We’ve traveled to a variety of destinations on the Gulf Coast….Gulf Shores, Destin, Sandestin, but we’ve never made our way over to 30A. UNTIL last week. 🙂 After hearing so much about this vacation spot, I knew we needed to check it out! So back in the fall/winter months I began my search on VRBO for a place for us to stay. I polled all of you and we narrowed our location down to Rosemary Beach.
It’s about a 13ish hour road trip from our home in McKinney to Rosemary.
I grabbed this book out of my book cabinet. I can’t remember which “Must Read Book List” I read when ordering this one, but I had no clue it was considered a “young adult” book when I ordered.
Eleanor and Park is about two kids who come from very different backgrounds (one is poor with four other siblings and an abusive “stepdad” while the other comes from a family with two loving parents) who meet on the school bus. They start an unlikely friendship that grows over time. The language in Eleanor and Park was super rated R. The content…wasn’t so much rated R, but just wanted to throw that out there before anyone recommends it to a “young adult”. A good book that made my heart ache for how some kids have to grow up, things they’re exposed to, and just how they have to be on edge and nervous when they’re “home”.
We drove about nine hours and stopped in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for the night. The next morning our plan was to hit the road early and take a break at the Battleship in Mobile. BUT…that was EVERYONE else’s plan too. The line was super long, it was HOT, and we decided a walk around to check out some of the sights would do as a little pit stop instead.
Three sweaty Slaughter girls
We were all pumped to be in Alabama…so close!
Then we set off for our final destination…ROSEMARY BEACH!
We rolled into town around 1:30 p.m. and headed straight to lunch!
We’d heard great things about George’s at Alys Beach and it didn’t disappoint. (I’m not sure how I caught Ebby Lee posing inside, but I did.) Inside is pretty tiny, but they had a big table out front on the shaded porch.
Big smiles for being out of the car! 🙂
On this trip, we had one kiddo ordering shrimp, one ordering fish, one ordering chicken, and one who preferred all the carbs.
My phone wasn’t used to the humidity…ha! I had the shrimp po-boy…DELICIOUS! And Tab was a big fan of the grouper sandwich. Both came with this yummy slaw! Highly recommend!
George’s is just a quick bike ride or walk from Rosemary. I did hear they have a great dinner menu but it’s more “fancy” than lunch. We were big fans of the lunch menu!
We were a bit early but got in our condo around 3:00 and it was CUTE….
Our condo was located in the main Barrett Square of Rosemary Beach (north side so we had to cross 30A when we went to the beach). That door led to a little patio housing a table with four chairs which happened to always be in the shade. So nice in the morning!
I booked our condo through VRBO, but worked directly with Dana, the owner of the condo. She was so helpful with any questions and I highly recommend this spot. (This isn’t sponsored in the slightest but I’m always looking for good recommendations when booking a condo and thought you might as well.)
The kitchen/dining area were so cute and plenty big for our family of six.
The BEST THING??? Our groceries were sitting and waiting for us to arrive! I told you guys I’d review this service, Be My Shopper, and I want you to know…I was SO happy with it! I ordered drinks, snacks, and breakfast foods. (Our plan was to eat out lunch and dinner.) Everything was either in the refrigerator, freezer, or was just sitting out neatly on the counter. The total for my groceries was $157 and I paid an additional $50 for the service plus 20% of the grocery bill. I understand it’s not a cheap service, but arriving to groceries and not having to tackle the stores on the first couple days were SO worth it!
Several of you guys mentioned Wal-Mart pick up and Publix pick-up as well. My issue with those was I just wasn’t sure exactly what time we’d be arriving in town. I’d hands down use this service again. HIGHLY recommend them.
The view from our patio…those big white things to the left were new pavers. They decided to repave the main street area while we were visiting.
Other side view…super great spot.
The road straight ahead leads to the beach. I rented us bikes from Bamboo Bicycle Company, which was on the bottom floor of our building. I rented a bike trailer for Tab to pull Britt and it gave us extra room to put beach bag, sand toys, etc. I LOVED being across the street from the beach. I was worried we’d hate it-just having to haul everything, but with our bike set up, it was SO nice. We parked our bikes as close to the beach as possible and it gave us all a few minutes to try to rid ourselves of more sand.
Seriously, the bikes were one of my favorite thing on the this vacation!
Our condo had two master suites with king beds and attached bathrooms.
And there was a bunk room as well that housed a set of bunk beds. Tab and I were in one room, the girls stayed in the other king bed, and the boys had the bunk room.
We unpacked our stuff ASAP and headed to the BEACH!
I should have taken a picture of my cute cup, Amanda, made for my trip. You can barely see the top in this picture, but check it out…SO cute!
This girly wasn’t sure what to think. She’d been to the beach for one day on our Disney Cruise back in March so it wasn’t completely new. She warmed up quickly and became a big fan.
Party of SIX ready for the BEACH!
On Saturday, I’d grabbed a quick pizza for the kids and salads for us so we kept our toes in the sand as long as possible before having dinner in the condo.
My look for Day One….romper (similar-mine is sold out), hat, swimsuit (last year-from this website. Super hit or miss, in my opinion.), and earrings.
Day Two…this cutie and I had some snuggle time on the couch while Tab worked out the big kiddos slept.
Our Day Two looks…cover up, swim suit top (bottoms are old), sunglasses, earrings, bracelets, and hat.
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This cutie is the sweetest.
And so is this one. 🙂
Rosemary is absolutely gorgeous! This patch of grass housed countless bikes and all kinds of sporting event games I got to watch.
The beach was just as nice…another tidbit I learned beach chair rentals are a hot commodity. Rent them EARLY and by that I mean-six months in advance! The service is through Rosemary Beach Service. I ordered early and was on the third row (and magically got moved to the second row). I learned the owners get first dibs on front row chairs so you have to rent super early. I believe some condos come with the rental, but ours did not.
We spent ALL morning at the beach and then made our way to Cowgirl Kitchen for lunch. Five of us were starving while one was like…
Don’t worry-he rallied when his food arrived.
This was probably our favorite lunch spot the entire trip for a couple reasons…
1. You MUST get the nachos! We had them with chicken one day and pulled pork another (and chicken ANOTHER-yes, THREE days of lunch here)…both delicious!
2. This was the most conveniently located spot from our beach chairs for lunch.
3. The price was right! Well-priced and super important when you’re feeding six people!
I had the grouper sandwich one day, the beachy shrimp roll another, and the bbq chicken taco salad. The shrimp roll was definitely my fave paired with the coleslaw.
When we made it back out to the beach, a friendly game of baseball was happening and my boys joined in. So, mama watched from the bench. 🙂
This beach babe (her swimsuit) attempted at a nap, but it wasn’t happening. We made our way into the condo to get cleaned up for dinner.
Can you tell which kiddo got too much sun?
Nixon learned the importance of sunscreen on Day Two. I applied all four at the same times, but Nix spent the majority of his day in the water on his boogie board and I think he just kept wiping his face (and sunscreen) right off. Lesson learned.
After the big kiddos took their picture, she wanted one too. 🙂
My friend, Ashley, recommended Old Florida Fish House to me and we decided to hit it up.
We were HUGE fans!
*The way the trees and fences are it feels super secluded.
*There are all kinds of things for the kiddos to do while you wait.
*The food was a great mix of nice and casual. I feel like most restaurants in the area are either super nice or everything-is-fried. And this one was the perfect combination! The place was great-you could get fried shrimp or snapper on top of cheddar cheese grits (I tried both and DELICIOUS!).
*And the wait wasn’t bad at all!
I’d lathered us all up with coconut oil after a day at the beach and then while we waited we all became a tad sweaty.
Bowen was unaware his mom has some skills. 🙂
We ended the night with big smiles and sun-kissed skin. Well, except Nixon. He ended the night with sun BURNED skin. 😉
Two more things….
*If you have ANY questions, please leave them in the comments and I’ll address them in another post or answer ASAP.
*ALSO….Disney World prices for 2019 are out NOW! If you’ve been thinking about making a trip to Disney World in 2019 and would like some help, please e-mail us at mixandmatchtravelagency@yahoo.com. We’d LOVE to help you!
Thanks so much for reading today, friends!
XO
Erika, there is legit too much in this post! Eeeks! I want to comment on like 400 things! Your condo was PERFECTION, the food sounds delicious, that beach looks gorgeous, Britty looks SO BIG, the groceries waiting on you is the most brilliant thing I've ever heard, did I mention the food sounds so good?! Eeeks! So much!! I loved every bit of this post, friend!!!
The beach is so my happy place! Considering Rosemary for a Thanksgiving getaway this year. Glad you guys had such a fun trip. Can't wait to see the rest of your wrap up because it looked like y'all found some great restaurants!
We are going to Rosemary at the end of this month and I am so excited!! You found a really cute condo! Since our trip will just be my husband and me, I found us the cutest carriage house!
Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
Yes, yes!!! This is all perfection!!! What a fun start to your trip!! And, so glad you are back!!
Makes me want to leave for florida today!! 🙂
So glad you and the fam enjoyed my state! I have never been to Rosemary beach so I think I'll have to change that soon! 🙂
SO MUCH FUN!!!!! The grocery service is GENIUS, and all of your food sounded all yummy! Can't wait to see even more pics!
WE go at the beginning of September. I cannot believe you drove from Texas. We fly, but again we only have one kiddo to fly. Looks amazing.
Is Rosemary area warm in the winter? I'm from Minnesota and want to plan a beach vacation for the family for February
Just curious…When you take a trip with the kids, do you always unpack and put things in drawers, etc. or keep things in the suitcases?
I love it ALL!!!! We have 5 more weeks until we leave for the beach and this is torture! Haha! I want to go NOW! Looks like so much fun and Bowen asleep sitting up at the table is hysterical! That Inspired Chick
Erika, THANK YOU for taking the time to document all of these details and including the condo link! I have spent HOURS on vrbo looking in that area, and never once come across that condo. It's the PERFECT size for one family! I'm salivating over the nachos descriptions too. We plan to go in October… can't wait to use your rec list!
Hi there! Perhaps I missed it in the post, but how did you hear about/choose this area of Florida?
Thanks – love following your blog!
The grocery service sounds wonderful. I use VRBO all the time and have never been disappointed. So glad you had a wonderful vacation
The fact that your groceries were waiting on you is AHHHMAZING!! So glad y’all had the best time!
This beach is on my go-do list!
Thanks for all of the tips! We are headed to Rosemary in August and oddly enough i think we are staying in the same building?! Question for you. When you say rent the chairs early, do you mean early that morning?
Looks like a wonderful trip!!! Just love seeing your family's sweet faces!
Thanks for the mention in your Blog Post! Loved reading it all! Glad we could help you start your vacation with less stress! 🙂 Kevin @ BeMyShopper!
We are always looking for great rentals to accommodate us! This looks wonderful.
wow! really greate adventure of your travel. i am also a traveler and always have best beach chairs for elderly for my family persons.