Melanie and I wanted a trip with just us and our little banana before we have #2 in September. After going around on flying somewhere we actually decided to keep it somewhat close and went to a resort called The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL. Originally we were going to go at the end of the month but scheduling made us change to this past weekend. Well, that worked out since there was a hurricane that ended up rolling into Louisiana to the west of New Orleans and there was massive flooding predicted. Naturally, it barely rained in New Orleans and instead we had a monsoon on Saturday in Point Clear.
This was really a vacation though for Melanie and I to actually relax and even with the terrible weather we had most of Saturday, we actually had a great time. I was able to get us upgraded to a massive suite which had a balcony and separate bedroom. That always makes traveling with Aylin just a little bit easier since we can put her to bed in another room. We were located in the spa building which had covered parking, the gym and an indoor pool. The only thing we didn’t have was dining in our building but there were both covered walkways and a van that we could take to the main building. The only time we really got wet over the weekend was when we went swimming. Which we basically did the whole time we were there!
We actually let much earlier than planned on Friday since we did want to get out of the city before Barry caused us any travel issues. This worked out since we got to the hotel pretty early and once I was done working it was still plenty early enough for us all to go to the pool which is Aylin’s favorite place. Aylin has really become a real fish which is a little scary since she can’t actually swim. Utterly fearless in the water and we work on swimming skills any time we’re at the pool but at 19 months, she just can’t actually swim yet. She is close though. She is great at jumping into the water and loves being totally underwater.
When we got stuck indoors the entire day on Saturday, we still had a great time. Aylin really is into coloring now and we just need a little paper and some crayons to make her happy. For a while at least. We also played hide and seek and ran up and down the hallways pushing her stroller for a while with her dolls in it. One of our favorite things to do in the hotel when we can’t go outside is to make a bubble solution and blow bubbles. Aylin really loves bubbles and this kept us busy for over an hour. You can blow the bubbles with lots of things. We use the plastic rings off of water bottles and the metal tabs from cans. Both work really well. Of course we also had an indoor pool and while that’s normally a lap pool, it was completely taken over by families on Saturday.
The food overall at the resort was pretty solid. I wouldn’t go there for the food and it was way overpriced for what it is but the full breakfast buffet was delicious and dinner both nights was actually really good. Lunch at the pool was our only complaint as it was actually terrible. Next time we plan to get out of the resort and get into Point Clear for some meals since there were lots of cute little restaurants in town.
Overall, I really loved this resort and we’ll definitely be back since it’s only 2 1/2 hours away.