For those who requested more info about our recent family vacation, here it goes (and you can check out all of our past road trip and vacation posts here). We decided to take our week-long summer vacation in Destin, Florida this year. Since my family wasn’t doing a beach week like usual, and we were already going to be in Atlanta for the Haven conference, it felt like a no brainer to accept the Bowers’ invite to join them for week on the Florida panhandle.
Katie Bower’s husband Jeremy did the hard work of finding a house to rent for the week (finger snaps for him, everybody). Since their extended family rents frequently in the area and finding vacancies can sometimes be tough, they like to keep it as their little family secret – but for anyone looking for a place, we were near Miramar Beach and you can use sites like VRBO.com to hunt something down and read reviews. Our place wasn’t beach-front but we could easily walk to the beach, which was more cost effective than splurging for a beach-front one – plus it even had a little pool. Suffice it to say it was exactly what our rag tag group of four adults, three children, and a chihuahua needed. And how fun are these bunk beds?
If anything, we were most impressed with the outside. There were these great arbors with vines all around them and a nice little courtyard patio to insulate us from the road and the bike path on the other side.
Right beyond the courtyard was a little pool that ended up being our second home, only to the ocean. It wasn’t big enough for hosting swim meets or anything, but it was plenty of room for a few kids, a few adults, and the occasional doll.
In fact, it doubled as a synchronized swimming practice on one particularly odd afternoon (I think the sun was starting to get to us by this point). #claralovedit
But mostly the pool served as a nice place for Clara to practice her kicks and slowly get braver about putting her head under the water. Or at least under the daddy bridge.
But enough about the pool. Let’s talk about the real star of this vacation. THE BEACH.
We’ve vacationed on Florida’s Gulf Coast before, but I don’t remember sand this white or water this clear. And forget clear, the best part about the water was how warm and calm it was. Something I especially appreciate because it meant Clara embraced the ocean more than she ever has before.
The water was so calm after the first few days that we took it as a sign that we should rent stand-up paddleboards (from a place on the beach called La Dolce Vida). We got two (one for each family) and once we got the hang of it ourselves, we took the kids for a bit of a spin too.
The paddleboards were pretty easy to use (thanks calm water!) but I think everyone but Jeremy managed to fall off at some point. I missed catching Katie’s spill on camera by a split second (that’s her in the background of this shot). She’s probably happy about that.
We did realize it was easier to ride the kids around when we adults were either sitting or kneeling. Our balance was much better that way, plus the kids seemed to feel better being closer to us. Heck, Katie even took both of them out at one point.
As fun as the paddleboards were, most of our beach time was spent just playing in the water or building sand castles. But usually around lunch time we’d get the kids fed and then try to squeeze in another activity before their nap times, like going for a spin on the bikes that were provided by our rental house (the trailer carrying Will and Weston is theirs, though).
Clara rode with me on her iBert, which I always love. Our game of choice this time around was guessing what color the collars of dogs that we spotted up ahead on the path would be.
But perhaps the cutest biking couple of the trip goes to these lovebirds. Get a room, ladies.
Speaking of a cute pair, Clara and Will had a great time together. I’m not gonna lie and say it was all pinwheels and skipping (they’re both three, and sharing is not necessarily a mastered skill yet) but it certainly was fun to have another kid on the trip to play with. Though I should say kids, since Clara was pretty enamored with Weston too. And Sherry and I appreciated having other parents there to back us up or at least help us smile through a tantrum.
We did brave eating out a few times (it is vacation after all) and between the recommendations from you guys and the Bowers, there were great eats to be had. My favorite meal was probably at The Red Bar (not shown because the picture came out, well, too red) but Sherry declared her extra spicy shrimp at Stinky’s Fish Camp (bottom left) her favorite.
I also really liked the coconut shrimp lunch I got at Pompano Joe’s one day during a bike ride. It was right on the beach and it kinda made me wish more buildings could get away with a color scheme like this.
A few of you reported having bad weather in Destin the week before we arrived, which made us nervous. But aside from some quick evening thunderstorms we only got one dreary afternoon, which gave us a good excuse to try out some non beach fun – like outlet shopping (for the girls) and go-kart rides (for the dads and big kids). How we didn’t end up with the #7 car I’ll never know.
Like any vacation, the last day came all too quickly. We realized there were all sorts of things we hadn’t gotten to do – like going sea kayaking, hit up thrift shops, and taking some family pictures on the beach. But by some miracle we managed to make all of that happen in the final day. Sherry shared their thrifting adventures yesterday, but sadly there aren’t any photos of Jeremy and I braving the (suddenly quite choppy) seas in our kayaks. But I did get some of Katie doing her pro photographer thing though.
It was just about the perfect evening to end our trip.
It was almost cruel how much it made us not want to leave.
But alas, all good things come to an end. So the next morning we packed up and headed back to Atlanta for a quick overnight at the Bowers before completing the other half of the 14 hour trip the next day. Clara, thank goodness, is actually quite the road trip warrior – thanks mostly to the fact that we’ve done long drives with her since she was four weeks old (our current tips for long rides with a three year old are: lots of books, lots of toys, lots of snacks, and a few iPad games when you get desperate). Somewhere around hour 11 we all started to get a little stir crazy, but we made it home.
So a big thanks again to the Bowers for the invitation and for making it such a fun and memorable trip. After 12 days away from home (thanks to the conference beforehand) we were pretty excited to sleep in our own beds again… and to hit the ground running when it came to projects (dude, we’re demoing something today!).
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As a little Friday bonus, here are four fun projects, chats, or questions going on over on the Forums. We also announced this week’s giveaway winners, so you can click here (and scroll down to the Rafflecopter box) to see if it’s you.
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| by Hello | by michelelouise | by DesertDomicile |
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Stephanie says
Sounds like an awesome vacation! I’ve wanted to try stand up paddle boarding for the longest time. Need to get on it before the summer is over!
Wendy says
My sister lives in Destin (I know…poor sister, right?) and we just got back from visiting her yesterday. I LOVE that little town. Glad you had such a great trip! If you ever decide to go back, be sure and visit Seaside. Gorgeous little town just down the road from Destin. I believe “The Truman Show” was filmed there.
samantha says
the gulf (in that destin area in particular) is a total hidden gem. we lived in arkansas for 6 years (after being born and raised in california) and were introduced to destin and watercolor and rosemary beach while we lived there. absolutely amazing!!! loved our times spent there! being from calif, we typically went to hawaii but i think i may want to go back to florida from here on! :-)
so glad you enjoyed!!!
xoxo
LauraBeth says
We were in Santa Rosa earlier this year. Stinky’s had some GOOD food! You gotta love a restaurant that has crab legs on the kids menu. We have a hilarious picture of our four year-old sitting behind a plate of crab legs that were about as long as he is tall. Made for a fun meal for us and the folks sitting at the tables around us. Thanks for reminding me about it!
Heidi @ Decor & More says
We love Destin — it’s been a regular trip for us for the last 10 years and never disappoints, even in hurricanes! You for sure got to see it at it’s best… glad you enjoyed! I’ll be enjoying some Stinky’s Fish Camp over Labor Day weekend and can’t wait.
xo Heidi
Monica says
What a wonderful vacation! Your photos really make me want to vacay in Destin too! You’ve probably already blogged about this at some point, but what camera do you guys use to take suck amazing photos? And do you have any photo taking tips to share? Were you worried about having the camera so close to the water?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Monica! All of these photos were actually taken with our iPhones! We brought the good camera but never ended up breaking it out! So we just held our phones tightly when we were near the water and put them in a plastic bag in our beach bag when they weren’t in use!
xo
s
Mandi says
I’m jealous of how awesome the water was for you guys. My husband an I were there a month ago an it was brown, stuff was floating in it, and the current was ridiculously strong. It’s definitely a lot easier to play around in smooth, clear water like that with a little one. :)
Casey says
LOVE the Barbie video! And thank you for buying Clara a bevy of multi-racial dolls.
Sunshine and Paint Pots says
Got to love those beach holidays! Two years in Pennsylvania and one of our best holidays was to Cocoa Beach in Florida – the sand and the surf is what holidays are made of.
Cheers, Col
Tom says
Wow. What a wonderful Place. That is a Perfect Holiday for a Family…
Jodi says
Just in case you haven’t seen this on the Anthropologie website…
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-room/27210285.jsp?cm_mmc=CJ-_-Affiliates-_-Meredith+-_-11292623
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t that crazy?! Ahh!
xo
s
Kathy says
Unrelated to your post, I was goofing off on Pinterest and saw this:
http://followpics.net/tag/art-starts-with-a/
An octopus made of a map with a bicycle for eyeglasses.
Cheers!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, love it!
xo
s
Kelli H says
I am your newest follower and I love you blog.
Looks like you vacay was wonderful. My Destin Beach Vacay post will be up next week and you pictures puts our to shame it was horrible. It rained all the time and the water was ugly and rough. We own on Miramar Beach at the Majestic Sun.
Karin / Going Dutch on Decor says
It looks like a great vacation! Renting a house is heaven with young kids. We rented a small house in Denmark near the beach this year. (temperature a bit different than in Florida I guess ;-)but sea is sea, sand is sand and all children love that! Apart from Legoland the sandbox and swings that were next to the house, were the main attraction for our kids.
Thanks for sharing your story and the picture of Sherry and Clara far in the water is just breathtaking!
Greetz from overseas
Karin
Megan says
Ah, Destin! We go almost every year and stay in the beach front duplexes across the street from the neighborhood you stayed in. It’s a great area.
Kimberly says
Hi, my name is Kim. Long time reader. First time commenter. ;) I love the Red Bar!! My brother worked there for years when my family lived in Panama City. I’m so glad y’all had a great time in Destin. The Florida Gulf Coast much the most awesome place on the planet.
Erin says
Have you ever shared tips for traveling with Burger? Our Mary is similar in size and we usually just put her crate in the back. Do you use one of those carseats for dogs or anything?
YoungHouseLove says
Burger just sits quietly in the car (we’ve tried seatbelts and carriers but he’s very unhappy – he even made himself sick once from struggling/stressing – so the vet recommended just letting him sit if he’s less stressed that way.
xo,
s
Andrea says
My sister lives in Destin and we go at least once a year to defrost from our hard Canadian winter. It’s my favorite vacation spot in the world.
Shellie says
I really hope you guys went to Maguires Pub. Omg!! The food is awesome and the atmosphere is way cool too!
Kelly Mudry says
Glad you enjoyed your Florida vacation and please consider exploring Siesta Key next time! If you like white, soft sugary sand and warm gulf waters, this is the place for you. TripAdvisor ranks the beach #1 in the US. it’s so nice that our kids had their first solid food there and we’re still going back now that they’ve graduated university.
Cortney says
Okay, that synchronized swimming video cracked me UP. And now I want seafood. And the beach. Mmmmm…beach.
Sarina says
I went to Destin for a conference last year.. It was so nice, I would love to go back there for vacation sometime! We have a small place just north of Tampa so that’s usually where we head.. unless we go to Tangier.. Never enough time to get away it seems! Love all the neat things you guys do. You have such on point vision!
Darcey says
A really late comment (and my first on your site), but I had to share…
My (now) husband, Joe, and I took a family trip to Destin last summer over the July 4th holiday with my parents, sister and Joe’s son Dylan. We ended up getting engaged on July 4th (!!), and when I started researching what I wanted for our wedding, I came across your amazing site and wedding in your backyard.
So a trip to my favorite beach led me to start reading one of my favorite blogs!
PS – Next time, check out Louis Louis, which is The Red Bar’s sister restaurant. We had a family dinner at The Red Bar one night, and then Joe and I celebrated our engagement just the two of us at Louis Louis. Both amazing meals! :)
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! Thanks for the tips Darcey!
xo
s
Anita says
We just spent 10 days Christmas week in Destin with our family. 3 families. We never saw the sun. It rained almost everyday. Way too cold for the beach. 50s day, 40 night. Shopping was great, traffic terrible. New Year’s Eve at Sandestin resort was a nightmare. One son was turned away for no parking at 10 pm. Took over an hour to get from the gate to Baytown village, less than a mile. Shuttle from out parking. This was at 7:30. I will say the food at Graffitis was excellent! Our bill for 6 people was almost $900! Never again in December at Holiday. Too bad because the water and beach is beautiful. If you want warm go to south Florida.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that sounds tough!
xo
s
Lindsay says
I tried skimming the comments, but couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I’ll just ask. Were you staying near a dog-friendly beach? We’re considering a trip to the Gulf this summer and in my dog-friendly beach research, I’m only coming up with a couple options in Panama City Beach. We’re not planning on having our pups (2 chihuahuas) out all day with us, but it would be nice to bring them along and hang out with them on the beach for awhile. I just wanted to get your experience with ‘Burger at the Beach’, if that was something you were able to do in Destin. Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
I think where we stayed was dog friendly on the beach in the off-season (meaning you shouldn’t do it during the summer, but it was ok in the fall/winter). Since the beach was private (for use only by the folks renting/owning on that strip) many people had their dogs out on the beach while we were there (there weren’t lifeguards or anything, so I believe people who owned just brought their pups down whenever they liked). We didn’t bring Burger down just because he gets pretty hot on the beach and doesn’t really know what to do with himself, but some of the larger dogs there (golden retrievers, etc) were having a good time!
xo
s
Lindsay says
Thanks so much! That helped a ton! I figure our pups won’t be out long either, but I wanted to make sure we stayed somewhere close to a dog-friendly beach so they could get a little ocean experience!