As we headed south down I-55 early on day 2 of our family roadtrip the Red Hot Chili Peppers seemed to vocalize our trip on the radio with their song "Soul to Squeeze".
"Where I go I just don't know
I got to got to gotta take it slow.
When I find my peace of mind
I'm gonna give you some of my good time."
Actually, we had a fair idea of where we were going thanks to Garmin Dave on our GPS. I like Garmin Dave better than the generic GPS voices because, instead of saying "recalculating!" when we get off course, Dave says "OK, I'm trying to figure this out . . ."
Last February I booked a place for us to stay at Vacation Rental By Owner (vrbo.com). I've done it numerous times before, each time with excellent results. Type in what you are looking for (3 bedrooms and 3 baths, on the beach) and where you want to stay and vrbo.com will show you what is available. I found, and booked, a place in Orange Beach, Alabama that seemed to fit our needs perfectly.
Only one problem - though we were supposed to have 2 reserved parking places, after I paid-in-full I got an email from the owner advising me that he had decided to sell one of the parking spots. Hence, we would have ONE reserved spot and one in general parking which included the Walmart parking lot across the street. When I protested, instead of saying he would knock a little off the price, the owner advised me he would send my money back and cancel the reservation. Not the outcome I wanted. I finally agreed to take the condo with one reserved parking spot though I never heard back from the owner confirming that.
Thus, as we neared our destination, in the back of my mind there was a nagging worry that someone else would be occupying the condo I had reserved 6 months earlier.
As we pulled into the parking lot I was relieved to find two non-reserved parking spots available. Now if we could just get into our condo. . . With 8 people waiting behind me, I keyed the combination into the lockbox on the condo door that held the key to let us in. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing, again. Then my son tried. Nothing. Then he tried again . . . and the lockbox popped open and the key appeared! Inside we went to find things exactly as advertised on vrbo.com (with the exception of the second reserved parking spot), including a balcony overlooking the beach. Which is exactly where we went next, restless 2-year-old and restless 4-year-old both decked out in floaties.
Warm water, white sand - and a Walmart right across the street! "Who could ask for more?" I thought to myself, just about the time a large wave picked up my four-year-old grandson and propelled him tumbling shoreward. His tears added to the already salty water. Welcome to the wild, warm, wonderful, unpredictable waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
"Dad, when we get back to shore I'm going to show you what that wave did to my face!" said my grandson. A minute later all was forgiven as a suddenly wiser and more wary four-year-old made peace with the roiling waters. And then went build a sandcastle, a considerably less hazardous endeavor for him than riding the big waves of the Gulf.
Seven days in paradise.
I got to got to gotta take it slow.
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