Earlier this summer, we took a long weekend vacation to the Florida Panhandle. Over our six years of marriage, we have fallen in love with Santa Rosa Beach. It’s just under seven hours from Nashville, and the drive isn’t bad. Traffic can get busy between Birmingham and Montgomery, but that depends on time of day. After passing through Montgomery, you jump off the interstate and begin a leisurely jaunt through the small towns of Southern Alabama and Northwest Florida. We stopped and bought fresh peaches from a family-owned roadside stand.
When you arrive at the coast, you are greeted by white sand beaches and blue water. Not quite as picturesque as the Caribbean or Hawaii, but I can’t imagine that anywhere in the continental United States could have a more beautiful shoreline than the Emerald Coast.
This time, we stayed for three full days, which was perfect. We spent the entire time “chilling” and enjoying a slower pace of life. Even with a toddler, we managed to leave feeling just as relaxed as we did after our trip to Hawaii three years ago.
We booked a tiny, one bedroom condo with a fully equipped (but very small) kitchen. It met our needs perfectly, and the best part was that it was within walking distance of the beach. With a toddler, that made all the difference in the world. We didn’t have to find parking, deal with a hot car and an unhappy child, or cover our seats in sand.
Each day, we enjoyed the beach for a few hour-long stretches, which worked great for all three of us. Neither Mr. Handsome nor I are “sit on the beach all day” type of folks, so we didn’t mind having to go inside for naps and snack breaks.
Aside from the beach, we indulged in fresh smoothies, short walks (it was pretty hot and humid, so we couldn’t go far), and that’s about the extent of it.
On the way home, we stopped in Destin so Mr. Handsome could rent a jet ski for an hour. I stayed on the beach with Little Buddy, and I honestly was not the least bit bummed. We went jet skiing together before having a child, and let’s just say that it wasn’t a pleasant experience for either of us. I was terrified the entire time and did not enjoy it one bit, and my poor husband almost lost his hearing from all the screaming. After that adventure, I decided that I prefer watching from the shore.
This sounds lovely and a perfect long weekend holiday. As someone who also has never been a sit and lounge the day away on the beach person, your description of your days sounds perfect. I am sure Little Buddy had lots of fun playing in the sand and must have been excited to see Daddy on the jetski. Thank you for sharing.
Not so nice during hurricanes or stormy weather, which that area gets plenty of. My fiend lives near there and has had to evacuate plus put up with storm repairs. Those coastal and barrier islands really should not have been allowed to be developed. They can be too dangerous.
Sounds fun! How do you keep Little Buddy entertained and happy during long car rides?
We stop quite a bit and allow him to stretch his legs. We also let him watch pre-approved shows.
Ellie
Sounds wonderful. So thankful to see your blog back.
I’m glad ya’ll had a good time at the beach, and fresh peaches at that! I love the beach and could sit there all day just staring hoping to see dolphins jump! Even though I live an hour away from Alabama, I haven’t been in that state for 16 yrs. Sounds like your jet ski experience was like my 2nd and last motorcycle ride!
Oh Ellie! So perfect! What a lovely beach vacation for you. I thought we’d be able to go somewhere to the beach this year but so far hasn’t worked out for us to go. Yet. I keep hoping tho! But now it’s so hot over there, may as well go to the mountains instead. So glad you were able to go. And it’s been so long for life update from y’all! You all still doing ok in Nashville? I think of you every time we drive through there 😊
That’s kind of how we feel about the beach in the middle of summer, LOL. We do love the mountains though, too! We’re doing well. How about you? Are you enjoying this rainy weather? At least it hasn’t been as hot as it usually is in July.
Ellie
Yes thankfully it’s been a mild July for here! And yes, loving the rain we’re getting as the last part of June we were so worried about our garden and had started to water it a little here and there but thankfully the rain took over. We are doing well, Thankyou!
I’m glad little Jasper enjoyed the beach.
I’m glad you enjoyed your trip. I was hoping to see a pic of you 3 holding hands on the beach walking away far off in the distance.
That looks like a nice spot Ellie.
Question – do your beaches have lifeguards and are people instructed to swim in designated areas? I’m in Sydney and our beaches are patrolled every day during summer by lifesavers/lifeguards. We swim between the flags, which are placed each day by our lifesavers so that swimmers are in the safest part of the beach (ie away from dangerous currents). And they look out for other dangers such as sharks.
I love watching house hunting shows from the US and I don’t see similar safety measures on the beaches featured.
That’s a good question. There is a beach patrol that comes by often, and there are lifeguards, although they are pretty spread out. It varies from beach to beach though. I think the patrols and lifeguards are hired either by the county or the hotels that sit along the beaches, so it depends on how good they are about it.
Ellie! You drove so close to my house and didn’t come to see me?!!? 🙂
I live between Birmingham and Montgomery and I completely agree about the traffic – we call it beach traffic and we locals avoid I-65 on the weekends, Monday morning, and (busiest of all) Friday evening.
I’m so glad you got to stop by and try some of our states’ golden juicy fruit! Blessings to ya’ll!
It’s a beautiful area, Natalie. But I know it must be incredibly annoying to have all that beach traffic going through. Do you ever get to travel down to the beach?
Ellie