Dilettante goes to Destin: we're here!

It's fall break week for our school district.  That means one thing:  girls gone south.  We headed out yesterday as soon as the dismissal bell rang.  Traffic was lighter than past years on I-65, and we made great time; under 8 hours including a stop in Birmingham for dinner and Montgomery for gas.

It struck me today this is the sixth year swimmer girl and I have made fall break into a girls' getaway:

• 2006, swimmer girl was 11 and we took Disney World by storm, just mother and daughter.
• 2007 found me just a few days after hernia surgery when a dear friend bundled me in her car before dawn and hauled us and our daughters to Fort Walton for the most incredible week of healing and relaxation I could have imagined.
• 2008 was a repeat to Fort Walton, but this time with a two-car caravan and more girls - fun, fun, fun was had by all!
• 2009 was a bit of a departure - swimmer girl and I headed west to visit my parents after my dad's shoulder surgery.  We also managed to explore every square inch of the venerable Country Club Plaza, Kansas City's claim to shopping fame as the oldest shopping center designed for access by automobile.
• 2010 was back to Florida, this time to Panama City Beach.  We arrived just as the bikers were leaving after a week-long ride-in.  Perfect timing.  Our group consisted of another mom and me, plus three teenage girls, a preteen girl and a boy.  (Yes, we will allow some boys, sometimes.)  Great trip and good memories!
• 2011 finds us in Destin, and our group is smaller:  just swimmer girl, one of her oldest and best friends, and me.

Next year will be her last year of high school and our seventh and final fall break, unless her college has a longer fall break than MTSU's.  We plan to do it up right with a different destination - we'll see how it all works out.

But for now, we're glad we are here safe and sound; the condo is lovely and the gulf and pure white beach is a quick jaunt through the complex and across Hwy. 98.  (We made the trek as soon as we threw our bags in the condo.  It was after midnight, but we just had to touch the beach and listen to the surf pound under its canopy of stars before turning in for the night.)

The weather forecast is sunny and warm all week, and we're anxious to get settled in and on the beach as soon as possible today.  My wish is for safe travels and a memorable time to everyone heading somewhere this fall break.  And good luck to Derek Dooley and the boys today - Go Big Orange!

Happy Saturday,