Destination: Watercolor, Florida
For the past few years, we have been going to Watercolor, Florida. Truthfully, I had never heard of 30A until moving to Atlanta. I grew up in Maryland and every summer we always traveled to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I was wondering why did I keep seeing all of these 30A bumper stickers around here. Now, I know why. The clear blue water, white sand, picturesque town; yes please! We love staying in Watercolor because it is so family friendly. We can bike and walk everywhere, whether it be the beach, pool, or to dinner. I love all of the walking trails and playgrounds that surround Watercolor.
We usually go in the off season. One, it's less crowded, not as hot, and less expensive. My favorite month to go to Watercolor is October. It's still warm enough to swim in the ocean, and it begins to get a little chilly at night. We recently went to Watercolor last month and we had a great time, but if I had to pick, I wouldn't choose to go in March again. We knew it would be chilly, but some days it was very chilly.
I've rounded up some of my favorite shops, restaurants, activities and where we stay below.
We've been using the rental agency, 360 Blue since we've been going to Watercolor. It's a one stop shop. They have so many experiences you can add on to your trip, as well as concierge services. I love when I stay with their properties, that I don't have to worry about linens, towels, cleanliness etc. Every house comes with bikes to use and you can use all of the Watercolor pools (hello Camp Watercolor and waterslides!).
The shops in the town of Seaside (literally right next to Watercolor) have the cutest shops. The kids always need to make a trip to Duckies to pick out one toy, and I love to go Art of Simple to find pretty dishes and lovely apothecary goods. The local book store, Sundog Books will have you in their for awhile browsing all of the fun reads. I never leave a trip either without going to the Farmers Market on a Saturday morning.
When we go to the beach, we actually do a lot of our cooking for dinners. Mostly because I'm allergic to shellfish, so that can make things a little tricky. Instead, we will go out to breakfast a few times and out for lunch. When we go to dinner, we keep it easy with the kids. We love Black Bear Bread Company for breakfast (the coffee, fresh pastries & bagels are so good) and their burger night is a must one night for dinner. We always go to the food trucks in Seaside, The Meltdown for grilled cheeses and Frost Bites for an over-the-top snow cone. If we are feeling really indulgent, we will get a cup of Walk Away fries from Pickles to share. One of our beach trip traditions is to have pizza on the beach for our first night. We always get it from Bud and Alley's Pizza Bar with a side of their yummy warm olives.
We keep it really simple on our beach trips as far as activities. We've started doing a one or two adventures with the kids. Kayaking in Grayton State Park is a low key adventure to do with the kids. On our last trip, Troster took the kids on a fishing boat excursion. It was three hours and they had a blast. Most days, we start the day with a bike ride, maybe to coffee and breakfast, followed by an early start at the beach. We usually go back to the house for a little rest, and then back out to go to the pool. Both of my kids don't nap anymore, so an hour or two and then are good to go. We usually try to end the day on the beach, to watch the sunset. We hardly drive anywhere and spend most of our time on our bikes.
I could go on and on why 30A is one of our favorite family destinations. It truly is magical and I wish we could just hop in the car and go every month.
