Orange Beach Vacation: Day 1

We have gone to Destin, FL for beach vacations in the past but have heard great things about Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, AL so we thought we'd try that destination this time for our family vacation, plus it's a little shorter drive & since we have a toddler in tow this year, a shorter distance is definitely better!

Before we left, I started a pinterest board and did a lot of research of things to do, places to stay, etc. The night before we left, I put together a few Dollar Tree surprises for the kids for the loooong car ride there...

We left at 4 in the morning and drove from Tulsa to West Monroe, LA which is about a 7 hour drive. 

Our girls like watching Duck Dynasty so we took about an hour break and shopped at their store...

Then got back on the road...

Another 6 hours later, we made it to Orange Beach!

We stayed at Phoenix West II which was the perfect location on the beach & just big enough for our 3 families - it was also quite affordable splitting the price 3 ways. Score! ;-)

We couldn't drive 13 hours and not go see the beach before bedtime, so we threw on our suits & did a little crab hunting & nighttime swimming...

Needless to say we crashed that night and slept in the next morning!