sounds right up my alley!
in fact, i had to create another excursion for us to escape the madness that pensacola beach has become since yesterday afternoon. the beach is so cluttered, i just couldn't get the image of warren jerking out of my hand and being gone forever (which he most definitely would do...one group of "pitty guwuls" and he's off!), so that was out. and the pool was hopping by 9am...filled with families. so that was out. warren adores latching onto new people - which is wonderful in that he is so confident and outgoing - but it creates a lot of awkward "family-crashing" moments for me. yikes.
so we dressed, and hopped in the car. had no clue where we were headed, until warren inspired me by asking for watermelon, so i decided to head for the farmer's market on the pensacola bay. called ben as we pulled out of the condo, and whoops! change of plans. he had time for lunch! so we did a u-turn just before the bay bridge (much to the chagrin of the drivers around us), and headed back towards Navarre Beach to meet him.
on the butterfly park outing, i spotted this nifty looking place (TK's Porch, i think?), and wanted to give it a try. Ben said he'd eaten there several times, and vouched for it, so it was a done deal. plus, it was right across the street from the Butterfly House/Park area! double perk. Warren and I played on the slides again as we waited for Ben to arrive (note to self...NEVER go at mid day...those slides are HOT!). thankfully, ben got there pretty quickly, and we crossed the street to have our family lunch.
the atmosphere is very authentic-beachy type stuff, so i was excited as they brought our menus out. unfortunately, it went downhill from there. they have fans that blow out misting water to keep the place cool (it's an old open air garage)...very helpful, unless you are the idiot who sits directly underneath one and are consistently bathed in a very fine mist throughout your meal (oh yes, said idiot is me). next i tried talking to warren and ben, and realized that the 3 different football games playing on the TVs behind me were so loud, i couldn't hear anything they were saying, nor could they hear me. hmmm.
but then (and this was the point of no return) the french fries that came with my meal were utterly tasteless. if I'm going to splurge on a french fry, it best be darn well worth the risk! so i didn't eat them. and the shrimp po-boy...well, let's just say I've had better in Tupelo. blech. and warren wouldn't sit still, hopping from one seat to another (I want to sit by Mommy! I want to sit by Daddy! I want to go potty! I want to go...x, y and z!)...needless to say, he wouldn't eat either, so lunch was a bit of a frustrating point in the day. but we did get to see Ben, so that made it worthwhile...but i was still bummed.
I was so disappointed from lunch I needed a pick-me up lest i start roaming down mental avenues better left untraveled. and wouldn't you know, God had planned for this as well. Warren announced he wanted to go back and "slide down!" again after lunch, but i was in no mood to brave the burnt hineys and hands my child would inevitably suffer. he got a bit grumpy when I said no (oh, just a bit!), so, employing my masterful distraction techniques, I asked him if he wanted to go get a Sno-cone. he had no idea what it was, but surely anything with the word "cone" in it has to be tasty, right? oh, how the eyes lit up. so of course, mine did too. mood is lifting, my friends, mood is lifting. and there just so happened to be a Sno-Ball stand just across the highway from us! Warren has never tasted one, and i probably haven't had one since I was 15 or so (that's a good long while ago, folks), so with hope in my heart, off we went!
He was so cute. we were the only people there, which made me ridiculously happy. Warren hopped right up to the counter and said (with NO prompting from me) "I want 2 sno-cones, please!". well alright, then! i guess mama will have one after all!
Warren got cherry, and I got something she said was mild...Ice cream flavor, i believe. it was lime green, so who knows, but it was actually delicious. of course, i didn't notice they had sugar free offerings until after she'd made mine, but i'll keep that in mind for next time (i haven't been brave enough to research just how many grams of sugar are in one of those things!).we went and sat down at one of the umbrella covered benches, and I truly enjoyed the moment of...oh, what's the right word? nostalgia? memory creation? peace?
it just kind of felt like Warren and I were the only 2 people in the world, and we were giggling and laughing over our silly sno-cones. (though you'll notice, people did start arriving!)
Warren had a bit of his ("Warren's is red! I want some red!") and then wanted a bit of mine ("now some green! Mommy's is green!"). and wouldn't you know, he stayed seated the ENTIRE time we were eating? guess it's all about the interest level in the food!
ultimately a crowd showed up, and little man DID lose interest in the remainder of our sno-cones, so after allowing him to journey a few steps out of reach, we rounded up and headed to the car. and now, wee man is sleeping, and i am basking in my afternoon calm.
ahhh. boredem (and the mass hysteria of Labor Day weekend on the beach!) evaded again!
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