Panama City Beach Summer Camps

Panama City Beach has much to offer families, including loads of kids camps.

Gallagher's gymnastics hosts all day camps during some weeks during the summer.
These camps cost $125 per week and are for ages 6 - 12.
Kids will do gymnastics and other activities. Campers must provide their own lunches.
For more info call 850-233-5501.  My kids LOVE going to camp here!

Julie's School of Dance hosts two week long camps each summer for $150 each. I found that the demand is high for these camps, so don't delay.

Science and Discovery Museum of Northwest Florida has half day and full day programs for children PreK and up. The average price is 70 per week.

Volley For Christ camps - Volley for Christ is a camp where each participant will learn the skills necessary to compete in the game of volleyball and the game of life. The camp is designed to use volleyball skills to teach girls how to live a life that honors Christ.

Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida offer camps each summer for ages 3-14.
Dates and times: 8:30 am - 12:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, Classes range from four days to nine days; deadline for registration is one week before start of each session.. Site: VAC, 19 E. Fourth St., Panama City. Costs range from $50-$150 per session for members, $95 to $195 per session for nonmembers. Activities: Clay, drawing, mixed media and sculpture for ages 7-14; themes for ages 3 to 6 include animals, cowboys and Indians, rainbows, everything that flies, under the sea and robots and aliens. 850-769.4451

Bay BASE sponsered by Bay District Schools for Kindergarten through fifth grade.
Dates and times: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday,
Sites: Tommy Smith, Tyndall and Waller elementary schools still had openings as of May 11.
Costs: $45 to $65 a week for first child in a family; $45 to $57 for each additional child; $17 per child per day for preregistered drop-ins (registration limited); registration fee $20 (nonrefundable); first week’s fees due at registration.
Activities: Arts and crafts, music, games, field trips, home-work assistance, sports and story telling.
More information: Frances Carey at 872-4292 or Joan Edwards at 873-7149.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Bay County offers camps each summer for ages: 6-18.
Dates and times: 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Costs: $250 per child for entire program, includes breakfast and lunch. Families with more than three children pay only for the first three.
Activities include swimming, recreation, weekly field trips, skating, movies, educational programs by police and fire departments.

These camps are available at multiple locations:
C.C. Moore Unit (swimming pool location)
L. Charlie Hilton Activity Center, 3404 W. 19th Street, St. Andrews/Panama City (763-3546, Terry Sasser)
Chapman Unit, 3030 E. Third Street, Millville/Panama City (785-2747, Wanda Jones)
Frank Brown Park Unit, 1620 Back Beach Road, Panama City Beach (236-3030, J.C. Schwab).

Dogwood Acres sponsored Presbytery of Florida, Presbyterian Church (USA).
Ages: Completing grades 2-12.
Dates and times: June -Aug, day/night half- and full-week sessions Sunday-Tuesday, Wednesday-Friday or Sunday-Friday.
Site: 3320 Harmony Road, off County 279 between Vernon and Chipley.
Costs: $142.50 to $295.
Activities/themes: Arts and crafts, recreation, nature exploration, challenge course, drama and improv, Bible study, fellowship. (850) 535-2695;

Drama camp: Sponsored by Imagination Factory Children’s Theater.
Ages: Elementary through high school.  Morning camp 9 a.m.-noon, afternoon 1-4 p.m usually in late May or early June at Arnold High School Fine Arts Center. Average Cost: $375.
Activities: Acting, voice and dance; accelerated program in which students work toward a production.

Gulf World day camp
Well $65 for just one day is a lot. But if your kids really want to interact with dolphins then this is probably worth it. Your kids have to be at least 8 years old to participate and the camp is just one day from 8:30 - 3.  The photos real sold me on this camp!

Panama City Cheer Camp: These cheer camps run all summer long and are for squads elementary age on up through high school.

Zoo World is the area's zoo. It is a very small zoo, but they have lots of animals. They have summer camps for children ages 6 and up. These camps run $185 a week and includes lunch.

Reading classes - offered by University of West Florida here in Panama City.  Weekly June 12th - July 19th for kids 4 years old through adults.  800-979-9151

Woodlawn United Methodist church is hosting Quest Summer camp. There will be a different theme every week Mon - Fri from 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM for ages 5-12 June 11th - Aug 21st. The cost is $90 a week. 

Pure white beach

Discovering scenic 30A in the panhandle of Florida is a fun experience for the whole family.  Scenic 30A is a great place for multi-generational travel. Between the golf course, dining, beaches, shopping, biking trails there will be something for everyone.   Find out more about what scenic 30A has to offer in this story over at travelingmom.com

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11 Ideas for summer fun in Panama City Beach

English: This is a clear west facing view of Panama City Beach in the state of Florida, USA. It was taken from the viewpoint of St. Andrews pier. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Panama City Beach is a fun weekend trip or a week long vacation.  Southwest airlines now flies into Panama City Beach!  This awesome area is more accessible than ever!  Here is a list of a few things to do while you are there.

Family Friendly Activities:
Bay County Library - 1 hour story and craft time- Thursdays, June -July at the area's brand new library

Kaleidoscope Theatre - Take in a play while you are in town

Regency Stadium 11- $1 movies Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10:00am

The Grand Theatre- Pier Park- Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10AM $3.00 kid movies include kid size popcorn/soda

St. Andrews State Park- This park has a great “kiddie pool” area where the rocks block the waves from coming into a large area , nice campground, and Shell Island shuttle.  I also hear this is good fishing if you climb over to the other side of the rocks.

Zoo World - This may not look like much from the road, but they have lots of animals.  They even have lions!

Within driving distance:
Baytown Wharf - fabulous area to hang out with the whole family

Florida Caverns State Park- located near Marianna, FL

Army Recreation Area - Destin area beach cottages for rent for military with id.

Wild Adventures Amusement and Water Park - Valdosta, GA

Callaway Gardens- Callaway Gardens, GA- Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival- September

April, May, & June events in Panama City Beach

April


Kids Fishing Rodeo
Frank Brown Park
Ages 16 and under
Free hot dogs, kid's fishing rods, tackle boxes
Sat, April, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm

Earth Day at the Beach
Sat, April
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
La Quinta Inn (Thomas Drive at the Navy Base entrance)
Admission is free.
Informational booths, interactive displays, free food, earth-friendly vendors, and music.

Earth Day Panama City
Sat, April
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Carl Grey Park (by GCCC)
Live music, food, art, crafts, children's activities, info on green products and local environmental research.

Kidfest
Sat, April
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
GCCC
Admission is $1 for kids, $2 for adults (proceeds to Early Education and Care)
More than 100 organizations and businesses will offer food, entertainment, kid-friendly activities, and info on early education.


May

St Andrews Waterfront MarketSaturday’s in May & June –  8:30am-noon, also in Sept and Oct. Arts, crafts, produce & seafood

Groovin’ on the Green
Last Sunday in May until early August – every Sunday & Monday night until . Free concert series in Carillion Beach

June
Annual Billy Bowlegs Festival
(Pirate festival) Fort Walton Beach

First Friday Downtown –  1st Friday on Harrison Ave in downtown Panama City, FL.
Summer Concert Series,
May- August
Lynn Haven, FL
6:30-7:30pm
Annual Panhandle Watermelon Festival - Chipley

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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Biking along scenic 30A in the Fl panhandle

Early Morning Seacrest Beach (Photo credit: tango_28)

Recently, we were lucky enough to have my parents come and visit us. They brought their bikes with them, so we needed to find a place to go biking. We had been told that near Grayton beach there was biking. Well, as it turns out there is biking all along scenic 30A.  The turn off for the part that starts/ends at Rosemary beach is only ten minutes from our house! This route can be found between Panama City Beach and Destin, Florida.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Rosemary Beach, but there is a cute little town there. With shops and cafes. You can park your bike and walk down the the beach.  The walk down to the beach is a wooden walkway made up of hundreds of stairs.  Their is also a handicap accessible ramp.

This picture is of the next town over, Seacrest Beach. We only biked for a minute and found this splash pad area for the kids.
The next area we hit that was worth a stop was Alys Beach.  All of the homes they are building out there are beautiful. They have a nature hike in the back of the neighborhood and they are putting walking trails through there and well as running and river through the neighborhood. At the front of the neighborhood on the west end we found this park. It has a zip line, slides, toddler toys and a little cafe/bookstore attached.

Once you leave Alys Beach to head further west it is at least a ten minute bike ride before you hit another town. But if you keep going you will hit many more beach towns like Watercolor and Grayton Beach. Here is a picture of Grayton Beach. There is a great restaurant there The Red Bar!  The food is delicious and comes in massive portions and their is almost always live music! 

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