When Jay asked me how I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday (other than running 20 miles), I told him I wanted a beach weekend with my favorite people. So we found an AirBnB in a beach town I've wanted to visit for years (Santa Rosa Beach, about an hour northwest of where Hurricane Michael hit - they were lucky and sustained very minimal damage) and took off after school on Friday. We arrived in time for a late dinner, followed by a quick walk on the beach (both within a block of the condo) and a swim (with a champagne / Sprite toast in the hot tub), then bedtime for the kids and a quiet evening for the adults beside the fake fireplace:
New MineCraft pajamas and the fake fire that they found fascinating:
The next morning we walked back to the corner for coffee and donuts (after a brief stop to fawn over a dying baby gecko they found in the condo complex), then back across the street to the beach so the kids could build sandcastles while we enjoyed the truly magical sunrise.
Jay found a ghost crab on the walk to the water and we all found a rainbow:
Next up was a kayak adventure a bit further south at Grayton Beach State Park. The place was gorgeous (and nearly deserted, which is always a bonus). We paddled for almost 2 hours before our arms gave out, then we hit the beach only to discover red tide... Needless to say, we couldn't handle that for long, so we wrapped it up and headed over to Grayton Brewing Company's Brewpub for a late lunch and some flights.
They were a bit scared due to the alligator caution signs, but we promised them we'd keep them safe:
James and I had a tiny visitor pop up out of the kayak about halfway through our trip. Can you see it on the tip of the boat?
There were a few very shallow spots...
And lots of gorgeous, sugary white sand...
After lunch we ventured even further south to Seaside, a very cutesy, touristy town that was extremely crowded and very much not our style (though the many restaurants and food trucks were pretty awesome... especially the cronuts, or "100 layer donuts", which is what we'd traveled down there to try).
Since we're all about eating and drinking when on vacation, our next stop was the other coastal brewery, which happened to be just a short drive north. Idyll Hounds had REALLY good brews and a really fun atmosphere (lots of games and outdoor seating), so we stayed there a couple hours just chatting and playing.
When Cora tired of the games, she started catching frogs (which were everywhere) and "moving them to safety" away from doors and pathways:
Of course there was more swimming at the condo before dinner:
I honestly would not recommend the restaurant we chose for dinner (though we picked it based on seat availability - small town and off season or no, the seafood restaurants we attempted to go to before deciding on Pig and Pint were PACKED). It was expensive, the portions were really small, and the food was just so-so.
Later that night, I opened the many "world tour" gifts that Robyn sent for my birthday!
(Candies and other items from different countries! We dug into them right away!)
The next morning we slept in, and while we'd planned to swim again before leaving the condo, the temperature had dropped to the 40s and we had zero interest in the pool (or even the hot tub). Instead, we took our time and drove north along the coast (rather than back to I-10 as we had come in on Friday), stopping for fancy donuts along the way and for a swim break in Destin (where it was still cold outside, but the water was warm and there was no red tide).
The was was SO clear and blue... we'll definitely need to make a trip back here sometime when it's a bit warmer (but hopefully not too much busier!)
It was worth it, but they were super cold after their little dip. They're good sports though and stood still long enough for a photo in front of the pretty sea oats:
Since we had time and I've been wanting to take the kids for a few years anyway, we stopped at the USS Alabama for a (longer than planned) tour. We also got to see the USS Drum (submarine), which was new to us (we toured the USS Alabama with Jean many years ago, but the USS Drum wasn't there at the time). The kids thought it was the coolest thing, so it's definitely worth a stop if you have kids near our kids' ages!
They're not behind glass here,.. just weirdos ;-)
All in all, it was a too short, yet super awesome 48 hours away with my crew!
