and find her. She was spotted just as Tyler and puppy Avery came to join the rescue. Erin followed in the truck and we tried to draw her out of the tree/bush covered pond area while the boys were knee deep in the muck and mud. After several minutes (which seemed like hours) Nala was spotted and Tyler was able to get close enough to her when a frog leaped out of the water into her face and froze her enough for him to be able to grab her. (Victory!) All three of the men trudged up the hill, covered in mud and sweat, bleeding from the tears from the blackberry brambles with sweet little Nala looking exhausted and a bit relieved.
We got the vehicles loaded up and hit the road, Nala in our car fast asleep in the backseat, thankful to all be together and ready to finally get to the beach. Bailey had been such a trooper for the majority of the trip, but right before we got onto the interstate to get us into Gulf Shores she had an epic meltdown because somehow during the ride back she had dumped an entire water bottle over her and she decided she had had enough of being soaking wet. We had to take a brief pit stop as the rain kept coming, but were back on the road with a full and sleepy baby in no time so that we could finish the 3 hour trek back in relative peace. We were so relieved to finally pull into the beach house in Fort Morgan just before 10pm that we decided to forgo cleanup until we grabbed a bite (and a cocktail or 2) at Tacky Jack's just up the street. Alas, it was not meant to be as the restaurant closed at 10pm and we were not allowed in the bar or even on the premises with anyone under 21 (wait - we saw Sweet Home Alabama and there was definitely a baby in the bar scene!) so we had to leave with a rambunctious toddler in tow. Fortunately the bartender saw that I was desperate for a few minutes outside of the car, so he let Bailey romp around in the sand outside for a few minutes. We headed back to the beach house, ate a quick sandwich (thank you Grandma and Grandpa for packing deli meats!), showered and slept harder and more soundly than we have in years.
Two exhausted travelers
With that comedy of errors behind us, the vacation officially began on Sunday morning and was blissfully relaxing from that moment on and we soaked up every moment starting with Bailey's first splash in the ocean!
First dip
So cool
Mesmerized
Wait...there's sand
Found our happy place
She loved the waves crashing up around her and the gentle pull of the sand along her feet. She could have stayed in the water for hours but the surf was a little rough at first and the endless sand was calling her name! She is definitely a beach baby and could play in the sand for hours - throwing it in the air, digging her hands in and dropping fistfuls, building (well, more like destroying) sandcastles, burying Avery (or trying to) and even rolling around and trying to swim in it. We could have sat and watched her for hours...oh wait, we did, and loved every minute of it!
Patient Avery
Sandy naps are the best
Throwing sand makes us so happy
Making an Avery sand castle
One of my favorite photos
Sand angels
Swimming in the sand
Taking a break from the beach, we decided to steal Grandpa and explore the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo - The Little Zoo that Could. Rumor was that we could get in and play with some of the animals and it is one place that the Schorrs had never visited in all their family trips to the Gulf. And probably the biggest attraction (at least to me) was the sloths! You may not know this about me, but I love sloths...I think they are the cutest things - they sleep all the time (jealous!), have a constant lazy smile and have some of the cutest babies ever (besides ours, of course). I can probably count on one of my hands how many times I have been truly giddy about something to where I almost cannot contain my excitement (meeting Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith when I was working in radio would be another) and the anticipation of getting to pet and feed a sloth is right up there at the top! I had even researched places in South America that we could visit to go to a sloth sanctuary, so when this opportunity came up Brian knew it could not be missed! And it lived up to my excitement and more, minus the mini meltdown Bailey had when we told her she couldn't kiss and grab the sloth's face, but they were so adorable and perfect!
My new bestie, Sylvia
Sid
I can't even!
The rest of the zoo was even better than we anticipated! There was so much to see and do in such a small area and we were able to feed some of the animals which made Bailey's day! She is truly an animal lover at heart and wanted to see everything there as she squealed in delight! She even got to pet some kangaroos, a silky chicken, a goose, a goat and a 2 month old bunny! She was in heaven!
We got really excited about the dinosaur statues
Our little Alabama boyfriend
How cool is he?
I need more food
We really loved this guy
My favorite picture
He loved Dad's legs
We got to take home a Sid of our own
We did some sightseeing, ate a lot of fresh seafood (Bailey loves crab, shrimp and crawfish!), fished, chased Avery around the house, enjoyed beautiful walks on the beach and cooled off with a few sweet treats. It was nice to explore and live without a schedule for a week and we were able to capture a few of our favorite moments.
Dinner at the Beach Club
Erin caught the first fish!
Tyler the second fish
Grandpa caught a whopper!
Beach snuggles with Grandpa
Our little community
Our Tacky Jack's offering
A joke that no one got but us :)
So proud of herself
Dad finally caught one
Perfect except for the creepy mustache
Trying not to laugh and stay awake
Ice cream...out
It was like our own private beach
Right after we saw dolphins
Dad photo bomb
Playing with Avery
Our community
View from the deck (Bay view)
Other view from the same spot on the deck(Gulf)
Gulf fishing
We love Aunt Erin
Water sling for the win!
So excited to see this dolphin statue!
Evenings on the beach in Fort Morgan were so peaceful. Everything is so quiet, the sunsets are gorgeous and we wanted to capture a few shots of the beauty along with our little beauty to look back and remember it by. Here are some of our favorite shots:
My heart
Trouble
Selfie
It seemed that Alabama wasn't quite ready to let us go, so with a few delays and a cancellation out of Dallas, we got booked at a hotel in Mobile and stayed an extra night. Luckily the Mobile airport had lots to do and new friends for Bailey and our hotel had a pool! We were definitely ready to be home by Sunday and had smooth flights and a happy baby for the rest of the trip!
Our new friends Tucker and Eli
Pool ready
How we all felt at the end of the day
Kansas City, here we come
Bailey even had her own seat on the way back!
Overall, I think my favorite moments were sitting on the beach, listening to the waves crash in, enjoying conversations with family and watching Bailey discover and enjoy the sand and the surf. We are so blessed to have had a wonderful family, despite a few early hiccups, and have definitely found our happy place and look forward to more vacations and adventures in the future!
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