Flippy Floppies in FL and SHARK!

Most people grow up taking family vacations. Well I am not most people. The first time I went to Gatlingburg was to State FFA Convention my freshmen year of high school and I have yet to go on "vacation" there. My parents are older and did the family vacation thing with my brother and sister. Now this is not a sob story of how deprive I was as a child (actually I was probably spoiled), but to show you why I love to travel. One place I always wanted to go was the beach. Now just to set things straight I have been to beaches before, but not one in Florida.

Heather, Me, Allie, and Lauren on the beach!

When the opportunity came about to take a short trip to the beach I jumped on it. Like most trips, it started out as a large number of folks going. It ended up being four of us girls, Lauren, Allie, Heather, and I. After I picked Heather up from the airport (she had been in China for 2 wks) we headed to Destin, Fl. We left around 11:00pm and got there around 7:30am. Yes, we are crazy!

Heather went straight from China to the beach!

The beach was beautiful and our condo (Thanks, Miss Beth!) was really nice. One thing that always scared me of the beach was not sharks or jellyfish, but being bored. I like adventure and doing/seeing new things. So, I packed books and magazines to occupy my time. The days went by fast on the beach and we always planned what we would get into at night. SEAFOOD was always top priority at night, then shopping, and going to AJ's- not always in that order.

Our waiter saved the day, by fixing Allie's car!

To fill my adventurous side, we decided to go parasailing. This was something that sounded fun and I hadn't ever done before. One problem, I am afraid of heights! Yikes! After being drug out of the car we got on a boat with crazy driving captain. The boat ride was exciting, until I realized I was going to go 800 ft in the air! Allie and I went up together and what a pair we were. She was afraid of going under the water and I was afraid of being in the air! Once strapped in and flying across the ocean, I was glad I had not chickened out. While we were up there we saw a shark, which was the coolest part about the parasailing trip.

Heather and Lauren didn't see the scary shark!

Being from Tennessee, we decided to go hunting the last night in Destin. There was no need to wear orange vests or take a shotgun. All you need is a cute little pink hardhat and a cup to go crab hunting. This was yet another new experience for me and it was a lot of fun. We had trouble finding the little crabbies at first. I am sure it had nothing to do with us laughing and being loud. Then we saw them everywhere and chased them all over the beach!

The killer crab we caught and me.

My first time at the beach is defiantly not going to be my last. I recommend taking along your best friends and don't be afraid to try new things!

Fun times!!!