Spring Break for Families – Sandestin, FL

There are several benefits to living in the South.  One is that you can wear flip flops almost all year round.  Another is that convertibles only have a couple of useless months.  Yet another is smelling barbeque in the air around your neighborhood almost every Sunday.  One of the best perks, though, has to be living close to the beach.  Granted, I’m technically only an hour from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but that water?  It isn’t pretty water.  It’s just pretty gross.  However, a short 4 hour drive away?  A little slice of heaven I like to call the Emerald Coast. Ok, well, other people call it that, too. Either way, it’s awesome.

My family and I were fortunate enough to stay in Sandestin, Florida for 4 days and 3 nights last month.  If you aren’t already familiar with it, Sandestin is a 2,400-acre premier destination resort located in Northwest Florida, between Pensacola and Panama City.  It truly is an incredible place, with

“…seven miles white sand beachs and bayfront property, four golf courses, 15 tennis courts, 19 swimming pools, a 98-slip marina, water sports, children’s programs, a fitness center and spa, and a pedestrian village featuring a host of boutique shops, casual and fine dining restaurants, nightclubs and bars that come alive with strolling musicians, street performers, dancing fountains and lively festivals and events.”

We stayed at the Grand Sandestin – the resort’s answer to hotel-style dwelling.  Hotel?  Ha!  We had a huge 2 bedroom condo that was, in all seriousness, the size of or perhaps a bit bigger than my house.  We had a wrap-around balcony that went from the back balcony, along the entire side of the building, right around to the front balcony.  It. Was. Huge.  And quite spacious.  Heck, if it hadn’t rained the entire time we were there (Murphy’s Law always tackles me hard in Florida) I probably woulda been down at Baytowne Wharf flagging people down for an inpromptu porch-party.  It was that big, and that cool.

Oh, and Baytowne Wharf?  HEAVEN!  Shopping, restaurants, a ZIP LINE (Yes, I wanted to try it, NO, I didn’t get around to it) that zips through the center?  The shopping is fabulous, the food is good, and it’s all pedestrian-only.  There is a park/playground for kiddos, a place to paint your own pottery, and, when we were there, there were stilt-walkers making balloon animals, spacewalks, games, etc.  Lots of fun things to do with kids and families, and Little AG adored the pink poodle that the “tall” guy made for her.  If you do go, don’t forget to eat at Another Broken Egg Cafe – we have the original Broken Egg Cafe here in my hometown, and their Baked Brie is to die for (and can/should be eaten as a meal!).  Oh, and there is a Starbucks in Baytowne Wharf as well — thankfully I didn’t have to live without my Chai Latte!

So, remember how I tend to obsess over swimming pools?  This resort has a ton of them.  I cursed the weather multiple times for smiting me – because we had a fabulous infinity-edged pool AND awesome toddler pool just an elevator ride away.  Little AG would have been in heaven.  It’s ok though, we went to the indoor pool, where she “kick, kick, kick”ed her little heart out.  We walked on the beach, which, even chilly and overcast, was still a BEACH.  Oh, how I love the beach.   There was, of course, one crazy dude swimming in the waves – you can see his picture in the slideshow below.  Gotta love the crazies, right?

On our last day, I got to take a tour of the entire resort.  The most pleasant surprise was, by far, this little gem of a condo at the Fairways.  When we pulled up to it, from the outside I thought, “eh, this must be the older part of the property.”  I was right.  But I wasn’t prepared for what I saw inside.  It was fun, it was stylish, and it even has it’s own tanning deck on the water outside.  My only complaint was that it wasn’t on the beach, but I MAY even be able to deal with that.  Check out the pictures of the inside of this condo — isn’t it adorable?  It was open, bright, spacious… I loved it! (Sandestin Fairways 279, if you’d like to request it, FYI.)

I’ve been traveling to Destin for vacation since I was a teenager.  I had my 16th birthday party there, and I am firmly rooted in those sugar-white sands.  But now as an adult with a family, I see a huge draw to do the non-spring break, spring-break thing.  There are watersports, free bicycle rentals, canoes, kayaks, tennis, swimming, trails to explore, playgrounds to play on, the possibilities are endless and truly make for the perfect family vacation.  If you’re still searching for that perfect place to go this Spring with your family, or even this summer, consider heading to Sandestin.  The people there all bent over backwards to accomodate us, with the people at the front desk going as far as to lend us a DVD to watch in our room when the rental machine wouldn’t work (again, Murphy’s Law).  Everyone was courteous and hospitable, and NO, those people didn’t know I’d be writing about them.  Which says a lot, right?  So yeah, check it out, I know you won’t be disappointed.

At the very least, you’ll leave with a tan and a smile.  Oh, and some fantastic memories.