Florida Vacation Series – Gulf Islands National Seashore: Fort Pickens

Florida.  The best beaches ever.  The place I call home. I’m from a small little town in the Panhandle, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I also love a good adventure, and California has been a total blast for the last year and a half.  A big change of scenery, and I checked so many things off my bucket list!

But in between lots of wine tastings, mountain hiking, and finding as many pretty beaches along the very freezing Pacific, I was planning my vacation back to Florida.  One year later, I made the leap and purchased two plane tickets for Jackson and I to spend three very glorious weeks with my best friend, Nicole!  Perfect enough, she has the sweetest daughter about the same age as Jackson, and I’m pretty sure they’re going to grow up to be best friends too!  She’s just the right amount of calm and sweet to tame Jackson’s wild side.  He’s the kind of kid who will push you down and sit on you and then lick your face.  Turns out Isla can totally hold her own, and in no time at all he was wrapped up in lounge chair cushion like a little hot dog with Isla proudly perched on top!

As Anne of Green Gables would say, Nicole is my kindred spirit.  She has my sense of wanderlust and adventure and we squeezed in as much as we possibly could in what felt like a very short three weeks.  Too many things to put it all in a blog post, so I’ll be doing a Florida Vacation Series, starting with our trip to Fort Pickens in Gulf Islands National Seashore.

If you haven’t visited here, it’s totally awesome!   Driving to the fort is a such a dream with views of the crystal blue waters of the Gulf on the left and the bay on the right.  I can’t even describe how amazing it is.  It feels like you could reach both arms out and touch the water on both sides.

On the way home from the fort, we just couldn’t help but stop to play on the beach, and it turned out way more than magical!  I can’t even pretend we just happened to be dressed this well.  But, we’re photographers.  We try to be prepared for anything and sometimes that means dressing in photo-worthy outfits to visit a a 150+ year-old dilapidated fort.

With zero intentions of getting in the water, we ended up having to make the two-hour drive home soaking wet and a little cold with the seat warmers on.  (Don’t worry – we aren’t terrible mamas; our kiddos had a fresh set of clothes to change into).

Our frozen tushes were totally worth it for these pictures, don’t you agree!?  If you have a wild idea for a fun photo session, but you’re too nervous to ask your photographer, don’t be!  We want to help bring your vision to life and give you some really awesome memories in the process!

Photos taken by Shelbie Scippio Photography & Nicole Bielenin Photography

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