God's Playground

We recently returned from a fantastic family vacation to St. Simon's Island.  There were so many things that made this trip extra special;   I feel inclined to mention just a few, and then let the pictures tell the rest of the story.  A huge debt of gratitude to my friend Nancy, who let us stay in her beautiful place.  After my Mom died, Nancy pretty much insisted that we use her condo.  She knew how much we loved St. Simon's  (having been there many times in the past) and how a trip to the beach would be good for our family.   And boy was she right!  Maybe my Mom had a hand in all this as well, as she was a big proponent of family vacations.

We also were blessed with visits from family and friends.  My childhood friend Amy, and her family, (who live in Atlanta) were able to join us on both weekends.  In addition, Brian's brother Tim, (who lives in Jacksonville) came up for a day.  What a blessing to be surrounded by family and friends in such a beautiful place. 

It was hard to narrow down the 650 pictures, but here are the ones that I thought were the best...

Our First Day on the Beach

Lucy experiencing the ocean for the first time.

She LOVED it!

Can you tell?

I really get to play with all this sand?

 Lucy loved playing with her friends Emma and Abby.

Dada had as much fun as the girls.

Taking it all in...

How cute are they?

Whose having more fun--the adult or the children?

More time on the beach...

It was a bit overcast, but that didn't stop the fun!

Lucy loved looking for shells.

Hanging out on the gorgeous balcony.

This was our view....breath-taking.

We didn't spend much time in the pool since the ocean was our backyard.

Looking for more shells...

Jeckyll Island

We took a day trip to Jeckyll Island and visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

Lucy loved it!

They nurture sick sea turtles back to health and then release them into the ocean.

Jekyll Island was beautiful....a nature's preserve
with very little development or commercialization.

The beaches were pristine.

It was like we had our own private beach.

We found a great place to eat right on the water.

The trees were unbelievable.

 The Village of St. Simon's 

Dada was getting a little punchy after too much shopping.

On the pier, checking out the boats...

A park on the ocean...what could be better!?!

Lucy loves swinging... no matter where we are!

Our Dolphin Watching Trip

Lucy was so excited!  Look at her face!

It got a bit windy...

And the lull of the engine put our girl right to sleep...but not for long!

There they are! 

As the captain told us, the dolphins love playing with the boats!

Nothing like some oreo ice cream on a hot day!

These butterflies were all over the island.

A morning walk on the beach.

The girls are back for our second weekend!

They loved playing with the sand crabs.

If I had to guess, she is either yelling "Abby" or "Emma"... "come here!"

Our last night on the beach... we stayed out until well after dusk.

The lighting was exquisite with the sun going down.

The girls had so much fun!

Lucy was a bit tired by this point.

The gang... Thanks to everyone for joining us.  The memories will last a lifetime.