For most of us, summer ends when the kids return to school. For those of us in the south that means sometime in August, for those of you up north that means after Labor Day. Regardless of when summer ended for you and your family, I hope you made the most of the waning days of summer.
I was blessed to take a road trip from Austin to Auburn with our son as he returned for his junior year at AU. We made a detour to Orange Beach where we spent two nights at SeaRenity Too. We enjoyed a delicious casual dinner at CoastAL, and spent the next day lounging under umbrellas on the beach, soaking up the sun, enjoying the bright blue sky and clear gulf water. We dined at Jesse's On The Bay and ate way too much but it was worth it because...well it's wonderful.
As we crossed the bridge over the canal with The Warf on our right and Orange Beach in the rearview mirror I quietly reflected on how lucky I was to have the opportunity to spend the last days of summer with our grown and flown son. A short 3.5 hours later we were in Auburn, unloading the truck, which involved taking a full-size sofa out of the truck bed and getting it in the living room. At that moment I was not feeling so lucky. Have you ever tried to get a sofa that's taller and wider than the front door through the front door? Let me tell you it was not an easy task. After quite a few choice words and a lot of brute force, we were successful.
The next couple of days were spent stocking the fridge, shopping, and getting ready to head to Atlanta for an experience at the Georgia Aquarium. My husband and his father dove with the gentle giants and my husband wanted to share that experience with our son. I don't dive so I was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour and up-front seating to watch my guys dive. WOW, it was amazing seeing those huge manta rays and whale sharks. Our son who has been diving since he was 12 said it was one of the best experiences EVER. Check out the live video from the Ocean Voyager webcam.
After dinner together, our son dropped us at the hotel and he headed back to Auburn. The next morning my husband and I got on a plane in ATL and ended with our toes in the sand in Grand Cayman—lazy August days spent under a hut on Seven Mile Beach. Dining at Calypso Grill, Morgan's Seafood, Casa43, Lloyds Smokehouse, The Falls, Lucca, Coccoloba (to mention a few,) girl-time dinner at Tukka with my on-island BFF, fishing and visiting StingRay City courtesy of good friends and their boat was a wonderful way to begin the third season of empty nesting.
With school back in session we slip into fall and football mode. Texas A&M for the husband, Auburn for the son, SMU for me (but somehow WAR EAGLE seems to fit me better these days) and we wait for the changing of the seasons. Who knows how long it will take to feel like fall in Central Texas, it could be next week or it could be sometime in December. What I do know is that come May we will be ready for summer and all the magic and memories that summer brings.
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