The Zyriek Zoo: The beach!!!

Our annual trip to the beach was back on this year after having stayed away last year due to the oil spill. The girls so missed it and have been counting down until we get in the car and are beachbound. We left mid-day on Friday and arrived in Fairhope, AL that night. Caroline kept calling it Iowa and I really have no idea why!!

We got up on Saturday morning and went down to the pier and looked out at the water. The town of Fairhope is beautiful and according to Gary has become quite the retirement place. Lots of cute shops but none opened until 10am so my bank account was safe!!

We arrived at the beach club around noon. We were not able to check in but they gave us passes to the clubhouse so we could change clothes and enjoy the beach and pools for the afternoon while waiting on our condo to be cleaned and ready. What a great idea!!

Our days consisted of beach time primarily in the morning and pool time in the afternoon. The girls LOVED it and it was very relaxing. We went into Gulf Shores for dinner and to enjoy a night at the
Track which is a lot like Putt Putt with mini golf, go karts, bumper boats and the infamous Sky Coaster. The Sky Coaster is a super attraction (hence the huge price tag) where you are strapped in, raised 110 feet in the air and then allowed to free fall and swing back and forth until you stop. Gary immediately said he was going on it and then kept telling the girls they should too. Luckily Caroline is over 42 inches tall which is the lower height restriction so she was in and Anna was as well. Very proud of Anna as she is not that much of a daredevil but is willing to try just about anything. They were hilarious on the ride and kept yelling to me while I watched. Only 3 could go on the ride at a time, so a perfect chance for me to be the photographer!!

On Sunday we met Gary's cousin Ned for breakfast in town and he took us out on his dad's boat. What a great time for all of us. The girls had never been on a boat before. We rode around for about 2 hours and saw porpoises, stingray, lots of huge jellyfish and several other types of sealife. The girls really enjoyed it and it was nice to catch up with Ned.

Our other days were at the resort and were very enjoyable and relaxing. We did sneak in some shopping at the Foley outlets...even Gary managed to shop a bit and find some deals. Such a great end to our summer. Once we arrived back home the girls had only 4 days until school started. Back to the routine of school. We will hopefully never miss a summer at the beach again!!