Have courage to be together. Getting away doesn't mean spending money.

Our family just returned from a wonderful vacation at Gulf Shores, Alabama. Kathleen made all the arrangements, invited our great Texas friends and basically took care of everything while I worked. I jokingly, but reverently told my coworkers that all I had to do was point the nose of our minivan in whichever direction the Garmin Nuvi GPS indicated. It was all taken care of.

While on vacation our first two days were spent catching up with our friends and taking the short walk to the beach. The weather was beautiful and the sand, powder sugary. These first days were enjoyable and low stress. We just had to figure out what we wanted to eat.

We stayed at the Lighthouse condominiums with a terrific view of the gently rolling waves. From our eight story perch, we could hear the waves and the sounds of laughter echoing up the terraces. The funny thing was what drew our children’s attention. It wasn’t the Gulf waters as much as the pool. Not even the outdoor pools called as strongly as the indoor pool; we could have stayed home to do that.

Soon, the waves and fun didn’t call as much as the tourist opportunities. Our first official outing took us to LuLu’s. This restaurant is owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister LuLu. It is entirely outdoors with some shading relieve us from the 90 degree temperature. However, the biggest draw to two of my children was an elevated walkway towering three stories above a sand pit. This attraction featured a metal structure where harnessed visitors could walk obstacles up to 40 feet off the ground.

Unfortunately I have a fear of heights that my nine year and six year old children just didn’t comprehend. I thought I would have a break since my four year old was too young. However, my loving wife decided she would make the “sacrifice” and stay behind with her.

My fearless children didn’t realize that even though I’ve jumped out of airplanes and rappelled from helicopters in the Army that I have a deep respect for heights. Being clipped to a winding overhead track while escorting my adventurous young ones was almost too much. They did a terrific job while I fearfully followed.

Here are some other great beach vacation attractions:
Visit the Pensacola Naval Air Station Aviation Museum
Take the glass bottom dolphin tour
Eat at some of the fantastic restaurants
Shop at the outlets
Speed away in go carts and kiddy rides

When we returned home a week later, I asked my children, “what did you like best about the vacation”. They mentioned the beach, the pool, friends and family. However, they didn’t mention any of the attractions my wife and I thought were “must see”. It seems that just as our past adventures demonstrated. It’s the togetherness that counts and what you do while together. Don’t worry about the tourist attractions or spending a lot of money. Just have fun and be together.