Spring break was unquestionable the best week we have had as a family of 4. Our plan had been to have a staycation and do all of the many fun things there are to do right here in St Louis, but my friend inspired me to take advantage of Richard's free time and take a trip. If we had stayed home, I still would have had laundry, dishes and all the work that comes with being a mom. So the plan to take a real vacation was born!
I knew Richard would be stressed out during his finals if he knew I was planning a venture far away from home, so I let this trip be a surprise. He knew I was planning something, he just did not know what. Instead of saying "Surprise we are going to fill in the blank", I gave him clues as to where our next destination would be. He never knew which stop would be our intended destination. I packed his clothes and sent him to the car. Naomi and I walked out wearing these bad boys I made. Finding blue suede turned out to be a bigger problem than I expected. Lucky for me my sister found some in Oregon that a nice lady named Jean Marie was selling for $3 an ounce. She only had a strip about half the size of a scarf left, I guess making home made blue suede shoes for spring break was the hot thing this year j/k.
As I walked to the car, With a hint of disappointment in his voice Richard yelled "We are going to Memphis?". I had been humming the song "Walking in Memphis' for days and now Richard understood why. He politely obliged to the 4 hour drive to Memphis.
Once in Memphis Naomi and I did as the song said, we put on our blue suede shoes and we went "walking in Memphis". I am pretty sure this was on Naomi's bucket list, so we had to do it.
We collected some souvenirs and discussed our favorite Elvis sings, and then we were on our way to our Next stop in Memphis.
In 1968 Martin Luther King, jr was assassinated outside of a Memphis motel. The circumstances surrounding his death intrigue me, so of course we had to see the motel
The area where the motel is located appears to be untouched by time. I felt like it was 1968 and I was out of place in my skinny jeans.
After seeing some of the rough areas of Memphis Richard ask me where we were staying. This is when I gave him his next clue.
I began to ignite the cigarette lighter under the Spam, to which Richard shouted "COMBUSTIBLE SPAM". I was looking for burning-spam which sounds like Birmingham. We made our way to Birmingham Alabama for the night. Richard thought this was a corky vacation choice, but I convinced him it was a great place to spend the week.
Levi's only spring break request was that we go to a bounces house. The next day us Oregonians turned Missouri dwellers got our bounce on as we mingled with the locals.
Alabama was truly beautiful with blue skies and plenty of green. Birmingham was well manicured and had lots of southern charm, however this too was not our final vacation spot. My third and final clue.
Richard guessed Pensacola Florida right away, but again he had a hint of disappointment in his voice, but for a different reason. My plan had back fired. Richard grew excited about an Alabama vacation, I had build it up too much. It took some work, but I got him on board just in time.
The Emerald Coast in Florida is like paradise with white sand and emerald green water. We spent most of our time in a little beach town called Destin just east of Pensacola. Levi and Naomi had fun playing with the stomp rocket.
I love seeing my kids get a break from their day to day lives and have some fun.
While Richard and Levi played hard Naomi and I took a leisurely walk on the beach.
Here are some of my favorite pictures
In addition to loving the heck out of seeing my kids play happily together, I had Richard free of text books, labs, and computer screens.
We ate at cute little beach restaurants and I was able to find some great vegan food.
We spent a day at the National Naval Aviation museum in Pensacola. There were airplanes from several different wars. All of us had fun exploring.
After the museum the tables turned and Richard had a surprise for me! We were leaving this
He wanted to extend our trip and go to New Orleans, so on to Louisiana went! Here is our one and only family picture from the whole trip. We took a ferry over the Mississippi into the city. The kids loved it and would not hold still for a picture.
New Orleans was adorable and rich in history. We loved the energy and the food.
Jackson square was very well maintained and allowed the kids the space to run around, unlike the car ride they had endured. Naomi acted like she had never seen dirt and had I had my way she may not have. 
The French Quarter was lively, with singers on the streets blowing bubbles.
While I am glad we saw some cemeteries, they were creepy. Next time I hope to see the grave of Homer Plessy from the famous 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.
The Garden district is full of beautiful old homes. I was too busy enjoying their charm to get a decent picture.
New Orleans was awesome and it made the kids very tired.
And like any good road trip we visited the state capital building in Mississippi.
Our trip took us through 7 states, great food, lots of laughs , and over all fun together. We may not always have the time or resources to do a trip like this, but when we do we will take full advantage of the chance to make memories together.
