Fall Break/ Evacuation 2026

For HG's "last ever fall break," she wanted a big girls' trip to Alys. We had a fun mix of girls at our house, girls staying nearby with their parents, and houses of other girls in Seacrest. And Cressey basically got to be an only child for a week. We arrived on Saturday, October 3rd, and the girls had a big time going between the pool and the beach and shopping. We didn't have a ton of sunshine (the forecast had rain every day), but we made the best of it. (Probably more driving than we've ever done since you'd get stuck on a bike in a rainstorm) We had a bonfire scheduled Tuesday night and pushed through with our plans although we had a little drizzle to start with and it was a steady rain by the end. We started hearing talk of a developing hurricane early in the week. Destin had an evacuation Wednesday by noon, but Walton County didn't announce anything yet. We stuck with our plan on leaving Friday morning, but the girls were at the pool (on a beautiful sunny morning, I might add) around lunch on Thursday and the staff told them it was time to go- evacuation orders had gone out for us! So we quickly threw everything in the car and headed home a day early. It was a fun and laidback week of quality time. Always a good time at Alys!

Exploring the house

First donut of the trip

First strawberry daiquiri of the trip (in the rain at Caliza)

The rain didn't stop her from swimming though!

John let before Cressey and I did. As we left, a server handed me a drink that John had ordered for me. What a nice surprise! Thankful for Cressey's trike to help me carry that home!

Alys has a new pool, Silva, that we loved. We got caught in a rainstorm on a bike ride and slipped in here for snacks and drinks.

She loved splashing through the puddles

The one really bright sunny day we had

We tried the new Italian restaurant at Alys, Indaco. Cressey obviously loved her spaghetti!

We loved being the gathering spot for pictures

Bonfire night!!

This girl is the crab queen

These mamas are the best!

Cressey had three requests on this day- Stellar, Rosemary bookstore, and Sugar Shack. Done! She LOVED shopping for cute and comfy clothes.

Is that blue sky and sunshine that I see?!

Carrying all her loot

She'd wear nothing but this new outfit if I'd let her

Her beach bag- two books, bookmarks, and Pop Rocks

Paying for our trip

Of course, Wednesday night looked like this. (vs our Tues night rainy bonfire) It was almost too much for my heart to handle. But the girls got a pic for me!