On the first day at Saint George Island, we were under a tornado watch.  We got a tornado app that started an alarm if there was a tornado.  Right after we tested the alarm, Ma said, “ohmygod! this could really happen! we need a plan!”.  We also put together a ditch bag with the gadgets and wallets.  Our plan was to hunker down in the campground bathroom shower if there was a tornado.   The next day the tornado watch was lifted.

The rest of the days were sunny and beautiful.  We spent most of our time there walking and playing on the beach.  We spent one day with some people we met there.  With them, we threw at least a hundred starfish that were stranded on the beach back into the ocean.  It was a great day.

My other favorite day there was when we walked five miles to the end of the island.  There were thousands of dead starfish and huge, beautiful shells.  While Ma, Pa, and Little Kid played and picnicked high up on the beach, I piled my favorite shells down by the water.  After awhile, I packed up a few great shells and a giant dead starfish, and we walked the five miles back down the beach to the campground.

Our first day at Grayton Beach in Florida, was our very best day.  We started the day with a long beach walk.  I found many shells, including four delicate sand dollars (three survived the journey back to the RV), and three crab molt shells.  Two were red and orange, and one was shades of purple.  We decided to walk back via road/town.  Since my shoes were filled with shells, I walked home bare foot.  My feet got very sore.

The rest of our days there were not very exciting, as it was rainy and gray all day every day.  During our week there,  it seemed like we got more rain than Tucson gets in a year! On the last day, there was a break in the rain, and we decided to go to the beach.  Pa stayed  home to play his world-conquering video game.  At the beach, I went half wading, half swimming, and Little kid had an accidental swim. We were very cold, so we had a long hot shower back at the campground.

Today we saw the first alligator of our trip, at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Ocean Springs, Mississippi …

In an attempt to expose the kids to some contemporary art, we visited the sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

This was one of the sculptures we saw …

Little kid pointed at it and said, “that’s the tushie where the poop comes out” ….

On a classier note, here is a sweet family photo …

I love New Orleans! Spent a super fun day exploring the city. It is a great city to explore on foot; and the people are laid back and welcoming.

We visited two parks (City Park and Audubon); rode the street car to the French Quarter, where we wandered around Jackson Square looking at the local artists and fortune tellers; strolled along the Mississippi; walked down Royal Street, where we enjoyed the street musicians; made our way down Bourbon Street (which was not so family friendly :)); took another street car to the Garden District, where we gawked at the enormous homes; wandered around Carrolton, where we saw Tulane and a craft fair; and finally took a bus back to the car.

And, since a trip to NOLA would not be complete without beignets, we had a yummy snack before heading back across the river to our campground…