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The Family Beach Vacation of a Lifetime
The beach offers a sense of wonder to young and old.
Last week my family and I traveled to Orange Beech, Ala., on the Gulf Coast for a week-long vacation and I thought our readers might enjoy a little vicarious beach time.
It was a wonderful trip with plenty of time in the waves, shared with my five kids and nine grandchildren — one of the few times we’ve ever been all together in one spot. We observed dolphins and stingrays (close to the beach) and feasted on Red Snapper and oysters purchased at the local fresh fish market. Family members who turned up their nose at raw oysters had good old macaroni and cheese to sustain them.
We also continued a family tradition producing a video that was generated by a conversation my son and I had with my daughter on our way down to to the Gulf Coast.
Annabelle is going to be an Ole Miss freshman in the fall, probably majoring in english, but she has always been keenly interested in the sea and especially dolphins. Her heart-felt comment that dolphins are the closest thing to humans on the planet resulted in a few silly jokes and the plot line for our D-grade family video — “Revenge of DolphMan.” Your imagination will have to fill in the crazy plot.
Hope you enjoy these images of one of the best vacations of my life. Perhaps most of you have been to the beautiful Gulf Coast. I hope these images offer some pleasant nostalgia or perhaps the motivation to pack it up for the beach.
Slightly overcast in July but plenty of beach revelers on Orange Beach, Ala. All photos by Andy Knef, HottyToddy.com editor.
A paraglider an sunset.
The grandkids couldn’t get enough time in the turquoise water.
Lovely aerobatics from our friends on the beach.
Yes, we know you’ve done this.
One of the more photogenic members of the family.
My son and daughter-in-law planned the whole trip. They did good!
Ole Miss-bound with her nephew.
Cousins with not a care in the world — just a little tired.
Toes in the sand but no pina colada — yet.
Also photogenic.
Skies are threatening.
Did I say she was photogenic?
My lovely daughter-in-law is about to present me with No. 10.
Loving the beach with their cousins and siblings.
Looking toward Gulf Shores.
My daughter and son-in-law share the ocean with their family.
A short walk to the beach from the house.
Andy Knef is editor of HottyToddy.com. Andy can be contacted about this story at Andy.knef@hottytoddy.com
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| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
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| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
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| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
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| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
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| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | 6:00 PM TBA |
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| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
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