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Perdido Key, FL Vacation Recap

It's amazing how quickly a vacation flies by isn't it? Last Friday we hit the road and drove halfway to our destination, Perdido Key, FL. Perdido Key is to the east of Gulf Shores. We love the area because it's far quieter than the hustle and touristy bustle of Gulf Shores or Orange Beach.

We finished our drive Saturday morning arriving with plenty of time to enjoy the beach and ocean views and our first dinner of the week on the balcony watching the sun set.


Sunday morning I woke up around 6:45 ready to run. The only complaint about the area is in regards to running. The sun starts to rise around 5:30, so by 7 it's already fairly high in the sky. It's humid, I mean, it's near the beach after all. The temperatures were hovering around 68, which wouldn't be too bad if there was any shade to be found. There is none.

It's just over a mile on the main, very busy road to get to a neighborhood. The most dreaded parts of my run are on that main thoroughfare. But as soon as you get to the neighborhood, it's much less frightening, and more peaceful. The road has views of the old river and the bay, but it's hot. I gladly stopped a few times to enjoy the views, take some pictures, and try to recover.


After my 8-mile run, we packed up the cooler with lunch and beverages, toted all of our "stuff" down to the beach where we basically sat and read for 6 hours. Jason did do some fishing. Because we went so early in the season, it felt as if we had the beach to ourselves.


The next morning I decided to try to run down to Johnson Beach. I brought money with me, because in the past we went around 8-ish and they would charge you just to run through, so we never did. But I was kind of desperate for different running views. I got to the gate and it was closed.

They didn't open until 8 and it was about 7:15. Hmmmm, I looked around, saw no one and decided to run on through and see what happened. I felt like such a rebel. I am so glad I decided to take the chance. There were others there walking or riding bikes. I found a path through some wetlands along with a very flat, long stretch of road that felt like it was all mine.


I convinced Jason to run with me the next day and we ventured a little farther down the road, but didn't make it to the end. I did that on another run by myself.


The days were pretty much the same and included lots of beach time - Jason fishing, me reading. We did go have dinner with our dear friends who are retired in Perdido Key. They built a wonderful home that overlooks the bay. They are always such gracious hosts to us. A is a fantastic cook as well, so it's something we really look forward to each time we visit.


Our beach neighbors had a kayak and offered up to Jason to use. He got out there just in time to kayak with a pod of dolphins. Very very neat experience to say the least.


I finally made it to the end of Johnson Beach and stopped to enjoy the breeze (basically trying not to melt into a puddle).

My last run (Friday) was very tough. I struggled pretty much the entire time. So I tried to distract myself with the views.

Friday ended up being overcast, threatening rain. We spent the day on the balcony reading then decided to go for a stroll. Then we headed back over to our friends' home for another dinner. We also were able to visit with another couple who just happened to be in town as well. They were staying with D & A for two nights before staying with their family in Orange Beach. The timing just couldn't have been more perfect for us to all be together.

B & MJ are the parents of a dear friend who is no longer with us. I danced with her and that's how I met A, he was her ballet teacher throughout high school and then later mine when I moved to Little Rock. It's been years since we have all been together, so to say my heart was happy is an understatement. While I adore the beach, the lazy days, the sun and sand, the best part of this trip was spending time with precious friends.


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