Friday Favorites {#229}: Vacay Recap

Hello and happy Friday!

TGIF! After being sick at the end of last week, this full week of school sure did feel like a long one. That being said, it was nice to get back into a routine!

Thanks to being sick and just life being busy, I haven’t recapped our trip to 30A for fall break.

I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites...

…for a little…

This is our third year of having a full week for fall break…and it’s also our third year traveling to the 30A area with our same group of friends. This vacay is definitely one of our favorites.

We weren’t sure if this trip would happen until we saw the fall sports schedule. Thankfully, for us, cross country and volleyball didn’t have anything scheduled, so we were able to take this vacay.

By the end of this post, you might be sick of pics of sunsets and me reading my Kindle. haha

Here are the details of our trip:

Saturday:

We left our house around 8:30 on Saturday morning, and had a very smooth ten hour ride to 30A.

Two families left the night before, so they were getting the house settled right as us and another family arrived.

After we got unpacked, everyone scattered, but my friend and I went to the beach for sunset which is my favorite part of a beach vacation.

We had about thirty minutes on the beach.

Once we got back to the house, again, people kind of did whatever they wanted. The dads/husbands ordered pizza and wings and stayed home to watch football.

The moms went to Seaside where most of the kids were, and we enjoyed our dinner before going back to the house for the night.

Sunday:

We had a lazy morning with breakfast at home.

Eventually, we made it to the beach around noon. Because Hurricane Helene had just blown through, the flags were red, and the water was murky and choppy. The water reminded me more of the Atlantic Ocean as opposed to the Gulf of Mexico. We could still get in the water if needed, but no swimming or playing around. So, the kids mostly hung on the beach.

I read most of the afternoon.

The kids played on the beach. The girls mostly laid out, and the boys played bocce ball. Eventually the kids left and went to Seaside.

It was such a beautiful day.

In the late afternoon, the guys went for oysters and the girls went back to the house.

My friend Megan and I stayed all day until sunset.

This crew joined us at the beach for sunset. They are such a sweet group!

Sunsets never get old…

That night, we grilled out for dinner, played “Play 9” and had s’mores.

It was a great first full day at the beach.

Monday:

Monday morning, we took our time getting started with the day. The girls had gotten up early for the sunrise, and shared their pretty photos

We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, but the girls wanted muffins, so I took them on the golf cart to Seaside.

This view is always so pretty:

Then, we went back to the house. Some of our friends also had a house in our neighborhood, and they suggested Black Bear for breakfast. We’d never been, and it’s now a few fave for breakfast!

This bagel hit the spot:

Then, we went to the beach for the day. The water was calmer, but we still had a red flag.

I stayed a few hours, and I headed back to the house in the early afternoon.

I love nothing more than an afternoon nap on vacation. Also, because I’d stayed at the beach all day the day before, I was kind of a lobster in some spots. So, I headed back to the house for a shower and a nap before breakfast.

The kids wanted to go out to eat for dinner, and one of the easiest places to do that is at the Big Chill. There’s a variety of restaurants to choose from and lots of space to hang out.

It was a really pretty night.

We enjoyed dinner and a drink for a couple of hours, and then we went home. Most of us went to bed pretty early.

Tuesday:

We have something planned for breakfast every morning at the house, and Tuesday’s breakfast was bacon and biscuits.

That morning, we went shopping in Seaside…and I got my traditional post office pic with Had.

Of course the girls got a pic too!

Then, we did a bit of shopping. Hadley got a sweatshirt, and I got a t-shirt.

Trav and Hadley went over to Black Bear for breakfast, and my friend sent me this pic:

Then, it was time for the beach…and it was a yellow flag for the day, but the water was back to a pretty green/blue color that we are used to on the Gulf.

How Hayden does the beach:

The kids were so happy to be able to play in the water after the two red flag days. This is such a fun crew:

Hayden and I were back to the house by 3:00 to watch the Royals game play off game.

I had asked my family to make sure they were at the beach for sunset as I knew the next day, we wouldn’t be able to be at the beach at sunset and there was a chance of rain on Thursday.

Anyway, I was happy to get a pic with the fam:

…and a few other pics:

The girls were there for the traditional sweatshirt pic. I love that the pretty colors of their sweatshirts match the beautiful water and sky.

Besties!

At Modica Market, I picked up this 30A Rose’, and it was the perfect beverage for the beach.

After sunset, we went back to the house and had tacos for dinner.

Wednesday:

Wednesday was another beach day. We spent time at the beach 10:30-3, and it was the best beach day we had. The water and the temps were perfect. My friend overheard another beach goer say that they picked up sand dollars at the sand bar that we could see a bit out past where we could touch.

So, we swam (with our flotation devices) to the sand bar. We were out there for about 45 minutes and came back with so many sand dollars.

Of course, the little girls laid them out and counted them once we got back.

We even had some cloud coverage that day which was so nice.

I had lots of time to read…

…before I headed back to the house for the Royals game 3:30. They won both games on Tuesday and Wednesday which was so fun to watch.

That night, while we were getting ready for the adults’ dinner, the girls went to the beach for their own sunset pics.

We headed to dinner at Cafe Thirty-A. I got the lobster alfredo, and it was delish!

We came home to the girls working on a puzzle.

They completed a couple that week!

It was a great evening with an early bedtime.

Thursday:

A few of us decided to hit up Black Bear for breakfast one more time on Thursday. It definitely hit the spot!

After breakfast, we spent some time in Seaside, and did some window shopping and some real shopping.

A rare glimpse of the boys!

Of course, after that, I headed to the beach for a few hours. We “forced” the kids to go to the beach since it was the last day.

It was a purple flag day…so the girls were on the look out for some jelly fish. We did see a few in the water that day.

The girls just kept their toes in the water. haha

Well, the kids didn’t last more than an hour. The girls went to the pool, and Travis took the boys golfing. So, I had a few hours on the beach to read and enjoy the view. A few of the other adults stayed too. We wanted to soak in the last day.

Once I got back from the beach, I showered and started to get organized and pack.

Hadley went to Rosemary Beach with one of the other families.

Eventually, Travis and I made our way to Seaside where Hayden was. The post office was decorated for fall.

While we waited to be seated at Great Southern, Hayden snapped a pic with me 🙂

The three of us had dinner, and the boys ran off again to hang out.

Once we were back at the house, the girls had movie night, and we packed up to leave in the morning.

Friday:

Friday morning, we finished packing up the car, and I forced the kids to take one more pic in front of the house. Truly, they weren’t happy with me…but oh well…I’m used to dealing with moody teens. haha

Then, we hit the road back home. It took us a bit longer to get home; we didn’t do a good job planning our stops. Also, one of our stops was Bucee’s where I’m convinced Travis picked up Covid, got sick, and then passed it on to me. Oh well…we’re all feeling better now.

It’s always sad to leave the beach after a good trip, but it’s also so nice to arrive home and sleep in our own beds.

A few thoughts:

• This was our third year doing this trip with the same families, and I feel so lucky to have a crew that gets along, makes plans, but goes with the flow, and we all enjoy each other’s company.
• It’s important to have low expectations when traveling with a big group, and I think we do a good job of that. Also, we have followed the same at home breakfast and dinner plans the past few years, but also adjust as needed. For example, the kids all wanted to go out to dinner, so that’s how we ended up going to the The Big Chill rather than eating at home Monday night. Some families or couples end up making their own plans, and that’s fine too. Some love to beach all day, and others just go for a few hours. I think we’ve done a good job embracing each other’s preferences. They all know I love to catch as many sunsets as possible, but I know there are nights that won’t happen, and that’s fine.
• Each year has gotten easier as the kids get older. Do I wish my kids, and even Trav, were at the beach more because that’s what I like to do? Yes. But, it’s nice that the kids are old enough to have some independence too.
• Bikes come in handy as that’s the kids’ main form of transportation. The house comes with some, but there were extra ones this year, and Trav rented one to use to follow Hayden on his runs.
• The golf cart is also a key factor for us as that’s the easiest form of transportation to most places in the Seaside area. We pay extra to use the one at the house.
• This was the first year we used the “Splitwise” app. I’d heard of it, but had never used it. We would just add in expenses, divide it up, and settle up using Venmo at the end of the week to repay whoever needed paid.
• This year, we arrived on Saturday evening, and usually we drive halfway on Saturday, and arrive late afternoon on Sunday. It was SO nice having the extra day, but then still having the weekend to recover and regroup after a week away was perfect.

Overall, it was a great trip, and we hope to do it again if the athletics schedule allows.

Weekly Recap:

I had a couple of posts this week:

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading!!

I hope you have a great weekend.