I'm just another working mom seeking a few moments of Zen and zinfandel between soccer practice and supper. My former beach bartender husband founded 
Navarre Beach, Florida, 2008
Destin, Florida, 2009
My mom gave me a digital picture frame for Christmas last year. Little did I know just how much much pleasure it would bring me. It sits on a table by our sofa in the den and it’s like a little slide show of happiness. One afternoon I poured over hundreds of photos on my laptop to select my favorite pictures to upload on the frame. Time and time again I chose pictures from our family vacations to the beach. These are some of our happiest family memories.
I’ve been traveling down to the Florida Panhandle to enjoy the beautiful Gulf Coast since I was in 5th grade and I’m 40 now…you do the math, it might depress me.
Navarre Beach, Destin, Ft. Walton…these Florida beach towns are like a second home to me and my husband.
Our daughters first experienced the ocean at the Gulf Coast. They have scouted out dolphins swimming in the crystal blue waters. They have squealed with delight at the mighty roar of the surf and run along the water’s edge, dodging waves. They have built sandcastles on the sugar white beaches. They have eagerly sought out crabs and shells and other gifts from the sea.
I have so many memories from this area. It pains my heart to read the news about the oil spill, but yet every day I must read about the impact. Much like with the recent flood in Nashville, communities are pulling together and doing whatever they can do clean up the beaches.
I hope this beautiful natural resource will be here for future generations. I hope that we are doing all in our power to stop the oil spill. I feel pretty helpless at this point. So I just keep on hoping.
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Florida blogger Mommy Melee posted a Love The Gulf tribute in May. Click over to read her eloquent post and see the link ups to many other bloggers and grab your own Love The Gulf blog button.
Jimmy Buffett is throwing a free concert July 1 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, to raise awareness about the oil spill’s impact on the area and show support for the people, local businesses, and culture. Tickets sold out in less than 5 minutes, but you can watch it live on CMT or listen in via Radio Margaritaville. We’lll definitely be firing up our blender, mixing a few ‘ritas, and kicking back to watch the show!
Oh, if we still had the little house on Ruth St. we could have an old fasion Buffett party!! Maybe we should anyway, well, we can’t there, they’d call the cops on us for trespassing!
The colors in that first photo say youth and summer!
.-= Tabor´s last blog ..The Questionnaire =-.
Oh Amy I just realized my office is closed that Friday so there will definitely be some margaritas being mixed
!! 
Beautiful pics! I have always wanted to visit the Gulf. I am so heartbroken over this oil spill. I read today that there is even more oil spilling into the ocean now. Siigh. I hope this can be fixed eventually.
Am so sad for you guys. For all of us. A terrible, terrible mess.
.-= lifeinapinkfibro´s last blog ..Once upon a time, I loved living small =-.
I’m missing Pensacola Beach now….thanks!
We lived 1 hr north of there for 2 1/2 yrs and have been back living in PA for 4 yrs….I don’t miss the humidity and heat, but we do miss the gorgeous sea and sand!
~eunice b
rsmile2u @dejazzd .com
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~eunice b
rsmile2u @dejazzd .com
Loved! Loved! Loved! your posts – went back to whenthe girls received bows and arrows – maybe it was the Mojito, but I laughed OUT LOUD! I needed is after todays news about the nasty oil leak and everything else!
Thanks!
This morning, for a brief second, the thought of taking the boys to the beach tomorrow flew into my head. A second later I realized, oh, I can’t. If not the oil on the beaches, in the water, then its the sharks who are congregating close to shore feeding on schools of fish who are coming into shallow waters for oxygen. The ripple effect of repercussion is still bewildering to me.
Oh, how the mighty human hand can smear the beautiful canvas of life.
.-= Heather, Queen of Shake Shake´s last blog ..Looks Who
Thanks sooooo much for posting about our beautiful gulf coast beaches. I live and work here on the ALABAMA gulf coast and love every minute of it! Please pray for us here on the gulf coast and PLEASE keep coming here:)
Blessings,
Linda
“My mom gave me a digital picture frame for Christmas last year. Little did I know just how much much pleasure it would bring me.”
It has got to be one of the best inventions of our time. lol. Shows scores of photos each time so you never have to get tired of it. But to tell you the truth, I still long for the big bulky photo albums of years gone by—the ones you collected to make a photo library
[...] M0ther, Mother Ocean, I Have Heard You Call (My Gulf Coast tribute.) [...]
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