Babymoon!

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE the beach! So of course I wanted to go this summer. Usually we would go to Mexico, but I'm a little scared to go down there right now - especially being pregnant. So we decided it was a perfect opportunity for Rustin to finally see the beach that I grew up going to every year - Panama City, Florida! My dad's side of the family lives there, so we've gone there to visit nearly every summer that I can remember. My parents came along as well. We missed Colby...sort of. I didn't really miss getting splashed the entire trip.

The adventures started at the airport with my dad getting "randomly" screened, which provided us with laughs for hours! I guess terror suspects are dressing like cowboys nowadays?

 

Then my mom got sick on the plane. Traveling with parents is definitely a unique experience :)

We finally made it to my grandma's house and enjoyed a nice dinner, and then got ready for three days of constant beaching! The first stop was Mexico Beach, which is my favorite. We like going there better than Panama City Beach because it is much less crowded. It's always reminded me of a "Jimmy Buffet" town. We went to Toucans for lunch (which is my favorite restaurant there), and enjoyed a nice meal by the beach.

Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach with my mom (my dad could only handle one beach day)...but not without some pictures first -

 Then Rustin and I stayed at the Driftwood Inn that night. Every year when we come to Mexico Beach I talk about how I want to stay there sometime. I even used to say that that's where I wanted to stay for my honeymoon. It definitely lived up to my expecations! It is just a quaint inn right on the beach. Here are a few views from around the property -

In the main lobby they had a great dane that would put his paws on the desk whenever someone walked in. It was sort of scary at first to be greeted by such a huge dog! They also had a parrot-

That night we drove to Port St. Joe and had dinner at a small pizza place. The electricity went out, but luckily each table had candles!

The next day we went to St. Andrews, which is a State Park and a great place to snorkel. This is the one day my dad could handle the beach.

We saw a few fish while snorkeling, and Rustin caught a starfish! He threw it back of course. We also saw several dolphins swimming not too far from shore.
That night we went to a small oyster bar right on the water. They shucked your oysters right in front of you! I wish I had a picture of the whole group, but it was my parents, my grandma, Uncle Ed, and Aunt Holly and Uncle Greg. I didn't have time to wash my hair beforehand, so don't judge! (And yes, the oysters were cooked.)

 Then it was the last day :( Since traffic was so bad going to St. Andrews (which is toward PCB) we decided it would be much more peaceful to go to Mexico Beach again.

I wish I had some pictures from our last night there, but we had a very nice dinner at my grandma's house with all the family. They also surprised me with a "shower." They were going to do gifts, but realized since I was flying I wouldn't be able to get them home so everyone chipped in and gave us some money and a very sweet card! Anyway I am still recovering from post-vacation depression! I wish we were still there!