40 years and it seem s like yesterday. We spent our 40th anniversary in
MGM, I was sharing with 24 teachers in a Teacher Certification Class at Evangel
Church. So, due to my assignment, we
missed out on our actual date. But we
did spend some time at the beach – on the same sand that we shared on our
honeymoon. Let me take you back.
It was a hot Alabama summer in 1972. We were just 15 minutes
late. I had booked the bridal suite at
the Gulf Breeze Holiday Inn. We arrived
at 6:15 pm in our new UNair-conditioned Chevy Nova, to check into our bridal
suite, only to find out they had already rented our room to someone else! Bummer!
FY: There were no cell phones back then to call ahead, and
no credit cards to hold the room! We did
the best we could and stayed at the downtown Ramada for one night.
I called Holiday Inn to tell them about our predicament – thankfully,
they had another plan for us. A brand
new Holiday Inn had just opened in Navarre Beach in July – just about an hour
East of Pensacola.
Back to 2012: Navarre
Beach Holiday Inn was a wonderful place.
We loved it. It was right on the
beach with an outdoor pool and an indoor restaurant. As the years passed, it grew to become a
bigger and better hotel with an indoor and an outdoor pool. We even took our kids back there to enjoy the
beach with us. Memories that we will always
cherish. Sadly, hurricanes came and they
had to build and rebuild the Holiday Inn. Apparently someone at corporate HQ thought one
too many and now all that remains is part of the parking lot, 2 lonely street
lights and the 3 flag poles.
So, this year, we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Navarre and
drove over to the beach. Sat on the same
sandy beach and swam in the same ocean. We
collected shells and I got to hold the hand of my dream girl again.
Forty years may have changed the scenery on Navarre Beach,
but that girl still takes my breath away.
And those 15 minutes of time was a God send. Navarre became our beach forever.
To Jan: I will sing it with The Spiral Staircase … I love
you more today than Yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow! (Let’s go for 40
more!)
