One of our absolute favorite places to vacation is the panhandle of Florida, specifically a stretch of beach located along County Hwy 30A.  There are several small towns along the shoreline and they each have their own unique charm and character.  Probably the most well-known town in that area is Seaside.  We’ve stayed right in Seaside before, but this time we stayed a little further down the beach to the East, near Rosemary Beach.

This relaxing beach vacation was just what our family needed.  We spent a week there right before the kids started back to school.  Our townhouse was right on the beach.  We literally stepped off of the patio and into the white sand.  It was glorious!

If I could afford to buy a place like this, right on the beach, I would be down there all of the time!  I don’t ever want to live in a beach house, but it  would be nice to have one to retreat to whenever I needed a break!  The beach and the ocean relax me and renew my soul.  It’s magical.

We spent one afternoon on a sailing boat charter around the Choctawhatchee Bay.  Our son was a little hesitant when he first stepped on the boat.  He had a death grip on whatever he could find!  But it didn’t take him long to find his sea legs.  In fact, the captain let him take the wheel for a bit as we headed back to the marina.

We’ve only been home a couple of weeks, but I’m already dreaming of our next beach vacay!

 

We needed a break and a little fun after what this past year has dished out.  So we packed up the kids and headed to Orlando for a week in February.  This was not a relaxing vacation!  We spent every day at a different theme park and rode every ride we could.  Our youngest was tall enough to ride every ride that he wanted to this year, with the exception of The Hulk coaster at Universal Studios.  What a game changer that was!  No more splitting up and taking turns riding on the little kid rides.

We also had some friends join us, so that made the trip more fun as well.  Here are the highlights from our trip.