
It’s been a little bit since I’ve been able to put together a good recap of a trip, so today seems like a PERFECT day to jump back into it with this blog!
We’ve spent the past 6 Thanksgiving’s along the beach with Nick’s family. It’s such a slow-paced week that’s just good for the soul. His family (and now including us) has a few members that live further away so it’s the best time getting to slow things down a bit and catch back up with everyone for the week. We’ve spent a good mix in both Destin, Florida, and Orange Beach/Gulf Shores over the years and there’s honestly not one that can’t beat the other. They’re all so much fun and extra special vacations doing what we love best = sitting by the beach in good company.
This year we headed down to the most stunning home right on the water in Orange Beach, Alabama. We couldn’t have been closer to the beach with our own little beach walk, which was just perfect. We also were right next to Publix and lots of yummy restaurants that we ordered to go from. When there are 16 people in a house for the week, going out isn’t really the best idea. So, we always like to pick a different restaurant each night to order to go from and end up having a happy mix of ALL the foods throughout the week. Needless to say, no one goes hungry for even a second while we’re there. 😉
So, let’s hop right into the recap of our ‘very merry thanksviging’ trip of 2021!

With us being just about 2.5 hours away from Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, we didn’t have to leave quite as early this time around. But, we got all packed up to hit the road around 7:00AM on Saturday morning. Then we picked up Nick’s brothers at the airport and made our way to our beach-y destination.
This home had it ALL. We have so many people so a bigger/roomy home is always a must but this one really had everything and more than we needed. It was beautiful!


The best part was the oversized deck that we spent 99.9% of the week on. I mean…I think I could live here and be just fine, don’t you? 😉



My favorite dinner of the week is always the shrimp boil. It’s peel-em & eat-em shrimp, corn, and potatoes cooked to perfection. SO GOOD!

You can’t really have a beach vacation without gumbo, right?

Morning coffee but make it beach-y. 😉

We saw so many dolphins and tons of these pelicans that weren’t afraid of humans. They mostly stuck by the fisherman obviously waiting to see if they could steal a fish or two.

The sunsets are always a highlight. They never get old!



We took plenty of walks while we were there too, so checking out the pier was a must.

And, our Thanksgiving Day dinner was none other than delicious Chinese food. YUM. and more YUM.

Overall, I’d say we the most relaxing week and couldn’t have had better weather the entire time. A very merry thanksgiving indeed.

Cooper even had his own little merry thanksgiving week with a week-long stay at Sea Paws dog resort. He was 100% spent when we picked him up so I’m guessing he had an exhaustingly good time. Or, at least we hope so! HA!

And that’s a wrap on Thanksgiving 2021 in Orange Beach, Alabama!
Feel free to check out my vlog all about it for today’s VLOGMAS video! Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there!
XOXO – Chelsea