1st Annual Henninger Vacation

We just got back from the 1st annual family trip - I say first because this is the first trip that we have all been on as a family. John and I started our vacation on Monday (his birthday!!) and headed to our old college town to see some friends and celebrate his birthday. We stayed with Doug and Lexi and hung out with them for the night. On our way to Valdosta we had some horrible news. Our dear friend Lance's mom passed away that morning. She had battled cancer mulitple times and this was her final battle. Lance and Stacy (his wife) had moved into the house with his mom to help her and to be there for her. I absolutely cannot imagine losing a parent - our thoughts and prayers are definitely with them and the family.

After our first night of vacation at Doug and Lexi's house we had planned on staying with my Great Aunt Kathryn and Great Uncle Bill - two very amazing people. My mom called the night before to say that Aunt Kathryn had not been feeling well and that it probably would be better if we did not stay for the night at their house. They had been so busy with my Great Uncle Q that had come into town for a weeks that I know they needed some rest. So, John and I decided that we would continue on to our final destination and find a hotel somewhere. Everyone else was planning on being there the next day. So, after we left Doug and Lexi's house we made a quick trip to Lance and Stacy's which was on the way just to visit and get Lance out of the house for little and to basically let them know we were there for them.

We left Lance and Stacy's home and then went onwards to our final vacation spot - Biloxi, MS. The trip did not seem to last very long at all and we had a fun time hanging out in the car together. John and I always have so many good conversations when we're on trips so I always enjoy going places with him. We finally made it to Biloxi and found a hotel - a Super 8, cheap and clean, and a good place to sleep for the night. We checked in took our stuff inside and then headed into the casino. John and I love to play cards so we had a fun time hanging out doing something we enjoy. After we tired of the casino we went to the our hotel and went to bed.

Early morning came and we were still waiting for the rest of the Henninger clan to arrive. John' parents (Tom & Nikki), John's brother/family (Brad, Rebekah, & Gavin) and John sister Rebecca and boyfriend David. While we waited we took a little side trip I wanted to make. We went to see (brace yourselves now)...the world's largest ROCKING CHAIR!! I was pumped, but I am sure you have realized it does not take too much to excite me. Once we finished with the chair we went ahead to the condo to check in and then waited for the rest of the group to arrive; which actually wasn't too much longer.

The next mission was to go get some groceries. Each couple had their own day to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner while we were on vacation. After grocery shopping we went back to our condo and hung out. During the course of the week we layed on the beach, went to the pool, went to the casinos, the boys played golf, played catch phrase, and basically relaxed and had a great time.

The last full day we were there we all went to New Orleans, LA. John and I had never been so we were very excited to go! Um...we won't be going again. We went to the main area of Bourbon Street and that whole area and it was smelly. My flip flops were disgusting on the bottoms and I don't want to even know what was on them - they were so sticky. Every other store was an XXX store of some sort - not really my "cup of tea". It was nice to go and experience New Orleans, but we will not be making a special trip to go there again. While there David and Rebecca treated us to an authentic Cajun restaurant - they both had some interesting dishes...frog legs, alligator.

After New Orleans we headed back to the condo for our last night on vacation. David and Bec went ahead and left that night because they had a long trip to go and wanted to have a day to relax before getting back to work. When we woke up on Sunday we all packed and got ready to head back home. John and I drove straight through without stopping on side trips and made good time the way back. We will definitely make another trip to Biloxi - we had such a wonderful time. Once again John and I did not want to come back to reality, but here we are back at home! Until next time!!!