“I don’t see it” I said, combing a map of the state near Miami.
“It’s a little further North.” Kylie says.
“HHmmmm, like Boca Raton-North?”
“No,” she says “Look closer to Mississippi.”
“Kylie, Florida isn’t next to Mississippi.” but oohhh there it was, towards Mississippi. In the Panhandle.
That’s where she was taking us? I thought people only went to the Florida panhandle to identify the body of a missing daughter……..not to vacation.
And then she said the words, “It’s the Redneck Riviera.”
Was that supposed to sell it? She is a professional travel agent, and hasn’t steered us wrong on all our other trips. What the hell? We’re in for this one too.
So we packed our swimsuits and sun glasses and joined the Peck family for a week in a condo on the Redneck Riviera. Y’all might remember that we took a Caribbean cruise with them just 2 years ago, but on this trip there was a new Peck joining us.
Baby Madeleine….
There are several beach communities that run along highway 30A, nestled against the white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.
We stayed in beautiful Seaside where The Truman Show was filmed.
The community motto is…..
How charming is the Seaside post office?
Food trucks line 30A…..
Taco stands and shrimp shacks line the beaches……
This amazing tower is the beach access from the center of Seaside.
A few miles down 30A is Alys Beach. Home of Charlie’s Donut Truck……
Fonville press….
and a fountain with some pretty disgusting rules…..
Did I mention how spectacular the white sand beaches were?
Since we had a rental car, we took a day trip to Cape San Blas and the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park…..about an hour and a half away. Well worth the drive.
Jamie and I rented Vespas one day and jetted down 30A to Rosemary Beach.
Rosemary Beach feels more like a European village than a Florida beaching community……
Movies on the lawn. How charming is that?
The week went by way faster than we expected it to……and all too soon it was time to head back to Dallas.
Only one thing left to do…..
Check the baby to make sure she would fit in the overhead storage compartment on the plane.
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So, did it beat Key West?
Not quite….It’s beautiful, but we miss Key West…started planing a September trip to Key West while we were sill in Seaside…..
That definitely looks like a place we need to experience. But I have one question. That’s Gert with all those tats? I never took him for a tattoo-kind-of-guy. 😉
When he was young, he got several…….but nothing in the past 10 years
We go to Hwy 30A evey year and enjoy it so much! Also love Rosemary Beach! Thanks for the photos!
Awesome! You must return + photograph some of the cottages! Or I can just go to realtor.com again + have a look-see. Did you notice that all the (excellent) signage looks like the same person made each? And not to go all geography police on you, but the panhandle of Florida is next to Alabama. The beach bar at the state line is called the Floribama. I got that tee shirt. :-X
I’m so glad you called the post Red Neck Riviera – maybe people will think “I don’t want to go there” — Purely selfish motivation beause that’s my FAVORITE place to vacation, especially in the fall, when it’s still hot, rental prices go down and kids are at school. I feel like I have the whole place to myself! I love the idea of renting Vespa’s- where did you rent them from?
We usually do Key West just after school starts for the same reasons……island all too ourselves. We got the Vespas from bike rental place, pretty expensive ($100 each- per day) and Jamie’s ran out of gas on 30A, but totally worth it!
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