Panama City Beach, FL - Day 1

Well guys, y’all are going to either a) make fun of me b) get bored with me or c) both, because I have so many pictures and so much to write about from our beach trip that I’ve decided to write a separate post for each day that we were there.  #LongestVacaRecapEver

I’ll be sure to break up the posts a little.  I promise not to bombard you with six beach posts in a row.  We just had such a great time and took soooo many pictures that I want to record every little detail for the kiddos to look back on one day.

Before I get started on the main recap, though, I thought it might be fun to recap our trip in numbers.  Here we go!

20 – floors up… where our condo was.

12 – donuts consumed.

3 – times that we were asked if Jacob and Olivia were twins.

1 – broken elevator in our condo that we avoided getting stuck on.

2 – hours past their bedtimes… when the kids went to sleep every night.

4 – nights that we got ice cream or frozen yogurt.

5 – naps that Jacob skipped.  (He really doesn’t nap much anymore anyway.)

8 – fruity beach cocktails consumed.  (Don’t worry, we didn’t drink and drive.)

0 – bathroom breaks while driving home.  Unheard of.

543 – times Olivia asked for her paci on the drive home.  (Just kidding, but it sure felt like it.)

Now for the main recap – Day One.

Tuesday morning we got up early, ate breakfast at home, loaded the car (the kids got new luggage and they were so excited!), and we hit the road!  We started a movie immediately and put the kids in their headphones and it was quite a peaceful drive.  We stopped at Starbs on the way out of town so I could have some coffee to enjoy with my book.  I started Me Before You and I didn’t want to put it down!  Soooo good, you guys.

Around lunchtime, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A to eat and let the kids burn off some energy on the playground, and then we loaded back up and settled in for the rest of the drive.  I immediately gave Olivia her paci and her baby and told her that it was time for nap-nap, but the little stinker ended up staying awake for the rest of the drive. 

By the time we arrived at the beach, it was already starting to get late in the afternoon and little miss was way overdue for her nap.  I knew if she didn’t get one that the rest of our evening would be ruined (AKA we would have had to stay in the condo for the rest of the night so she could go to bed at 6), so we parked in the parking garage of the condo and I tried to rock her to sleep while we waited for our condo to be ready.  (Their check-in time is really late, and with the time change it was even later for us.)

Olivia refused to nap in the car, but fortunately our condo was ready about 45 minutes later so we left all of the luggage in the car with the exception of the Pack n’ Play, ran straight to our condo, and I laid Olivia down for a quick nap while B went back down and brought the luggage up.  She passed out immediately.

While Olivia napped, B and Jacob watched a little TV and I got everything unpacked and set up.  I had a little bit of extra time before her nap was over so I also read some more next to our spectacular view.  I mean, look at it! 

We ended up having to wake Olivia about an hour and a half later, and then we got ready and headed to Pineapple Willy’s, our favorite restaurant there.  It’s built on a huge covered pier and all of the tables are out on the pier in the open air with 360 degree views of the beach and the city.  There was already a 45 minute wait when we arrived, so we took the kids to see the ocean while we waited.  Just as they were starting to get cranky our buzzer went off and we were whisked to our table around midway down the pier.  B and I both ordered fruity cocktails – I had the famous “Pineapple Willy” – two different rums, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut – and B had a Voodoo Punch.  They are given to you in souvenir cups so we have a heap of them at home already... as a matter of fact, they are Jacob’s favorite cups to drink from at home.  Lol.

The dinner was peaceful, both kiddos were as happy as clams, and the food was yummy.  By the time dinner was over, the sun had begun it’s descent into the ocean, but we had a good hour left of daylight, so we walked straight off of the Pineapple Willy’s pier and into the sugary white sand.  The kids found a bucket and shovel and they dug and dug and played.  B and I took the opportunity to take some pictures… this has become a tradition of ours.  We typically eat at Pineapple Willy’s the first night of our trip and then head straight to the beach to take pics and watch the sun set.  As always, we got some really great shots of the kids.

After the sun set (the first of many beautiful sunsets on this trip), we headed to find some dessert… frozen yogurt per the kids’ request.  We enjoyed it on the patio and then we drove to Publix to load up on food essentials for the condo.  The kiddos had started to get a little wacky by then because they were all hopped up on sugar and salty air plus it was way past their bedtimes.  We kept it quick and then headed back to the condo to call it a night. 

It was the perfect start of our trip.  And now I still have five more days to recap!  Hehe.  I’ll likely be back tomorrow with day two and then we’ll take a little break.  :o)

*Linking up with Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.