When someone gets wind of a beach vacation to Florida, some of the assumed destinations are Destin, Ft. Myers or even Panama Beach.
I'm here to tell you that we discovered the best kept secret of Florida.
30-A
This county road, of sorts, holds the most beautifully quaint beach communities you have ever laid eyes on.
How could we have NEVER even heard of this place?
I had asked for assistance sifting through all of the VRBO listings and a sweet church-friend helped us narrow our search.
Our particular choice this time around was Seacrest, but we also visited Seaside, Alys Beach, Seagrove and Rosemary Beach...which was literally a 5 minute walk. Rosemary Beach is kinda like Seacrest's Siamese Twin..it's hard to tell where one stops and the other starts. What's Rosemary Beach like? Mayberry-Meets-The Hamptons, if you will.
Our beach house was smack in the middle of a darn-cute community called Seacrest North. This area is North of 30-A, which means you are not staying ocean-front. Not a problem for us as the beach was a short 5 minute walk or 3 minutes by shuttle.
Yes, you read that correctly. We had golf cart shuttle that would pick us and all our gear up and deposit us so close to the beach we could see sand and smell suntan lotion.
I'd be lying if our Beverly-Hillbilly-gear-carryin'-selves didn't love that part.
The sand is incredible- white and soft. The water? Clear as a pool. We could see stingrays from a distance and schools of fish swimming by. W always had the net ready for fish, shells or the occasional purple jellyfish.
The waves were great for boogie boarding and faux-surfing. Photo compliments of the continuous shooting feature on our Nikon D-40. You did not let me down....
The other kickin' part of where we stayed was access to a 12,000 square foot pool.
Did I mention it was open from 9am until 11 pm? And that there was a huge greenbelt area right beside the pool area for the boys to play wiffle ball each day with their new Fat Bat BFFs from Tennessee and Alabama? Those boys' accents were heart-slaying. They were absolutely darlin'.
The Seacrest North Community has a bazillion multi-colored houses that sleep anywhere from 5-10+ people. You'll see kids riding their bikes or scooters all over the area and down to the restaurants.
Restaurants, you say? You know this foodie had to discuss the food we found while we were there.
We were delighted to find outstanding Mexican Food our first night at Mi Cocina and the locals' favorite, Cowgirl Kitchen, was delish as well. We blazed a trail along 30-A and had dinner at The Shrimp Shack in Seaside and the Village Market Cafe in Seagrove. They've been serving deep-fried love since 1949. Be still my southern-fried heart!
Need a sugar fix? The Sugar Shak is the place to be from 10am-10pm. There is line out the door starting at 6:30 every night. Ice cream and vintage candy fill every inch of that place. It's sugar heaven on-a-stick. The chatter while waiting in line that week was of Obama passing a bill that outlawed the making of candy cigarettes. The Sugar Shak encouraged you to get yours while supplies lasted.
Need donuts? A quick to visit Charlie's Donut Truck is a must. It's just down the road, in Alys Beach. Be aware..the donuts are HUGE and there is a line there too.
I know 2 boys who will travel back to Seacrest, Florida in a heartbeat.
And a family that will never forget the summer they discovered 30-A.
