Panama City Beach

For our spring break, we took a trip to Panama City Beach with the Hodges’ family.  Anna’s family owns a condo at Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort, so we bunked with them for the week.  If you are looking for a place to stay in Panama City Beach, I definitely recommend Edgewater.  They have several different types of rooms– golf villas, regular condos, etc.–plus tons of amenities!

In March, it was still a little chilly (especially for swimming).  Luckily, Edgewater has heated swimming pools!

For the month of March (aka Spring Break season), Panama City Beach had passed some new ordinances that banned alcohol on the beach.  It was calmer and less crowded than I have ever seen, and I’m assuming it was because of these new ordinances.  Great for us, not so great for those who earn their living from the tourist crowd.

In addition to the heated pools, Edgewater Resort has a nice little shop that sells Starbucks.  It was a short walk from our condo and we got our Starbucks fix quite a few times during our stay.

The condo we stayed in was a one bedroom, two bath.  (The bedroom had two queen beds and the kids switched up between the pull-out couch and an air mattress.)  We designated one bathroom to the kids, one to the adults.  Getting ready was an adventure, for sure.  I took this picture after Brandon and Brady had stepped out.  At one point, there were six of us sharing that mirror.

On one particularly cool day, we ventured out to GulfWorld.  (I wrote an entire post on that awesomeness last week.)  After GulfWorld, we ate at Finns.  It was the cutest little beach restaurant and delicious.  The fish tacos were divine.  Justin wanted to go back for lunch several days.

We had a few really pretty, warm days when we felt brave enough to attempt the ocean.  The kids captured sand crabs and tiny fish and tons of seashells while Anna and I soaked up the sun.  (Like, literally.  Our pasty skin fried.)

My diva girl soaked up a little sun, too.  She became Anna’s best friend–those two would’ve stayed in the hot tub our entire vacay.  I had to make them (Anna included!) get out before they melted their insides.

Favorite Instagram post of the week:

#Heygirl, because Jase (and his daddy, cough cough!) spent a lot of time looking “for the ladies” on our trip.

Restaurants visited on our trip:

• Captain Anderson’s Seafood and Marina.  Must try:  sauteed crab claws.  Eat early to beat the crowds.  After eating, take a walk through the marina and see the fishing boats coming in.
• Finns. Must try:  fish tacos.  Finns has an outdoor eating area, so you can easily walk over in your swimsuit or cover-up for lunch.  No need to shower and get all fancy 🙂
• Oceans.  Must try:  ceasar salad and grilled shrimp.  Oceans is Edgewater’s resort dining option. With beach-front seating right next to the pool, this was our go-to dining choice for the week.  The food was delicious, the prices were great, and it was oh-so-convenient!

Entertainment:

• GulfWorld.
• Pier Park.  We took two entire evenings to walk through Pier Park.  There are so many shops to explore and good things to eat.  (Anna bought the same shirt twice because the first one was lost/stolen during our trip!)

We owe a big thanks to to Anna and her family for hosting us!  Love you BIG, Hodges!