"Getaway"...

The Grand Hotel, Point Clear, Alabama






Last Saturday evening, Jay and I made the ridiculously fast decision to leave the next day after church and drive down to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama...., right on the Bay. My parents were heading down there so that my dad could have a few business meetings and tie up some loose ends of planning, so we just hopped in their car and went with them. I never make decisions this quickly, but we both really needed to get away for a few days. Elijah Brooks needed a change of scenery too - more than we realized - so it was just such a blessing that my parents were heading down there and invited us to join them. Jay especially has been really feeling exhausted, both physically and mentally, and he just needed a break. I have been begging him for months to try to find some time to rest and re-energize, but there just wasn't a break in his schedule at all - and hasn't been for quite some time. But it was becoming apparent that if he was going to take a break, he was going to have to make it happen - or I was going to have to make it happen for him. I am so glad that we decided to do this - it was exactly what all of us needed. It was the "off season", so in many ways, we felt like we had the place to ourselves. The weather was perfect, though alittle cold for swimming, was absolutely wonderful for biking, playing in the sand, and just enjoying being outside. We have been going to The Grand Hotel as a family for many years, since every other year it is the place for the State Bar Annual Meeting. We will be going back in July for the actual meeting, along with my sister and her family. We love it! It is so family friendly, and beautiful. It is so classy, yet so comfortable at the same time. Such the perfect balance! I love some of the traditions that the hotel has every day of the year. Each afternoon at 4:00, several men dressed in civil war uniforms march around the premises playing drums, give a quick history of the hotel and how it was used as a hospital during the war, and then a cannon is fired out over the bay (just gun powder of course). After this happens, everyone is invited inside the hotel for "tea time" - which is just hot tea and freshly baked scones. I love traditions.

We had the most relaxing 3 days - no agenda whatsoever. I did brave the cold water with EB each day and was once again reminded of what us mom's do for our little ones! My body was numb for hours it seemed, and he of course, loved it. We went for several family bike rides, which was so relaxing. It's so much fun now that EB can ride a bike with training wheels. He was more than content to splash in the "zero entry" pool, dig in the sand by the Bay, ride his bike, and talk to every person he saw. Speaking of talking to people, we met a wonderful man while we were there, whose job was to drive people from point A to point B on a golf cart. He was from Africa and was very good at his job and made us feel so welcomed. We hopped on his golf cart and he asked Elijah Brooks his name, to which he responded, "Ewijah Bwooks Joye". And with that, he introduced himself as "Doo Doo". Yep, you read that right. The man's name was "DOO DOO"!!! We looked at his name tag just to make sure we had not misunderstood, and we had not. It was written just as plain as day, "DOO DOO". The funniest thing was when we got off of the golf cart, Elijah Brooks turned to me and said, "I want to tell Mr. DOO DOO thank you for driving me in the golf cart"! Of course, we all laughed so hard and he said it about 10 more times.

I enjoyed turning off my mind and not thinking about anything for 3 days. I have a very hard time decompressing and shutting off my brain, but I actually did it this time. I was proud of myself - and Jay was also able to relax as well. We made it a point not to talk about anything related to home or church.

We have been home a week and EB is still talking about the "hotel" and "going on a trip". He loved it! He has been talking about the "hotel" and recreating every single thing that he did. I guess he needed a break too. And tonight, I even heard a, "I want to tell Mr. Doo Doo thank you" again! He hasn't forgotten a thing :)

More pictures to come of the actual trip.