Weekend Getaway Scenic 30A in the panhandle of Florida

I had such a great weekend with my family that even though it is already Wednesday I am still in a great mood. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was a three day weekend and we made the most of it. Saturday we headed out to scenic 30A. If you live in the Florida Panhandle and haven't been out here you need to. It is awesome. You can see my previous blog on it HERE.

A new Mexican food place opened up in Seacrest Beach and we just had to try it. I got a $25 gift certificate for there from restaurants.com for only $2! Can't beat that. The place is called La Cocina. They have the best salsa I have had at a restaurant since we moved here a year and a half ago. Our food was good too. I had enchiladas verde and they did not disappointed. My husband got the chili verde and it was also delicious. We will be returning often!

After that we drove out to Seaside Beach and walked around looking at the art galleries. They had a jazz band out there playing so we stopped and listened for a while. Afterwards headed back towards home but not before heading to Alys Beach to play on the playground.

Sunday was the usual even though it was valentines. We did find a great Italian food place after church, Angelina's. We have driven past this place probably 100 times. But someone recently told us they offer kids eat free on Sunday, so we could no longer resist. Sure enough, the kids ate free! The adult meals were very cheap and the food was great.
On Monday, we slept in: MIRACLE. Then we watched Night at the Museum 2. It was good and very funny. Then we headed over to Destin, FL.  It's a 45 min drive from Panama City Beach. I had heard about Baytown Warf in Sandestin but wasn't exactly sure what it was. It seems like a brand new area. It is north of highway 98 on the bay. It is full of shops, bars, restaurants, and activities including a fabulous playground. Here are some pictures!


From this picture you cam see about a third of the village. You can zipline from that tower and then go through a ropes course. There were also multiple places with water features. I'm sure that on a hot day these turn into splash areas for the kids.


There are multiple woodwalk ways around to see the bay and boats. There were tree houses that our kids had alot of fun climbing in.



There is a large wooden park with tons for the kids to do. There is an area for smaller kids to play in the back area.

There was also a bar right across from the playground where parents could get a drink and watch their kids play.

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Tacos Al Pastor

While we were in Madrid we finally got tired of eating Tapas, so we ventured off to find Mexican food. We would eat Mexican food everyday if we could. Unfortunately, here in Florida the Mexican food is not like what we grew up on in TX! We found multiple places in Spain that served tacos that I considered Tex-Mex. Here is my favorite!

Tacos Al Pastor

Ingredients:
2 guajillo chili
4 ancho chilies
1 onion (chopped)
4 slices pineapple (1/2 inch thick, chopped)
1 can of chipotle chili in adobo sauce
2 tablespoon vinegar
8 cloves garlic
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 7 - 8 lbs piece of pork

4 slices pineapple (1/4 inch thick)
* corn tortillas
1 onion (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* lime wedges

Directions:
1. Bring the guajillo and ancho chilies to boil in a pot with some water.
2. Turn off the heat and let the chilies rehydrate for about an hour.
3. Puree the chilies, onion, 4 slices of pineapple, chipotle chili in adobo sauce, vinegar, garlic, salt, oregano and cumin.

4. Place thawed out piece of pork into crock pot. Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices, but only about half way down the piece.
5. Cover the pork in the sauce completely and let it cook in the crockpot for 7-8 hours

6. Shred the pork and mix in the sauce along with some chopped pineapple.
10. Serve in tortillas with chopped sweet onions and cilantro a lime wedge. (and tomatoes if you like)

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