Panama City Beach, FL 2017 - Days 3 and 4

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Days three and four were our rainy days at the beach.  Therefore, we took way fewer pictures so I decided to combine the two days into one post. 

The third morning when we awoke, it wasn’t raining quite yet, but the sky was dark and menacing so we decided not to risk getting down to the beach only to get rained out a few minutes into it, and instead, we chose to drive over to Destin to shop at the outlet mall.  We had the last of our donuts for breakfast and then we headed out around 9 AM.  The drive from PCB to Destin is only about 45 minutes, so we arrived just in time for the stores to start opening.

Our first stop was the Nike outlet to get Jacob and B some new tennis shoes.  B didn’t have any luck, but Jacob found some that he loved.  The next stop was GAP to check out their deals.  I left with a cute watermelon swing tank (that I couldn't find online to link), and Olivia left with a flamingo romper that I also couldn't find online.  

By the time we were done there, it was almost time for lunch, so we walked down to Ciao Bella Pizza for a few slices.  It was SO SO good.  Definitely a gem in an unexpected place!

Next up was the Disney Store outlet.  You guys, I have never in my life seen something so crazy as that place.  It was so jam packed that they had an employee outside controlling how many people set foot in the store.  When we arrived, the line was about 7 or 8 people deep, but fortunately we only had to wait about five minutes to get in. 

It was a complete zoo, y’all.  A ZOO.  We let each of the kids pick something out from there as their souvenir from our trip.  Jacob got some sort of superhero thing that you wear on your wrist that shoots darts, and Olivia picked out an Elena of Avalor doll… which is weird, because she never even watches that.  Lol.

We let the kids browse the entire store, and then we hightailed it outta there as fast as we could… I thought I was going to go insane if I stayed in there for another minute.  Between the music and the screaming kids and the fact that there were 8,500 people in there, I was ready to GO.

We stopped at Carter’s and didn’t find anything, and then we let the kiddos take a break and play on the playground to burn some energy.  At that point it was barely sprinkling, so it was nice for them to get some fresh air after being cooped up shopping all day. 

We made one more stop at Ralph Lauren Polo where we loaded up on these basic polos for Jacob (since they were outlet prices) and I wanted so badly to buy this darling seersucker dress for Olivia, but the outlet price was still outrageous and I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on one dress.  (Although, it's now half off... go figure!)  

We loaded the kids in the car and started their movies after that, and then B dropped me off at J Crew so I could browse alone for a bit while they stayed in the car.  You guys, I was in heaven!  We don’t have a J Crew here in our city, so any time I get the chance to go I’m always excited.  I tried so many things on – this dress, this darling ruffle striped top, and this gingham off the shoulder top.  I wanted all of it, but I ended up leaving with this skirt in khaki even though I wanted one in every color.  It is just so perfect, so easy to wear, and so flattering.  And I also left with this scalloped cami in white.  It’s perfect to wear with all of my colorful print shorts. 

We settled in for the drive back to PCB after that, and Olivia ended up falling asleep in the car on the way back, which pretty much never happens.  Since she had fallen asleep, B decided to stop by the Nike store in PCB to grab the shoes that he wanted.  He had found a pair in Destin that he loved, but they didn’t have his size, so he snagged them in PC.  It was pouring at that point, but by the time we got back to our condo, the rain had subsided, so we headed out to the beach so the kids could play and run around for a bit.  They were in the best moods and they were both being so silly and playful.  It was the best!

After the kiddos had burned some energy, we cleaned up and headed out for Mexican.  B and I were in heaven with large margs and the kiddos were in heaven with their chips and salsa and cheese dip. 

After dinner, we walked across the parking lot to end the evening at a local ice cream place called Pink Pelican Ice Cream Bar.  We had never been there before, but B and I agreed that it was some of the best ice cream ever.  All of it was homemade, and you could tell!  I got the banana pudding and oh my GOODNESS, it was good.

Day four looked much like day three first thing in the morning – dark and gloomy.  The kiddos watched Curious George and I caught up on some blog reading first thing in the morning, and then after a quick check of the hour by hour forecast as well as the radar, we decided it was probably pointless to try to go to the beach again, so we drove to Pier Park and arrived at Dave and Busters right when it opened.  We had never been to one before, so it was a new experience for all of us.  The kids were THRILLED.  We have something similar back at home and Jacob always loves going there, so he was in heaven!

We put $25 on a card for each child and they played and played and played.  It just so happened that Wednesday is half off day so our money got us twice the amount of games and twice the amount of tickets that it would have on a regular day.  The kids completely racked up!  Around noon we stopped to break for lunch and their food was pretty good, too.  I ordered some chicken Caesar wraps with avocado that were yummy, but I was incredibly jealous of Olivia’s pretzel dog.  When in doubt always get the pretzel dog.  ;o)  I had fully intended to eat her leftovers, but she dropped them on the floor.  Womp womp.

After lunch we went right on back to playing games.  Jacob happens to be a master at skee ball, so he played several rounds, and Olivia wanted to do the same thing that big brother was doing, but after almost taking a couple of people out, I had to put the kabash on that.  Lol.

Well into the afternoon we decided it was high time to split, so the kids checked their tickets.  Jacob had 1,142 and Olivia had 1,632 so they both loaded up on prizes.  Jacob chose a Star Wars mini figure, two boxes of Nerds, and some other candy and Olivia chose a stuffed llama sprinkled with hearts, a stuffed purple elephant, a box of Nerds, and some gummy bears.  See?  They loaded up!

We got back to the room in time for Olivia to take a pretty late nap and during her nap I sat out on the balcony and read for a bit while the boys watched TV.  The day had mostly been overcast with a few sprinkles here and there, so I could see several groups of people down on the beach who had decided to brave the weather.  About 30 minutes into my reading, all of a sudden out of nowhere a HUGE gust of wind blew in and it started pouring.  The wind was so strong that all of the beach umbrellas, beach chairs, and even a full size tailgating tent flew up in the air and started blowing down the beach.  People were screaming and running and it looked like something out of a horror movie.  It was crazy.  I ran inside and told B and Jacob to come out and we watched the craziness unfold.  It was hard to tell from our balcony, but I’m fairly certain one person had gotten knocked out by an umbrella.  I saw it hit her and she stayed laying in her chair for a while with a group of people gathering around her.  She eventually got up, so I think she was okay, but by that time, the torn up tent had blown out in the ocean and the guys who worked at the condo swam in to pull it out.  It was just crazy.

After the storm blew through, the skies cleared and we got Olivia up from her nap and headed out for an early dinner.  We ate at Sharky’s, which is one of our favorite places.  We were able to get a table outside that was covered just in case the rain came back, but fortunately it had all blown through and was long gone by then.  B and I enjoyed some yummy cocktails (a cherry limeaid for me – SO good) while the kids colored. 

By the time dinner was over, the sun was peeking out, so we let the kids walk out to the restaurant’s playground right there on the beach and then we hunted for shells until the sun set.  We stopped by DQ for Blizzards on the way back to the condo and it was the perfect end to day four.

In case you missed the first two days of the trip, you can see them here and here and I will be back to recap days five, six, and seven soon!  Spoiler alert, the sun finally comes out and stays!  Woo hoo!  The best is yet to come, friends.  The best is yet to come!

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