Where we live in Alabama there really isn't a lot of Awesome things to do close by, but we've learned that the cool thing about the South is that you are always within a couple of hours of something historical and wonderful. We decided to start a tradition - Brian gets even Anniversaries, and I plan the Odd ones. (And yes.... this one turned out wonderfully Odd if I do say so myself.)
We agreed we would make it a day celebration instead of a whole weekend (We're saving up for our life goals and trying to be sensible while still having some fun) SO - my plan was to wake up early and have my friend Alexia take some fun photos of us by the Black Hawk field (another tradition - take a photo every year on our anniversary that has a story telling element of that day or of where our lives are at that point). Then we were going to head down to Topsail Hill Preserve near Destin, Florida for a day of ocean kayaking, bike riding, and relaxing on one of the only "natural" beaches left in the pan handle. Top it all off with a fondue dinner & dessert at The Melting Pot, where I had reserved a private room for two. It really was the best of intentions. But then Reality sets in.... you know that line - "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him Your plans."
That morning it was raining raining raining - photos were out. We looked at the forecast, and Destin was sunny and beautiful still however, so we grabbed our beach bag (Yes. We have a Beach Bag on stand by. The thought of this is still quite the novelty for a couple of Iowa farm raised kids. We love to laugh and get excited about it still, even after over a year.) We drove down and chatted the whole way - something we really try to do is never turn on the radio on long trips - but rather engage each other in discussion. Sometimes we even just enjoy the silence. We've gotten very use to long car rides, and it really is half the fun for us.) We get to Destin, pay the state park entry fee, grab a map and park the car, heading in to the bathrooms to change into our beach gear. No Lie - in the 5 minutes we were in the bathroom it went from Sunny and perfect to stormy and tropical storm kind of weather. We literally came out to a man telling us they Just closed the beach, and he was taking the tram down to pick up everyone and bring them back. We decided we might as well ride along, we at least wanted to SEE this beach we drove over 2 hours for. We're sitting in an aluminum trailer, bouncing along the path, and it starts POURING... like you can't see your hand in front of your face kind of rain. It's pelting us from every direction! And then, we start to hear heavy roars of thunder and lightening flashes in the distance. You know those moments where it seems like everything is going "wrong" and you just can't help but Laugh? Yes.... uncontrollable giggling set in, because of the ridiculousness of our situation. We laughed so hard we couldn't breathe, waving at all the people running and biking for cover on the road next to us - we must have look Crazy now that I think about it. The trailer arrives at the beach building, but we can't even see the water because of the dunes. We decide we'll sit here for a bit while the driver takes everyone else back to camp. He says he doesn't quite get what we're trying to accomplish, but he'll be back in 15 minutes. If you know my husband, and even me really, you know what happens next. We decide to ignore the "Beach CLOSED" signs. Pushing past them, we walk along the beautiful decking to the shoreline. The lightening is crashing, the thunder is rumbling - but the rain has subsided, we figured we Must press on, in the name of adventure and all that is fun. We get to the Almost abandoned beach and we see two women sitting near the edge of the water - I'm thinking we should probably see exactly what was said, and make sure we aren't in some kind of crazy danger right? We say hello and start chatting - officially meeting Cindy Middlebrooks & Tracy Brooks. What was going to be a 2 minute Q&A session turned into Hours! These two ladies were Hilarious, clever, sweet, and engaging. Eventually we were joined by Tracy's husband and some other friends that were camping with them. It was now lunch time - so they fed us and gave us water while we all stood around laughing and chatting about everything and nothing all at once. It was really fantastic, like we had met up with some family - and (as cheesey as it may sound) it really warmed both of our hearts to feel that way; life in Alabama can get lonely sometimes! It didn't take long - we realized we were with "Our Kind of People". Eventually it started pouring again, and they invited us back to their camp to hang out some more! Kayaking & biking were out at this point - and we had enjoyed our time so much, (and we were pretty sure they didn't want our kidneys - hahaha, we all joked about that one) so we figured what the heck Why Not? Brian and I walked back with Cindy, and she opened up to us - sharing intimate details of her life journey and her faith walk. We shared some of our stories and struggles, and she encouraged us and "mothered" (loved on) us. Like I said, heart warming moments. At their camp site we were greeted with warm towels and comfy chairs. We laughed and chatted for almost another two hours, sharing stories, talking about everything from childhood memories, the current state of our country, to the Bible and our Faith Walks. What a blessing these people were. When it was time to go we all shared warm hugs and exchanged information. Tracy's husband took us to our car, and "fathered" (loved on, and shared some beautiful words of wisdom) us. It was good for our hearts; and for one of the first times since we moved I really felt at Home and overwhelmed with that Joy and contentment that only a family (or brothers and sisters in Christ) can make you feel. We got in our car and watched him drive away waving, and Brian says: "You know that verse in the Bible about sheltering, clothing, feeding, and giving people drink? (Matthew 25: 35-40) ... Those people totally just did All of that for us." It was so profound, and so beautiful. We laughed and said a quick prayer, thanking God that he allowed it to rain and "spoil" our plans - because we realized in that moment that he had something so much better in mind for us on our first anniversary: fellowship, encouragement, and "family time" with these wonderful people who not so randomly crossed our path.
Our dinner however DID go according to plan - the private room was lovely, the dinner was very fun and interactive (perfect for Brian!) We exchanged gifts - he had an infinity ring I've had my eye on made for me, and I bought him a personalized NIV Quest Study Bible. It was such a great night. We noticed that the art that was hanging in our private room was intriguing - a cross on a sunset backdrop. Lovely and fitting I thought, but it really became special when I explored the rest of the restaurant and realized that it was the ONLY christian piece that was on display. It's amazing to think that the God who created the Heavens and the Earth is also the God of intimate details - like making sure we ate our anniversary dinner at the foot of the cross. Beautiful!
Some Visual Highlights of our amazing day:
And one of the best parts - we were home by 9:30, to sleep in our own bed :)
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