It's Not The South Pacific....

...but it was a beach with white sands and emerald waters...in Florida.  The purpose of our trip to the Destin area was to see our good friends.  Their son, Josh, was graduating from Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Demolition(?)) class.

 

Josh and his family.

Our Family minus Jordan.

 You know me.  I love our military.  Every single branch.  I got choked up a few times, especially after seeing the Navy and Marines flags flying in front of me.  Then I looked down and saw this.

It is a very difficult reminder of the sacrifice these men and women make for our country.  I am forever grateful to them all.  I wish more people were.

The weather was very nice.  The first day was a bit windy, but we headed to the beach anyway.  I packed swimsuits for the girls, but doubted they would get in the chilly waters.

I was wrong.  The other reason we traveled 12 hours was so Jack could hang out with his buddy David.  They've known each other their entire lives and have stayed friends even through they live 700 miles from each other.  There's nothing like a good friend.

 I couldn't believe how clear and beautiful the water was.  The guys had a good time in the choppy waters.

No, I didn't get into that freezing water that day.  But, the next day was much warmer that I ventured out into water knee-deep and even wore a swimsuit.

It was a very quick trip, but one that we thoroughly enjoyed.  I had never visited the panhandle of Florida before.  It was beautiful.  Since Jordan will be going to school near Pensacola after boot camp, I'm sure we will be heading down that way again in the near future.  Happy Easter everyone!