Summer Vacation: Destin, Florida (Part 2)

Yesterday I posted our first two days of vacation. You can read it here. After traveling the first day and spending an evening in Destin, my post continues with Days 2 and 3 in Florida.

DAY 2 IN DESTIN:

We woke up to our first morning here. One of my top requirements was an amazing balcony. Last time we were in Destin, we had a great view and actually spent quite a good amount of time relaxing on it. This view did not disappoint and we enjoyed coffee on the patio every morning. The cool breeze from the ocean made the 80-90 degree weather extremely comfortable (being back here in Texas with 100+ head index has me really missing the beach).

That’s our resort pool to the right.

My dad enjoying the view with his coffee.

Beckham enjoying his hot cocoa on the balcony. He wanted to be like the adults.

Ryan took this picture and came inside to show me…I about freaked out (he was standing on a chair)

Helicopter rides all day long.

And Maddox enjoying his half of the cocoa inside with breakfast!

After a late breakfast, we headed to the beach. We set up our tent behind this water that was on the sand. It did not look clean at all but that’s what Beckham and Maddox wanted to play in for a while (they did play in the ocean though quite a bit).

This was literally the only picture I took on my phone at the beach. The sand is so white it looks like snow. Toes in the sand! It didn’t last long. #vacationwithkids

We went back to the resort to eat lunch and then headed to the pool around 4:00 to check it out. Ryan and I didn’t take pictures this day at the pool, but there are some from the next day below. I much prefer swimming in the pool vs. the ocean so this was a welcomed way to cool off. The boys LOVED the pool. It was pretty big and never seemed crowded.

After the pool, we all headed back up to shower and get dressed for a late dinner (we are terrible about keeping a schedule on vacation even with kids…luckily they’re able to stay up late).

We ate at this restaurant called Brotula’s Seafood. It was right next to a boat dock and the food was absolutely amazing. I got the Fish and Grits and holy cow! Seared perfectly and the grits were to die for. We also ordered the soft pretzels for an appetizer and I could have eaten a dozen of those for dinner. They had a cheesy sauce and grainy mustard on them. Ridiculous!

This kid is a mama’s boy to the max…always wants to be with me. October should be interesting having to share…lol

Any other boy moms have to endure constant fighting, whether real or pretend? Always. Every game is a fight of some sort. This was obviously a “sword” fight next to our table.

DAY 3 IN DESTIN:

Our mornings inside.

And my morning outside too. Perfection.

On Monday, we decided to do the pool first and then the beach, which ended up being a better schedule (I’ll explain below). So we headed out to the pool late morning after lounging at the resort and on the balcony.

Boys ready to hit up the pool with the floats that were provided by the owners in our condo.

“Mom, come on” – Beckham is always ahead of us eager to do any activity.

“Mom, I’ll wait till you’re ready.” – My slow, more patient one…always trying to please mommy.

Trying out these floats first.

After the pool, we headed back for a late lunch and then headed to the beach around 4:30. This ended up being better for us, because a lot of people leave the beach around this time, so we could set up our chairs in a good spot and not feel crowded (there is a separate place for personal chairs vs. the beach service).

These boys LOVED going out into the ocean.

After about an hour, we headed back up to the resort to clean up. This night, all the kids stayed at the resort with my neice so they could eat some pizza, watch a movie, and head to bed a little earlier. Ryan, myself, and my parents got to go out for a meal without kids.

We went to a place called Dewey Destin’s. Another seafood restuarant that was amazing. It also sat at a boat dock. We sat outside and quickly had to move to the inner section of the porch when a huge rainstorm hit.

I can’t find the appetizer we ordered on the menu, but it was some sort of scallops with melted cheese sauce. Really really good. I got some kind of Parmesan crusted fish (can’t remember the exact fish) with a side of cheese grits and hush puppies. My two favorite sides. The cheese grits were to die for and the hush puppies were the best hush puppies I’d ever eaten (they had a hint of jalapeno in them). I cleared my plate. It looked prettier than this picture, but I had already eaten a little when I decided to snap this shot.