Monday, June 14, 2010

Summer Vacation~ June 5th-11th~ Cape San Blas, FL

Warning: This post is really long!
Our vacation to Cape San Blas, Florida was so much fun! This was our first time there, and we really enjoyed it. It's located about 50 miles southeast of Panama City on a small pennisula. We heard about Cape San Blas from a girl who works with Terrell whose family vacationed there last October. They loved it and their pictures were beautiful so we started looking into going there. We ultimately decided to go there because they have pet friendly beaches and almost every option of a place to stay there is pet friendly. (That means our dog, my parent's dog, and my sister's dog could all go with us!) Plus, it's on the Gulf, our favorite, and close enough to Panama City to spend a day there or eat there if we wanted. So, we made our reservations for early in the summer (thank goodness we had no issues with oil) at a 3 bedroom, 3 and a half bath town home with a pool. Having a pool is an absolute must for us! So, the three of us went with my mom, dad, and sister... plus our 3 dogs Bailey, Molly, and Emma and we all had a blast! These are just a few of my favorite pictures from our vacation.... I'm sure I will find ways to add more pictures from our trip to future posts.


We arrived at our home for the week on Saturday around 5:00 and after unpacking and getting settled in, we decided to take Garrison to the pool. It was his first time in his new float and he had a really good time.


Sunday we woke up to clouds and rain and were really lazy hanging out inside. Finally we decided to get ready and make the hour and a half drive to Panama City since it didn't appear we'd get to enjoy the beach that day. So, my dad grabbed a pillow and hopped in the back of our jeep so we could all ride to together. It was a fun trip and there was never a dull moment having all 6 of us packed into 1 car.


In Panama City, we went to Angelo's for supper... one of our favorite places to eat in PC. Garrison apparently didn't want his picture made with Granna and Papa beside the bull. haha!




After supper we went to the Salty Dog Surf Shop (another one of our favorite places to visit there) and then we headed over to Pier Park. We love Pier Park. It offers soo much and now I have another reason to love it... they now have a little kiddie amusement mark area. Anna and I rode the carousel with the little man and he had a ball there. He watched AnAn and Papa ride the Ferris Wheel and he walked all over the place. Plus we had some ice cream there too.



Our first day at the beach was Monday and Garrison did great! He loved playing in the sand and practically entertained himself. We weren't able to get in the ocean much with him because it was a little too rough for him. We think there must have been some storms out in the Gulf before we arrived because we couldn't remember a time when the waves had been so big and the water was so rough. Garrison spent his time playing in the sand or the swimming pool that first day. That night we all stayed in and had spaghetti.




The second day at the beach was just as fun as the first. The ocean had calmed down some so Garrison was able to get in a little bit. We are soo thankful he loves the water! We went into Port St. Joe that night for dinner at the Sunset Coastal Grill. The pictures below were taken outside the restaurant.








Wednesday the beach was beautiful! The water became more green and more clear and the waves were even calmer. Garrison had fun in the ocean and playing in the sand. He liked going to the swimming pool too, but he wore us out because all he wanted to do was get in and out of the water.










Because we were at a pet friendly beach, it was very common to see dogs on the beach everyday. One of Garrison's favorite new friends he met was Maggie the Boxer. He loved petting her and getting close to her. She actually licked him in the face once and he just laughed. All of the dogs were great entertainment for him.



One of my favorite pictures of my two guys in the ocean. Terrell was lifting him up so he wasn't covered by a wave.



Wednesday night before leaving to go out for supper we went down to the beach for our 2nd annual "beach picture" in our khaki and white. Garrison wasn't too interested in having his picture made... and neither was Bailey (we made a few with her but those didn't turn out too good). This is one of the best ones. Even though the little man isn't smiling and isn't in the best mood, I'm still glad we did it. I hope we can do it every year. Anyway, after taking our "beach picture" we went inside and changed clothes and got ready to go to Apalachicola. Once again, daddy got in the back of the jeep and it took us about 25 minutes to get there. The ride was eventful this time too. Somehow, when we got there we ended up driving over a bridge that was several miles long. My dad spotted it first and wanted us to drive over it... not sure why, but Terrell didn't ask any questions he just went ahead and got on the bridge. It was a strange feeling because we didn't know where the bridge was taking us and when our first opportunity to turn around would be. But, we made it and were able to turn around once we finally reached the end and we actually had a really pretty view as we were driving over. After our trip back over the bridge we went and ate at this neat little place called Papa Joe's Oyster Bar and Grill. It reminded us of Pastime Grill at home in Barnesville. It seemed like a place for the locals and fishermen. The food was great and Garrison could be as loud as he wanted there. The next two pictures below were taken outside of the restaurant.





Our last day at the beach was Thursday and it was absolutely beautiful! The ocean was extremely calm and completely clear. It reminded me of the ocean and beach in Honolulu... just gorgeous. We stayed out as long as we could that day. Garrison actually got in his turtle float in the ocean for over half an hour and loved it. The waves just gently rocked him and he was totally relaxed. Terrell and I finally made the decision to bring him in out of the water. If it was up to him I'm sure he would have stayed even longer.

AnAn and Garrison in the ocean.

Going out to the ocean in his float for the first time.



The picture above was taken right before going out to eat on Thursday night. Garrison decided to help everyone take the dogs out before we left. He was so cute following the dogs around and trying to help. We went back to Apalachicola for supper and ate at a place right on the corner in town. Their menu offered something for everyone and we really enjoyed it.
We made lots of memories on this vacation and had a great time. I can't wait to get all of our pictures printed and into my vacation album. Everyday was lots of fun and Garrison had a ball. It was so neat to see him excited about being at a new place and enjoying all of his new experiences. Even though we had to come back a day early for my cousin's wedding, and Garrison had trouble going to sleep every night in his Pack n' Play, this vacation was fun and relaxing and everything we hoped it would be. I'm already looking forward to next year!




















2 comments:

Megan said...

I so wish I would have known yall were going to Cap San Blas. Actually on the other side of that bridge you went down in Apalachicola is St. George Island (where we always go). We spend a lot of time in Apalachicola there is a lot of neat shops and places to eat actually we eat there most nights. Mom has always wanted to try that Sunset Grill in Port St. Joe. How was that?

Meggie said...

Oh my goodness~ that's crazy! Everyone we told about Cape San Blas had never heard of it! You'll have to recommend some shops and other places to eat in Apalachicola. When we were going over that bridge we wondered if we might be headed for St. George Island. Do ya'll really like it there? Is it pet friendly too? We're trying to decide about next year... but we may have to go to the Atlantic side if the oil is still an issue. We really liked Sunset Grill. Anna and my parents got seafood and said it was pretty good, but not the best they'd ever had. I got pasta and Terrell got steak and we really liked it. The atmosphere there is a little more upscale/dressy than the two places we went to in Apalachicola.