I always feel more interesting after I travel.

I don’t know that I actually am more interesting afterwards. I just feel it. Maybe it’s the sights I saw. Maybe it’s the food or the cocktails. Or maybe it’s the fact that my family is on their best behavior when I get home. Jimmy even makes the bed.

This usually lasts for about three days. Then it’s like I never left. 😉

Have you ever noticed that when you get back from a trip, whether it’s vacation or business, there are always certain memories or impressions that stand apart from others?  While the whole trip was awesome and fun, parts of it fade from your memory eventually, but these “chosen moments” are the ones that stay with you forever.

I call these “Magic Moments”.

And these moments are usually things that seemed like no big deal at the time. It’s later you realize how special they were.

My favorite Magic Moments from my trip to Gulf Shores are in no particular order, except the first one is my favorite.

1. Peggy, Kathy and I sitting on our hotel room balcony the first couple of nights there, having cocktails and laughing so hard we nearly peed our pants.

Okay, I nearly peed my pants. I won’t speak for anyone else.

2. Eating marinated crab claws at LuLu’s. The visual eye candy of all the colors, the waterway, the food, the drinks. And where post-margarita shopping was a blast.

3. Eating lunch at The Gulf, an outdoor restaurant made from recycled shipping containers, furniture made from recycled lumber, looking out over the white sands of the beaches filled with loungers that make me drool. (I have a serious addiction to deck furniture. My husband will tell you.)

The lady in front of me asks the cashier, “What do you do when it rains?”

“We get wet.”

And post-mojito shopping in their retail space. (Hmmm. I sense a theme.)

4. Saturday afternoon at Bucky’s at the Grand Marriott in Point Clear. We sipped mojitos while watching a wedding, resisting the urge to stand up and object. The bride’s father carrying a large, over-sized margarita.

He probably needed it. It was a really big wedding complete with a small orchestra.

Watching all the guests arrive, the young women walking across the grass in impossibly high heels. “That looks like two raccoons wrestling!”

Note to self: always look at my backside in the mirror before going to a large public event.

5. Absorbing all the visual “eye candy” at the Grand Marriott: the flowers, Mobile Bay, the grounds, the super friendly staff, the quiet room at the Spa. The hug from the maid. Our really large room.

6. Driving through beautiful, charming Fairhope…the charming stores, friendly people, and delicious food. “SQUIRREL!!!” which then became “PELICAN!”

7. Sunday afternoon at Bucky’s. Having my first (and last) mint julep, more mojitos, and a growing crowd of friends and new friends around our table. It might have been rainy outside, but it was warm and fuzzy inside.

I still have the warm and fuzzies. 🙂