Gulf Shores

MeMe and Granddaddy did it again -- they planned and booked another wonderful beach trip for all of us siblings and cousins to enjoy this summer. But this time, they really outdid themselves! As much as we enjoyed Diamond Beach in Galveston last summer, we agreed as a group that we should try a nicer beach for this summer's trip. After much planning and research, we settled on Orange Beach in Gulf Shores. My mom rented a pair of condos next door to each other at a really cool resort, and we ended up having the best vacation!

The beach. Absolutely gorgeous!

First off, the resort. We stayed at Caribe Resort in Orange Beach. It looked very similar to Diamond Beach with expansive pool areas, water slides, and a lazy river. But it went a lot further than that -- there were putting greens, 3 indoor pools, a dock for fishing, and so much more. It was HUGE, too, and almost a little overwhelming. We never thought we'd want to leave the resort.

One of the 3 towers of the Caribe resort. Every unit had massive balconies and huge living areas with top-of-the-line kitchens. Perfect!

But the main reason for the 9+ hour drive to Gulf Shores was to enjoy the beach. I've always said the long drive was never worth it, but this year I am taking that all back. Maybe since my kids are old enough to tolerate the drive better, it just didn't seem that bad at all. And once we saw the beach and stepped into that white sugar sand, we were hooked! We made sure to take some cousin and family photos with the beautiful scenery.

MeMe, Granddaddy, and their 7 grandkids!

The Morgan cousins on the beach.

Connor and Kaitlynn

MeMe and Granddaddy

Jeb and his 3 girls.

Jeb's family, love!

Jeb and Alli, always so photogenic!

MeMe and Granddaddy.

My brother Jeb and me. So sweet :-)

Michelle and Chris's family (missing Caleb), great photo!

Chris and Michelle, another great-looking couple!

Michelle and her girls.

And one more thing about the beach. I have always loved traveling for beach vacations. I can never get enough of the soothing sound of the waves and the stunning view of the ocean. But I usually don't really want to deal with all the sand and mess that going to the beach requires. Especially with kids, it makes for a sandy, wet mess.

I take all that back, too. This beach was so wonderful, I didn't mind the sand and mess at all! In fact, weeks later my car still has sand in the back and I don't mind one bit! :-)

Connor must feel the exact same way I've always felt about beaches, because when everyone arrived at the resort and announced it was time to head out to the beach to explore, he didn't want anything to do with it. He said the beach was dirty and stinky (yes and yes, at Galveston this summer) but I assured him this beach was different. He didn't believe me at first but was quickly won over.

First trip to the beach. Didn't take long before he was won over, too.

The cousins played so well together. They miss each other so much between our visits!

Fun in the sun and sand.

Ryah and Makenna.

Marissa with a little crab.

MeMe and Kaitlynn kept getting swept away by the waves.

Connor.

Ryah.

Renee.

Kaitlynn.

Granddaddy and MeMe.

Madison.

Uncle Chris.

Makenna.

Gracie.

Uncle Ben.

Aunt Charlotte, with our resort buildings in the background.

Connor.

Makenna.

MeMe.

What did Uncle Jeb catch?

Kaitlynn.

Proof I was at the beach, too!

HUGE sand crab the kids caught on their own!

Look at that little guy!

You get one guess to figure out what Kaitlynn was attempting to do. She just does not grasp the concept of peeing in the ocean, ha!

As much fun as the beach was, we all really enjoyed the resort amenities, too. It was always a tough choice to figure out what we wanted to do: pools or beach. (The beach usually won!) But the cousins ended up loving every aspect of the resort. I think they ended up spending the most time at the lazy river. It was very shallow -- only 1.5 feet deep -- so it was a great and safe activity for them to enjoy while the adults relaxed.

Lined up at the lazy river.

Look how cool this pool area is, so much fun!

Connor enjoys the waterslide.

Now it's Kaitlynn's turn.

The obligatory cousin photo overlooking at the resort overlooking the ocean.

Time to enjoy the hot tub! The kids loved the indoor pools!

MeMe and Aunt Alli at one of the indoor pool areas.

Besides the beach and resort activities, another thing we all enjoyed together was meal times! (Of course!) With a group as big as ours (8 adults and 9 kids), it was just way easier to cook and stay at our condos to eat instead of trying to eat out with all of us. We each took turns cooking and it worked out perfectly. We ate so well, there was never a shortage of yummy food.

Granddaddy samples Renee's rice krispie treats. They were seriously the best I've ever had!

Ice cream treats, our one time eating outside the condo.

And of course, our visit wouldn't be complete without finding a way to include some golf.

Granddaddy and Connor enjoyed a round of golf together.

Granddaddy says Connor had 1 good hole -- the beach had worn these 2 out!

Enjoying the putting green at the resort.

Connor wasn't the only one who was worn out! This girl lasted until the last day without a daytime nap, but then she finally gave in!

Our vacation at Caribe in Gulf Shores was over before we were ready. But we said goodbye to our cousins and vowed to come again next summer. It was such an amazing vacation all around.

On the drive home, we stopped at the famous Lambert's Café where they throw you your dinner rolls from across the room. This was such a hit; we'll be adding this to our list for next summer as well!

Lamberts Restaurant. We all caught our rolls!!