Pensacola: Crab Island and The World's Finest Sand Castle

Our last day in Pensacola. And our very best day too. We filled it with fun adventures and my favorite...working together to create the very best castle this world has ever seen. But more on that later. 

First! 

We rented pontoon boats to ride out to the Emerald Coast. 

I'm so glad Mark was there to drive the boat. I would have had a panic attack after hearing their barebones driving instructions. Also...he's so cute.

The kids loved it!

The Flynns were racing us in their pontoon. Boys love speed!

We pulled up to a spot in the bay that had gorgeous clear water. We put down the anchors and the kids just started jumping out of the boat!!

Turns out it's only about 3 feet deep. Perfect for snorkeling and tossing a football.

We spent a couple hours there, then we went over to Crab Island to do some more snorkeling. There are thousands of gorgeous shells there...each with a crab inside. It's fun to snorkel and check out the shells. Every once in a while you can find one without a tenant. Or maybe you think you found one until you give it to your wife to hold and the crab pops out and pinches her fingers. Ouch!

There were tons of fish swirling about our feet. I thought they were so cute. But then they started to bite and I didn't feel such loving feelings towards them.

The boys took a phone break while letting their cuts and scrapes dry out. Salt water doesn't mix well with open wounds.

I just couldn't get enough of this gorgeous water. Isn't it beautiful?

Everly was perfectly happy paddling around in her floaty. She probably spent more time in the water than any of us.

It was so fun to watch everyone laugh and play.

Mark and Todd snorkeling in the grassy areas....looking for empty shells and big blue crabs.

I was happy hanging out and watching everyone. Poor Laney's face was feeling pretty raw from her initial sunburn and the saltwater stung too much to be able to snorkel. Next time we'll do a better job of sunscreen so that we don't put a damper on the rest of our plans.

I sure love these kids!

We all went back to our places to grab a shower and take a quick nap. I knew it would be my only opportunity to prepare for tomorrow's drive home, so I dropped everyone off and ran to Walmart for some sandwich supplies and treats. We are doing everything we can to limit our exposure to everyone. So this should keep us from need to go through drive-thrus. It also saves a bunch of time and money!

We went back to the Flynn's for dinner and one last trip to the beach. The guys helped us cook dogs and burgers...

And Todd may have lit the grill on fire....

The kids snuggled up and watched a movie or two...Laynie was clearly enjoying the seating arrangements.

The kids also said their last goodbyes to the turtles and ducks in the pond behind the condo....

We walked down to the beach to soak it all in one last time. The sand is so soft...it was like a cross between sugar and baby powder.

We played spike ball

And frisbee....Mathew ran right into this hole...he dissolved into laughter, "What the heck is this hole doing here?!?" I love his cute face!

The Flynn girls and Layne had done their hair and make up so that they could do a photo shoot in the gorgeous light. It was fun to watch them laugh and pose. I would never have felt confident enough to do that at that age. 

They thought it would be fun to take our photo too! I'm glad they did!

Ethan had started working on a sandcastle.

I could't help but want to contribute to his city wall with a shell border...I love a good project.

Soon, the wall was done and we had decided to install seashell cobblestone in the castle courtyard. We recruited the kids to start gathering shells. Kylie ran back to the condo to retrieve the bucket of shells the family before them had left behind. Genius!

I'm not gonna lie. This is the kind of thing that makes me happiest. Everyone hunting for shells and helping each other. It makes me so happy!

The prettiest shells were saved for the finishing touches.

Isn't that the coolest castle you ever did see??

We found the biggest crab we could (or did she find us?) and handed over the keys to kingdom.

She didn't appreciate our relocation package. Not one bit.Turns out she was a mama...she was protecting her eggs. We apologized and showed her the way out.

It was the best day.  And somehow we still drove back to the Bnb, did laundry, packed, showered, ran a load of dishes and vacuumed out the van. Tomorrow we drive!