My annual week of vacation officially starts at 5:30pm this afternoon! Though we have only a weekend trip planned this year and some local outings in mind, J and always enjoy a week away from the office. It was 2008 when we last took a full week away from home, traveling to Dauphin Island, Alabama where J’s aunt was living at the time. In fact, his whole family joined us for the week!

It was the first time I’d seen the ocean since 1997, and a first for both of us seeing this area that had just been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina three years earlier.  Some of the damage was still evident.  We traveled from Biloxi over into Seaside Florida, all along the Gulf border enjoying the Southern coast and enjoying seafood almost every day!

So, today’s pic is a look back at that trip – one of our best vacations ever!  As if you couldn’t already tell by the smiles on our faces.