Panama City Beach 2019

When I asked the boys where they would like to go on summer vacation this year, they both answered, "The beach!" I know we have gone every year the for the past 3 years, but the boys absolutely love it! Had I planned ahead sooner and got their passports this year, we would have gone on a cruise - maybe next year. So, we again decided to go to Panama City Beach. Instead of staying in a condo this year, we instead stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort. I had previously looked into this in years past due to the great reviews, however it was always booked when I looked. At the beginning of June when I decided to get our trip planned, fortunately their were rooms available as they had just reopened at the beginning of May after going through renovations over the past year due to the hurricane that hit there last year. So despite my procrastinating, we were able to give it a try.

We left home Saturday late morning and headed to Lumberton to stay the night at Shane's parent's house. Since it is two hours closer to our destination, it is nice to get a head start. The boys were thrilled to swim, even if part of the time it was in the rain.

We left Sunday morning, driving through a lot of wind and rain that was the result of a hurricane that hit Louisiana on Saturday. We arrived that afternoon and after getting situated in our room, we decided to head to one of our favorite places to eat, Pineapple Willie's. It was within walking distance (1 mile) from our hotel, so we decided to walk and enjoy all the sites and sounds. As in the past, it did not disappoint. We enjoyed live music, people watching and good food.

Casen and me at Pineapple Willie's

On Monday we woke up bright and early, had some breakfast and then headed out to the beach. The water was beautiful and crystal clear. I was soooo glad to see that, as I was concerned the water would be churned up due to the hurricane. There were double red flags which meant there were strong rip tides and the recommended not going out, but as the day progressed, it did not appear as rough and we let the boys go out a short distance. That evening, we headed across the street from the hotel and ate at the Waffle House - one of the boys favorites. We did a little shopping at the local surf shops and then headed back to the resort to see the magician and then watch 'Smallfoot' at the Dive-Inn Movie.

Greeting the Dolphin at breakfast.

One of the boys favorites, Waffle House.

Tuesday we spent the day at the beach and since it was only a red flag, the boys got to go further out and spent a great part of the day riding waves. We took a break half way during the day to enjoy some Pina Colada's and pepperoni pizza. That evening we headed down to Pier Park to eat at another one of our fav's, 'Hook'd'.

Riding the waves.

Casen wanted to take a picture at Hook'd.

So, Camden had to take one too.

Wednesday was pretty much a repeat of Monday and Tuesday. The water was so smooth and beautiful and it was a yellow flag. They boys again rode waves, played with a hermit crab that a teenage boy sitting near us found, and hunted shells. Shane found the one and only sand dollar of our trip.  We ate a very late lunch due to all the shell hunting, so we didn't leave the resort that night. After we got cleaned up, the boys and I went down to the beach so I could take some pictures of them. We then went to the Polynesian Fire and Dance Show and then went and watched 'The Greatest Showman' at the Dive-Inn movies, complete with popcorn, which was a favorite.  Afterwards, the boys and I went to a beachside bonfire and we enjoyed s'mores. Yum!!! 

  

Our one sand dollar.

Hermit Crab

Polynesian Dancers 

Dive-Inn Movies

Roasting marshmallows

Yummy s'mores.

On Thursday morning it was unfortunately time to pack up and head back to reality. We left Panama City Beach with some blonde haired, tanned-skinned boys who were tired, but happy. We all cherish the memories we made and their sweet "thank you's" as well as the joy on their faces all week reminds me why I love so much taking my boys on vacation. Until next time. . . 

Prior to leaving the beach we gathered up some beautiful white sand so we could make our own souvenir from the shells we found. With the boys input and help, we ended up making a neat souvenir today for their rooms (Lord, please let the sand stay in the bottle!).