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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Baytown Wharf - Destin, Florida

Baytown Wharf is located in Sandestin, just east of Destin, Florida.  I had heard vague things about it and was pleasantly surprised to see how awesome this place was.  I wish we had found it sooner.  It made the perfect family day outing.  It seems like a brand new area and has that New Orleans feel to it.  I'm betting this is an awesome place for a night out.  Sadly we never made it over with out the kids! It is north of highway 98 on the bay. It is full of shops, bars, restaurants, and activities including a fabulous playground. There is a hotel here too, so you could make it into a family weekend getaway.  Here are some pictures!



From this picture you can 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 were several fun family games spread out through out the area., like hitting a golf ball out into a hole in the water and putting your kids inside those huge balls and watching them fall over in the water.


There are multiple wooden walkways around to see the bay and boats. There were tree houses that our kids had a lot of fun climbing in.









There is a large wooden park with tons for the kids to do. There is a good size area for smaller kids to play in near 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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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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Panama City Beach - Fabulous Family vacation

      Looking for a weekend getaway and with in driving distance of Panama City Beach, FL?  You might want to check it out. The beaches are beautiful. Better than Hawaii beaches in my opinion. Panama City Beach is located in the panhandle of Florida.  This is a great family destination, despite what you may hear. (spring break)
     Even if you are not with in driving distance there is now a new international airport in Panama City Beach that Southwest Airlines flies into! 
There's a big recreation center with a little water park and playground at Frank Brown Park.  The playground is big and has nice white soft sand for the kids to play in.  It's close enough to the beach that even on hot days there is usually a nice breeze coming off the gulf. 

For skating and bowling you can go to Rock it Lanes.  This place in in an older shopping center, but the inside looks very new and clean.  They have a tot time on Friday mornings.  At tot time they can ride around on bikes or scooters and there is a bouncy castle.

There are tons of putt putt golf places. Coconut Creek was the one we always went to because it offers free golf and maze to kids 6 and under. 

Cobra Adventure Park has rides, an arcade, and a large go cart track.  Keep in mind the track is wooden and makes for a bumpy right.

Shipwreck - Island Water Park is a great time.  There is a little bit of everything that you can expect at a waterpark.  I was surprised how fun this was, because driving by it looked tiny.  They have done amazing things with the space they have.

There are many Golf Courses:
Camp Creek Golf Club
Holiday Golf Club (they offer an amazing military discount through the Navy base.  My husband golfed there for $10)
Hombre Golf Club - Adam Brack offers kids lessons at this course. 
Panama City Beach Signal Hill Golf Course
Fox Run Country Club Sandy Creek 

Junior Museum of Bay County 1731 Jenks Ave. Panama City, FL 32405 Designed for children in preschool through middle school. Features an early childhood learning center, human biology and nutrition, natural history and a nature trail.

Zooworld  Again, driving by you would never guess how many animals they actually have there.  For a smaller zoo they have many animals including lions and a giraffe.

Gulf World Marine Park  - This place has a ton of birds.  They do some great shows for the kids.  My kids still talk about the bird tricks we saw there.  You can swim with the dolphins too! 

Upcoming events around and near Panama City Beach

25-27 32nd Annual Pensacola Seafood Festival-www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/SeafoodFestival/ for more info.

2-4 OktoberFest in Panama City – Downtown

9-11 Panama City Beach Seafood, Wine & Music Festival – Frank Brown Park -
http://panamacitybeachfest.com/

9 Playhouse Disney LIVE – Marina Civic Ctr – 1800 – 793-4696 for info

12 Columbus Day – No School

16-17 9th Annual Jazz by the Bay- Oaks by the Bay Park (St. Andrews)- FREE

24 Boo at the Beach- Pier Park (promo/green grass area) - 11am-2pm- Hay bale maze, pumpkin carving, spooky stories, arts & crafts, pet costume contest.

31 Malloween- Pier Park- 6pm-8pm- Trick or Treating throughout property- hay bale maze, costume contest.

Halloween Bash 2009- Spinnaker Beach Club- “The Night They Came Home”- to benefit the Toys for Kids Foundation- visit info@toysforkidsfoundation.org for more info.

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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