Our 2025 30A Summer Beach Trip - Days 4 & 5

Happy Monday, y’all!  I’m sharing part two of our beach trip today.  If you missed part one, you can see it here, and our by the numbers post is here.

Tuesday, June 3

Tuesday morning, we were up at 8 AM EST, which is 7 AM CST, and as always, Brian headed out to set up our chairs right away.  There weren’t any spots in the middle of the strip in front of our condo, so he went to the end of the little strip of chairs that had already been set up, and we loved being there because we had more space than we would have had if we were somewhere in the middle. 

Once the chairs were set up, Brian came back to the room, and we had leftover donuts for breakfast (again), and then I did my Bible study and drank my tea out on the balcony.  It is always so lovely to be able to do my quiet time that way every morning with that view!

We headed down to the beach at 9 AM CST, and the flags were yellow and purple and the water was STUNNING yet again – crystal clear and placid like a lake – and it was sunny and gorgeous out.  It maxed out at just 84 degrees on Tuesday, so it could not have been more perfect. 

That morning, Brian and the kids caught some jellyfish and crabs with the net, Olivia played with Evelyn, I read in the sun, and we went on a family walk before heading up for lunch.  On our walk, we saw this alligator that somebody had made in the sand… it was huge and so cool!  I also took this accidental perspective picture and it turned out so neat!  Jacob didn't even pose for me... he was literally just standing like this in front of my chair and I grabbed my phone and snapped it!

We went up to the condo around 11:45 CST for lunch and then went right back down to the beach for a few more hours.  Olivia and Evelyn spent the entire afternoon boogie boarding as there were finally some waves later in the day… I think Olivia would stay out in that ocean from sunup until sundown if we’d let her! 

We also kept a very watchful eye on the water, and we kept the girls near the shore.  The pictures of them below appear to show them in deep-ish water, but they were actually right by the shore as there was a little dip in the sand as you walk out.  So, Momma and Jan, when you read this, please know that they were safe and that they were not in deep water even though it appears that way in the picture.  Hahahaha.

We went up to the condo a little before 4 PM CST and got ready for the evening.  We had decided to go to The Big Chill (formerly known as The Hub) for dinner because they had live music Tuesday evening.  The Big Chill is also about a 3-minute drive from our condo so it’s super convenient.

We all got Duo’s burgers and fries (the best!! – it’s the pickles for me!), and B and I grabbed some beers from one of the bars.  Then when everyone was done, we grabbed ice cream because they have one of our favorite flavors – pirate’s bounty! – that we can’t ever find anywhere else.

We hung out for a bit and listened to the live music, we popped into one of the shops, and then we headed home for a sunset walk on the beach. 

When we got out there, I looked to the west and saw this –

A stunning sunset!

And then when I looked to the east, I saw this –

A massive thunderstorm blowing in. 

We decided to walk towards the storm since it was still a good bit down the beach, because that way it would be easier to judge when to turn around and make it back to the condo safely.  We made it nearly to the spot where we normally stop, and then we turned around to head back for safety. 

Once it started coming in, it moved pretty quickly, so we ended up jogging back to the room and we made it back with a few minutes to spare before the downpour and thunder and lightning began.  We watched the storm from the balcony and then went inside to watch some of America’s Got Talent before heading to bed.

Wednesday, June 4

Wednesday, we had plans to drive to Panama City Beach since they have all of the touristy things to do that the kids love, and we also wanted to take a break from the sun since we’d been out in it three days in a row.  We slept a bit later – 7:15 AM CST – and then I got my Bible study done before getting showered and ready for the day.

We all skipped breakfast because we wanted to have a big brunch instead, and we decided to hit up Canopy Road Café in Inlet Beach on our way to PCB.  We’d never been before, and the place did not disappoint! 

It is so cute inside – not plain like your basic breakfast places – and the food was delicious.  I had the French toast with bacon, eggs, and coffee, Brian had their cinnamon roll French toast, Jacob opted for pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and Olivia opted for the kids’ pancakes because they came with whipped cream and a happy face.  Hehe.

After we were done there, we headed to Target in search of another beach chair.  The time had finally come for one of our kids (Jacob) to prefer to lounge more than to play on the beach, so he wanted a chair of his own.  They only had one left, so we grabbed it, and then we headed to Dave and Busters (my least favorite part of the trip – hahahaha). 

They always have half-priced games on Wednesdays, so the kids racked up on tickets, and then they picked out their prizes, and we were on our way in search of something else fun to do.

We saw an airplane advertisement over the beach one day (which is weird, because they don’t fly those very often in the area where we stay) for a blacklight mini golf place called Rain Forest Mini Golf in PCB, so we decided to check it out.  It was way too hot to play mini golf in the sun (plus we were trying to avoid the sun for the day) and we also wanted to try something new since we usually go to the same mini golf place, so it was a nice change of pace.

Since it’s indoors, the course weaves in and out through a bunch of rooms, and each hole was pretty short, but we had a good time!  It wasn’t too packed in there either.  I thought I was finally going to beat Brian, but then he got three holes-in-one in a row, so he ended up beating me by two.  Boooo.  Haha.

The kids were hungry after that, so we swung by a gas station to grab some snacks as it wasn’t near time for dinner.  And we realized then that neither of our kids had ever really browsed a gas station before other than when we went to Buc-ee’s on the way to Dollywood.  Now they love a gas station and Olivia has been asking for “gas station snacks” ever since.  Lol. 

We ended up going to Pier Park next because we hadn’t been in years (other than to go to Dave and Busters), and we walked up and down the main strip, browsing all of the shops for a while.  Some highlights – we got to see some crabs with beautifully hand-painted shells walking around in one store, we made a stop at the Lilly Pulitzer store, and we browsed the I Love Sugar store.

We’d never been to I Love Sugar before, so we ended up spending a ton of time in there because it’s HUGE and they have every kind of candy known to man + tons of things we’d never seen before.  Their Pez wall was insane – the picture below was only about half of it – and they had every character you could ever think of. 

They also had giant versions of Dum Dums (my favorite), Tootsie Pops, and Gummy Bears, and so many other things.

By the time we were done there, it was time to head to dinner… Pineapple Willy’s!  We have been there every single year since Jacob was born aside from 2014 when we didn’t go to Florida that year (because we went to Myrtle Beach).  The kids love that tradition so much, and I love their “Pineapple Willy” cocktail. 

I tell this story every year, but I’ll tell it again for those of you who may be new around here – Olivia got this pineapple dress back in 2019, when she was just five years old, and she immediately deemed it her “Pineapple Willy’s dress.”  She wore it to Pineapple Willy’s that first summer she bought it – back when it touched the tops of her feet – and she has worn it to Pineapple Willy’s every single year since then. 

It started out as a maxi dress, touching the tops of her feet, and now as you can see in the picture, it hits just below her knees.  My little girlfriend refuses to give it up, and I think it’s hilarious that she has worn it seven years in a row now!  This one will definitely go in the keepsake box when she finally has to retire it!

She had worn a different outfit all day but brought the dress along to change into before dinner.  Well, we walked all the way to the restaurant from one of their 84 million parking lots, we got seated, and she realized – she had forgotten to change into the dress!

So, Brian being the wonderful dad that he is, walked her all the way back to the car so she could do a quick change and wear her beloved dress, so she didn’t have to break her seven-year streak.  Haha.  We told our server the whole story and she thought it was the neatest thing!

Our server also saw Olivia steal Brian’s cherry from his drink, so she surprised Olivia with a batch of cherries in her own little souvenir cup.  It was so kind of her to do that!  I just love it when people go above and beyond, and she was wonderful.

After dinner, we ended our day in PCB with ice cream from Pink Pelican.  They have my favorite ice cream ever – banana pudding – so I never say no to that!

When we got back to our condo, we had just enough time to go for a 2-mile walk on the beach, and then we ended the night with some more of America’s Got Talent in the condo.

I’ll be back again soon with the last three days!

Happy Monday, y’all!