Hey y’all!
WOW. Can y’all believe how fast summer flew by? We only have a couple months in Tennessee before school began again, so I made it my mission to have a fun and unforgettable summer with the boys. I focused on being PRESENT with them and not feeling like I was glued to my phone/computer.
We headed down for our annual beach trip for the third year in a row to Watercolor located off of 30A. 30A is a 20 mile stretch of scenic highway in the gulf of Florida between Destin and Panama City.
This year, we stayed in Watercolor at a town home with several amenities to Camp Watercolor (which we did not learn about until our last two days – it’s a waterpark for kids) and to the Watercolor Beach Club. Our town home was GORGEOUS – the interior designer in me was loving the vibe. We stayed during the 4th (which may be your only time off – however, I do NOT recommend a beach trip then) and it was PACKED.
You must reserve chair rentals a year in advance, or at least wait in line each day at 8am and the chair service does not open until 9am. If you wait, you will be in 3rd or 4th rows of chairs. By the 4th day, we decided to “rough it” with our own tents and chairs and venture to the public beach access (right next to our private beach) and it was AWESOME. Aaron would head out by 6am to grab a spot and I would get the kids fed and ready. The kids had plenty of room to play and run without us having to worry about impeding on someone else’s space!
My top tips for the beach are to carry –
A Tent – We love the Sun Ninja
Sunscreen
Towels
Sand proof Beach Quilt
Beach Toys
A Net
And we let them carry a couple large monster trucks and built a Monster Jam race pit! To view the boys in action click here: https://www.tiktok.com/@brookebcarmean/video/7117296010677898542?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
You can shop my beach necessities here: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/brookebcarmean/posts/dda82c1f-fdf5-11ec-b2de-0242ac110004
Our Fave Restaurants included:
The Red Bar
Old Florida Fish House
Fish Out of Water (FOOW)
30A is a fun family vacation spot and the water is beautiful, but there’s not a ton to do if your children are older. We encountered lots of rude teenagers at the Beach Club, but that could happen anywhere! Watercolor has grown and become wildly popular – so just know that it will be crowded. I personally loved Seaside area better. With it being our third year, we are looking to change it up next summer and I will keep y’all updated on where the Carmeans travel to next!
To view my tutorials on packing a yummy snack tray for the beach (or pool, lake, boat day) visit here: https://www.tiktok.com/@brookebcarmean/video/7117418694141283630?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
