This was our first time back to Destin since our honeymoon, and it was the first time for Sydney and Jaxon. They loved it, and we hope to make it a family tradition to visit the panhandle every summer.
My parents came with us to enjoy the warm Florida sun and relaxing beaches. When we first arrived it was super windy and a little chilly. We were okay with it thoughbecause as my Dad always says, "A bad day in Destin is still better than a good day anywhere else." The rest of our time there was absolutle lovely!
Before checking in to our hotel, we stopped off at the beach. Donnie took Sydney and Jaxon to check out the ocean.
Jaxon loved the feel of the water rushing over his little feet. Sydney, on the other hand, would rather just look at the water.
The next day it warmed up a little and we strapped on our swimsuits and hit the beach. Jaxon loved playing with the sand toys, and Sydney decided to give the water another try.
After a few thrusts of the shovel Jaxy was worn out and ready for a nap. Sydney worked up a thirst chasing waves.
After splashing around in the water, Donnie too decided to try his hand at sand castle building. It didn't take long for Sydney to attack and destroy the masterpiece either!
After playing on the beach for a while, we all decided to check out the beautiful water.
By the next day, Sydney and Jaxon were helping Donnie build castles, and no longer trying to destroy his hard work.
So when you are in Florida, you have to eat seafood - well, Donnie, the kids, and my Dad need to eat seafood, my Mom and I can pass. We ate at a lot of really good places. One of those places is The Crab Trap. It is right on the beach, and after we ate we went to check out the ocean views.
Another yummy place we ate at was Fuddpucker's. It is absolutely huge! They not only have three levels of seating, but they have over 80 live alligators too.
Lest you think we spent our entire vacation sleeping on the beach or eating, I better move on. We went to this family fun park called The Track. I always loved the track! Our main purpose was to play mini golf, but Sdney wanted to check out some of the rides too.
I could not believe it! Sydney is not much of a daredevil, but she chose to ride some of the "scary" rides, and loved every minute of it! Donnie took her on the bumper boats and race cars, and then she hit the ferris wheel, swings, and airplane solo.
After Sydney used all of her tickets we hit the mini golf course. About halfway through the Mountain Safari course (complete with waterfalls and exotic animal statues) Sydney found a giant giraffe. She was so excited!
She ran up and stood right underneath it. Water from one of the nearby falls splashed Sydney from behind, but not knowing the source of the wetness, Sydney yelled, "Hey! This giraffe just peed on me!" Oh Sydney...
In the Sandestin resort there are tons of hotels, shops, restaurants, golf courses... anything you might want. There is also a place called Baytowne Wharf. This is where the nightlife is (I guess, we went during the day :-)). This is where you can find the trendy shops, expensive restaurants, yummy saltwater taffy, and apparently surfing alligators.
You can also walk out to the bay and feed fish, but we actually just fed fish food to the birds.
We also spent a day (rain day) at Destin Commons. This is an outdoor shopping complex. They have a play area for kids in the middle of the "mall." Sydney liked the playground, until she saw the jumping fountains. The other kids playing in the fountains were in swimsuits - but that did not deter Sydney who attacked the water with no fear.
It was such a great vacation!
