Oh, I am a ruined woman!
Mexico Beach, Florida has ruined me.
I have heard rumors that there are beaches more beautiful than the ones in California but, up until this weekend, I had never experience such a marvel myself. I think I secretly figured that all beaches are created equal and the rest of the hype was marketing. I was so wrong!
After a “joyous” 5-hour drive, we arrived at Mexico Beach just in time to catch the end of the sunset. It was breath-taking. We found ourselves splashing in the water…in the MUCH warmer water than I had anticipated…and we hadn’t even changed into bathing suits or even brought in our bags. Yes, the sand is soft and white. Yes, the water is clear. And yes, the Gulf water is much warmer than the Pacific.
Our hotel was right on the oceanfront and we had quick and easy access to the water. Ahhhh! On Saturday morning, we were out in the water swimming before breakfast. The waves were so mild, and the water so warm, that we felt we could float and splash around out there for hours. We were having so much fun. Well, all of us except Sienna. Somehow that poor child is traumatized by the ocean and has a deep-rooted fear of waves and hates the sound of the waves crashing. She spent most of Saturday crying and finally on Sunday (after I basically threatened her) she sat, grudgingly, on the sand and played. As you can see, Grant had no qualms about it…
To sum up the whole weekend, we swam, we ate, we swam, we ate and then we went to bed. It was glorious!
For all the “nature” (my term) we saw over the weekend, you’d think we’d arrived at Galapagos Islands. We saw fish jumping out of the water, schools of fish swimming around us, a gazillion different types of birds, someone caught a puffer fish right in front of us, we witnessed a dolphin jumping out of the water less than 100 feet ahead of us, and I can proudly say, I have gone swimming with sting rays. Ok, it wasn’t exactly swimming at that point, it was more like running/swimming as fast as possible in the other direction, but I’m happy to say that I survived and it was hopefully an experience I will never have again. Still, it was kinda cool to be so close to them.
It was the perfect way to kick-off the summer. We were happy to our core. The weather was perfect, the beach wasn’t too crowded, the sand was so soft, the water so warm (have I mentioned that the water was warm?!). And the sunsets…oh, the sunsets…
By the end of the trip, I told Bill we need to retire to Mexico Beach. Sorry, Chicago.
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