Mexico Beach - Florida

Mexico Beach, Florida is a very private beach just east of Panama City Beach and just west of Port St. Joe. There is plenty of free parking. We usually park near Toucan's restaurant. We always eat there and they have a playground on the beach in front of their restaurant.

We went out to Mexico beach for the last time in May 2010 when Paul's parents came out to visit. We spent our afternoon out there collecting shells and swimming. There's an abundance of shells all along the beach. I think Mexico Beach is one of the best beaches for collecting seashells in Florida.

Noah, Eden and I bogey boarded. The waves at Mexico beach are not over powering like some beaches. It's a safe area for kids to play. Eden was only 5 and she was able to easily bogey board.

You can see how uncrowded this beach is in this picture.

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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Military Discounts in Panama City Beach

With multiple bases located in the panhandle of Florida there are lots of places that offer a military discount.  Here are Panama City Beach military discounts!

Mellow Mushroom,
Dairy Queen,
Hunt's oyster bar,
Angelina's,
IHop,

Ann Taylor Loft,
Nike Factory Store,
Old Navy,

Zoo World,
Gulf World,
Holiday Golf Club,
All the movie theatres,

Southwest Airlines,
Delta Airlines

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

Upcoming Events in Panama City Beach

29 Apr –2 May:  Thunder Beach Spring Rally
For more information please go to: http://www.thunderbeachproductions.com/

1 May: 36th Blue Crab Festival The festivities begin with a morning parade on the Coastal Highway 98. Demonstrations including crab picking, crab trap pulling and a mullet toss, withone of the largest fireworks a concluding event. For more information call: 850 984-CRAB

6 –8 May: 2nd Annual Under the Oaks Bluegrass Festival  Location: Under the Oaks Park on beautiful St Andrews  This year's event will feature many popular bands from around the region. Tickets for this event are $10 Children's tickets are $5 per day, or $10 for all three days, ages 10 to 17. Children under 10 are free. vendors on hand to serve food and refreshments. Parking is Free! For more information visit http://www.undertheoaksfestival/.  Mike Burton at 850-215-0911.

8 May: Gulf Coast Triathlon  Attention all Athletes! Selected as the Southeastern Long Course Championship, this yearly event has athletes from all over the country. To celebrate the athletic feats of the weekend, there is a Sports Exposition, party, and of course some fun entertainment for fans and participants of all ages.

8 –10 May: Spring Festival of the Arts  An early shopping opportunity is held Friday night and includes a silent auction. Then Saturday and Sunday entertainment, and free art activities for children. P.C. Juniors host more than 100 artists as well as numerous weekend is full of entertainment present on the gazebo stage ranging from dance troupes to college bands.  Experience is located under a large tent at the front of the park and has free art projects for children to make, more information visit http://www.panamacityjuniors.com/.

14 –15 May: 8th Annual Kid's Win Fishing Tournament  The Kid's Win Fishing Tournament has become one of Port St. Joe's most anticipated events. Kids from fun on the water and in the sun. The event exposes youngsters to the excitement of fishing in a fun and open to children ages 3 through 16, with the registrants receiving a new rod & reel, tackle box, t-shirt, and by entering.

May has been declared Florida State Parks Month. Experience all the sights, sounds and recreational activities that visitorsenjoy

National Gold Medal Winning State Parks. Three State Park Treasures found along the Emerald Coast are Henderson Beach, Beach State Parks! For more Information, contact your local state park or visit us online a floridastateparks.org.

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! 

Restaurant review -Panama City Beach

Shades bar and grill - very nice upbeat atmosphere. Prices are good. Large appetizers and huge entrees. You could easily just split an entree between two adults. Pizza was quite good. Kid meals run 5.75.

Dock Hoppers - food was great as was the service. Atmosphere was nice. We sat in the back patio overlooking there pool and the bay. Was family friendly and had good prices.

Margaritaville - long wait. Food was great but expensive. The kid meals were the most expensive I have seen at 7.95.

Billy's oyster bar - don't even bother.

Hunt's oyster bar - good food, good prices. Great local place. Great oysters!

Pineapple Willeys - very kid friendly. Huge deck with tons of outdoor seating with beautiful gulf view. Great food, fantastic prices.

Schooners - great view. Food not great nor the prices.

Bonefish Grill - best appetizer ever Bang Bang shrimp. Great food. Little pricey. Is family friendly but even better for a date night.

Bridgette Jenks Photography

Bridgette is a phenomenal photographer and was absolutely wonderful working with my children. She is just starting out so she has very reasonable prices. All of our pictures were just beautiful. With her reasonable prices this makes this a must when visiting Panama City Beach.

Bridgette Jenks
850-249-7263
bjencks@knology.net,
www.bridgettejencks.shutterfly.com

Fall events for Panama City Beach area

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oct 9- “Curtain Call for the Cure”!- Kaleidoscope Theatre- 6:30pm- $15- call 265-3226 for more information.

Oct 9- Disney Playhouse Live! - Marina Civic Center- 6:00pm- visit www.marinaciviccenter.com for more info.

Oct 16, 17- 9th Annual Jazz by the Bay- Oaks by the Bay Park (St. Andrews)- 6pm Oct 16, 12pm Oct 17- FREE

Oct 17- 11th Annual Mexico Beach Art & Wine Festival

Oct 23-25- Seacrest Wolf Preserve’s “Howl-O-Ween”- 10am-9pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun- Free Admission- Call 277-0489 or visit www.seacrestwolfpreserve.org for info

Oct 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.

Oct 24- St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge 21st Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival- 10am-4pm- Exhibits, demonstrations, and tours. Visit:http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks/media/pdf/CalendarofEvents.pdf for more information.

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

Oct 31- Halloween Bash 2009- Spinnaker Beach Club- “The Night They Came Home”- to benefit the Toys for Kids Foundation- visit info@toysforkidsfoundation.org for info.

Nov 6- Taste of the Beach- Pier Park- 5:30-8:30pm- Over 300 wines to taste and allproceeds go to various local charities dedicated to helping underprivileged children.

Nov 6-7- 46th Annual Florida Seafood Festival- Battery Park, Apalachicola- www.floridaseafoodfestival.com

Nov 7- Ironman Triathlon Florida- Boardwalk Beach Resort

Nov 9-15- Emerald Coast Cruizin Car Show- Frank Brown Park- Nov 11th- parade at 4pm at Pier Park

Nov 12-15 Holly Fair-Boardwalk Beach Resort (only local holiday
fairwww.jslpanamacity.org

Nov 21- St. Jude 5K Run- Pier Park

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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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4 activities in and around Panama City Beach

Panama City Beach, Florida (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Take a tour of the Bear Creek Feline Center: home to six species of lessor felines including Jaguarundis, Florida Panthers, Bobcats, African Servals, African Caracals and Siberian Lynx.

Take the kids to Pump it Up to burn off some energy. This is an indoor inflatable play place. Mon - Wed they have a toddler time for 2 - 6 year old from 10-11:30 for $6. Every Mon - Wed they also have elementary time from 3:30 - 5 for kids 6 and up.

Drive over to St. Andrews state park where there is an area enclosed by rocks where the kids can swim and play and not worry about big waves. It is shallow and calm! There is an entry fee of $5 a car to go in the park.  St. Andrews state park is also a wonderful place to have family beach pictures taken.

Go canoeing/camping/hiking at Econfina Creek. Click here for more info. And while you are up that way be sure to check out Pitt Spring. Its a great way to see the beautiful fresh water springs without having to buy or rent a canoe. There is a shallow end of the spring for the kids to play and wade around in. There is also a beautiful nature walk that leads to another very shallow place where even babies can play. Some people even snorkel there. There is not a lot of parking. For another good website with good pictures of this area click here.

Panama City Beach restaurants