from Pensacola

We drove to the Gulf Coast today. Dennis made it the entire way without any electronic entertainment--we are so pleased! For a while, it looked as if we were going to be doing the Gas Station Bathroom Tour of South Alabama, but he fell aleep for the last hour of the trip and we were able to get some good mileage in! The first thing we did? SWIMMING! Our room is very convenient to the pool, and Dennis spotted it right away and asked if we could swim. We had such fun playing in the pool!

We got all dry and decided to explore the area a bit. We drove to Pensacola Beach and walked along the boardwalk shops and along the docks at Quietwater Beach, taking a brief stroll in the sand along the water's edge. We shopped and then enjoyed some ice cream before driving over to the other side of the island to the real beach! Dennis played happily in the sand, covering himself and everything in his vicinity. We put our feet in the ocean and did our best to keep him from running straight into the sea. David found his first intact sand dollar (something I've never done), and Dennis built a sand volcano. And I discovered that baby powder really does take sand right off skin!

We had a late supper back in our hotel room and Dennis is settled in and watching one of his reading videos. A minute ago, he came to snuggle with me, and he asked "Daddy, could you please go and turn the TV just a little bit? So I can see it from here... Please--just go turn it!". David didn't go for it. We're going to try to turn in early so we might can make it to the Blue Angels practice session tomorrow morning. Very exciting.