Weekend Getaway

Since we didn't get to go on a true vacation this year between Covid, baseball, and volleyball camps, we decided to take the boys somewhere for the weekend. We settled on the Marriott Hotel & Spa in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which is around 2.5 hours from us. 

The draw was the pool for the kids. We looked around the area and didn't see much to do. We decided to just let the kids swim as much as they wanted, and if that's all they wanted to do, that was fine.

This slide kept them occupied quite a bit. Carson wasn't tall enough to go by himself. We obeyed the rules for a while and then decided to let him go. It was nice that the hotel wasn't strict about it. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of him going down by himself, but he went over and over.

The boys are finally at the age that they can be entertained by the other. It is so nice. They swam around the pool together a lot. The pool had a slide, a cave with waterfall, a large zero entry area, water features, and lots of ledges to sit on. All the interesting parts helped keep the boys entertained. The water was very cool since temperatures dipped at night last week, but they didn't mind.

On Friday night, we went to a local pizza place. Darrin is familiar with the area b/c there is a college in the town that used to be in his conference. It was a perfect choice.

After dinner, we had to walk through a peaceful, yet large and well organized protest on the way back to our car. They were shouting to tear statues down. There were cops stationed throughout the protest. I never felt like it was going to become violent, but I was very happy to get back to the car. It scared Miles a lot. He didn't feel safe even after we got back to the hotel miles away. The next night he was scared to go to dinner for fear we would run into another protest.

The next day, Darrin surprised me with a massage appointment at the spa. It was a very nice spa and I always love a good massage. When I got back, we went swimming for most of the day. Carson worked on his swimming without floaties.

We ordered lunch by the pool so we didn't have to give up our spot. The pool area was packed on Saturday.

Obviously overpriced, but convenient and a fun treat for all of us.

There was a nice family next to us. The mom had on a TN hat, so I asked her if they were from TN, which they were. A few minutes later she asked Darrin if he was a coach. She recognized him from a mutual friend's Facebook posts! The mutual friend's daughter actually plays for Darrin. Such a small world. It's so funny though b/c Darrin knows someone EVERYWHERE we go. Someone recognizing him from Facebook is next level :)

Shirley Temples are a vacation treat. My mom used to get them for me on special occasions, so I'm passing on the fun to Miles and Carson. Carson approves.

This is as far as I got in the freezing cold pool. I sure enjoyed laying on a beach chair though. Poor Miles, his eyes are so sensitive.

Carson was very behaved all weekend, even in the car!

Virgin strawberry daiquiris were also a treat.

After the boys had enough swimming, we went to Wilson Lock and Dam. We hoped there would be more to it, but there really wasn't. 

On the way back to the hotel, we drove around for an hour, so the boys could get a cat nap. They were so worn out from swimming. This was much needed for both of them, but really helped Carson behave at dinner later on. When we got back to the hotel, we actually went swimming again for a little while.

Miles had eaten Texas Roadhouse with my mom last week and wanted to go back, so we did.

I have no idea what was going on here. He was looking at the pool, but we don't know why he pulled his pants down. You never really know what is going on in his little mind.

We had pool passes until noon on Sunday even though check out was at 11am. We asked the boys if they wanted to go swimming, but they both wanted to go home. I really wanted some more time at the pool, but I can't argue with boys that love their home. It was a perfect little getaway before school starts.