Magnolia Mamas : Summer Vacation

Showing posts with label Summer Vacation. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Weekend Getaway: St. Augustine Beach

Last week I shared about our short time in Fernandina Beach. That was the first stop of our little weekend getaway, but the second stop had us in St. Augustine!

We stayed at the brand new Embassy Suites and it was really nice! It was right on the beach, had a great pool, was walkable to a lot of restaurants and Rita's Italian Ice and even had a Starbucks on site, which my kids loved!

A lot of people from the Atlanta area love the Gulf beaches because of the crystal clear blue water and white sandy beaches. Those beaches are beautiful, but I grew up going to the Atlantic beaches and my kids love them most because of the bigger waves! They are huge fans of being in the ocean and big waves just make it more fun.

Lucky for them we didn't have great weather which made the waves even bigger and the chance for shells in your hair even better.

It kind of made me laugh the entire weekend because there were a ton of people out on the beach and at the pool in the rain, us included. They either didn't seem to notice it was raining or just didn't care.

At one point I was huddled under a towel trying to stay warm so the kids could play at the beach. A little rain couldn't stop our fun. :-)

We were so lucky that some of our best friends live in Florida and decided to come spend a few nights at the hotel with us. We laughed together, weathered the storms together, and just enjoyed each other's company! We were having so much fun that on what was supposed to be our last night we made a very last minute decision to extend our stay for one more night!

We were so happy that we did because we woke up to SUNSHINE on our last day there. It was a GREAT day and the perfect ending to our little getaway!

Friday, June 12, 2020

Weekend Getaway: Fernandina Beach

Last week we had a little weekend getaway and had THE BEST TIME!!!! After a very long few months it was so nice to escape our house and have a chance of scenery. The Mr. was doing some work down there so we decided to make a trip out of it.

We drove down from Atlanta and stayed for one night in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. I had't been there since I was a kid. I LOVED it so much. We didn't actually got to the beach on our day there and instead stayed in the historic district.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn and it was being renovated so we had to ignore that, but the location was amazing and there were some beautiful features to the hotel!

It was right on the water, had a beautiful view of the harbor and was an amazing location because we could walk everywhere!

The historic part of the town reminds me a little bit of Key West, but it also has an old historic and quant feel to it.

We ate dinner right on the water at Brett's Waterway Cafe and then walked around town a bit.

The girls wanted to take pictures on the train tracks (because that is what girls their age do).

As soon as we finished we heard the whistle of a train and couldn't believe our timing. I quickly grabbed pennies out of my wallet for the kids to put on the tracks. After the train passed we found their pennies and they thought this was so neat.

We ended the night with a little putt-putt and all evening I heard a train whistle so I think it must pass by there frequently!

The next morning we took a family walk around town and explored some of the other shops and historic houses.

Then we grabbed breakfast at a little cafe called the Garden Street Bistro where we met some locals, including the biggest dog I have ever seen in my life named Murray. He was a newfoundland and was 182 lbs of sweetness. He comes there regularly with his owner for a side of bacon as his breakfast. The kids got feed him and we all fell in love with the laid back and local feel of the island.

After breakfast we loaded up and made our way to our next stop, St. Augustine Beach! I was sad to leave and feel like this is definitely somewhere we will go back to soon! Check back on Monday for the second part of our trip! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Clearwater Beach {Marine Life}

Anytime I told someone we were going to Clearwater Beach for vacation they all mentioned the dolphins. Apparently, it is a big area for dolphin sightings and that held true for us! We were able to look right off our dock both morning and evening to see dolphins swimming and playing out in front of the house. It was so cool!

My girls both love sea animals and dolphins are one of their favorites. Anyone remember the Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2 movies?

It's based on a true story about a dolphin who looses it's tail after being caught in a crab trap. Some amazing people at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium help rescue her and she ends up getting a prosthetic tail. Well, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is actually a real place and the dolphins from the movie live there! We were so excited to take the girls there and let them learn even more about the mission of this Marine Aquarium which is to rescue, rehabilitate, and release back into the wild when possible.

It's called an aquarium, but really it is more of an marine animal hospital where they help hurt and injured animals. Little Mama wants to become a marine biologist or vet so this was such a neat experience for her and all of the girls.

While the girls were at the aquarium, the guys were on a deep sea fishing day. My little guy had never been deep sea fishing before and I was not quite sure how he would handle being out on the boat ALL DAY LONG. I thought he might get a little board, but when he got back and I asked him how it was he told me, "It was SO fun." :-)

They caught a lot of red snapper and a few other fish, too!

Another animal you don't see everyday is a manatee!!! We had just come back in from the boat when someone noticed it right at our dock.

They grabbed the freshwater hose and put it down in the water to see if he wanted a drink.

The kids all got to take turns holding the hose and feeding him.

It was such a cool experience and so neat for them to see it close up.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Clearwater Beach Trip {Part 1}

I shared a little about our trip to Clearwater Beach last week and could go on and on about how much fun we had. A little back story first though...for the past two summers we have done a houseboat trip with some of our best friends. It was really fun the first year, but two years was too much and my friend and I had requested a different kind of trip for this summer. Clearwater Beach ended up being the perfect compromise. While I could sit in my chair on the beach and read my book all day long, the kids and the Mr. like a little more adventure. This trip was the perfect balance of fun and adventure with a lot of good downtime mixed in, too!

The house we stayed at was amazing. Right on the Intracoastal, complete with a boat dock, pool, and tons of fun toys!

The views were gorgeous and it was so fun to wake up each morning to see the water and often dolphins swimming by.

If I ever questioned how much my kids would love to have a pool in their backyard, this trip confirmed it. Lots of jumping, dunking, floating and swimming was done!

The kids all took turns having the dads take them on jet ski rides. My kiddos all take after the Mr. and love a little adventure in their lives!

Funniest story, but my little guy had never been on a jet ski before and all he wanted was someone to play ping-pong with him. After a couple of days we finally got him on the jet ski and then he didn't want to stop riding it!

We spent a lot of nights at the house and cooked a good bit, but we did go out a few evenings also, which I loved. It was fun to get all cleaned up and enjoy a dinner we didn't have to clean up the kitchen after eating.

romper style//sandals

I wore these new feather sandals every night we went out because they were super comfortable and oh so cute!

white jeans//sandals//polish

One night we ate at Frency's Rockaway Grill which was right on the beach and when we wrapped up dinner the sun was just setting out over the ocean!

We hurried to snap a few picture and couldn't get over how beautiful it was!

Little Mama took this picture in the parking lot on the way back to our car. I mean, just stunning!

One of the highlights of the trip was being able to have such easy access to get out on the water. Our friends brought their boat for the week and another friend of ours took us out on their boat a few times.

We love boating and love being on the water!

We enjoyed our boat days so much!

We visited Tarpon Springs which is known for their Greek settlement and their sponge industry.

While we were there we did a little souvenir shopping. I tried to convince him to pick something smaller, but this shark ended up coming home with us and he was SO very excited about it!

We loved throwing out an anchor at some of the Intracoastal islands. The kids enjoyed swimming, exploring the beaches, and finding some pretty great shells!

The water in these areas was so beautiful it reminded me of being in the Caribbean on our cruise. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the second part of our week in Clearwater Beach.

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