This trip started out a bit rough, as something happened that happens all too often:  flights look fine one day, then the next, it looks impossible.  We got very close to driving down instead of flying.  In the end, I found that it would be most convenient to fly to Atlanta and rent a car for a 5 hour drive from there to Panama City Beach.  Sure beats over 12 hours in the car with three little ones, not counting stops.  We got to Atlanta just fine, took the train to the rental car location, hopped in our SUV, and were in Florida just in time for dinner and the sunset.  We joined Laura’s parents, sister and boyfriend, and brother, wife, and their daughter in the condo for a week on the beach.  The girls got to romp around on the beach for a little bit before bed.

The next morning, Sunday, I took the advantage of extra help with the girls and open flights to escape the oppressive heat and humidity of the Florida Panhandle (many love it, but it’s a bit much for me) and vacate to Buenos Aires for a short trip, but that’ll be another post.

I returned on Tuesday morning, flying into Fort Walton Beach, about an hour away, as the flights to Panama City Beach were full.  Laura and the girls came to pick me up, and we had brunch at Summer Kitchen Café, a nice little joint in the upscale beachside town of Rosemary Beach.  We then ventured on to the condo.

Most of the week consisted of taking the girls back and forth between the indoor and outdoor pools, the beach, and the condo.  All three girls loved the indoor pool, and went back and forth between jumping in to us, floating around on their own, riding on our backs, and being thrown around in the water.  When not at the beach or pool, we spent time in the condo playing games and watching movies.  A nice place called The Craft Bar stocks a nice list of taps and fills growlers of them, making the week very enjoyable for me!

One nice break was on Wednesday, when we the guys (myself, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law’s boyfriend) took a chartered boat into the gulf for some fishing.  The captain set everything up for us, and our only job was to reel the fish in when they were snagged.  The king mackerel were biting in force, as we caught 7 over the course of an hour and a half or so.  About that point, a large storm system started moving in, and the captain decided it was best to head back in.  As soon as he did, lightning started striking nearby, and the skies opened up.  The captain navigated the boat back at full speed, all while the four of us bounced up and down on our seats, and were soaked down to our britches.  It wasn’t amusing at the time, but looking back, it was quite an adventure.

We dropped the fish off at a seafood market that also filets and cleans fish for the general public.  After dropping that off, we were returned to the dock near our car.  As we were all soaked, we agreed to head back to the condo to change clothes and have the ladies meet us afterward at J Michael’s, a restaurant that would grill our fish for us and provide multiple side dishes for a per person fee.  And of course I had to have some Apalachicola oysters.  We put a dent in the 39 pounds of King Mackerel, but we also ate it throughout the week as a hash with eggs and peppers for breakfast, and as sandwiches.

On Friday, we got the obligatory family and group pictures on the beach.  That night, Laura’s parents and sister started the drive back, with her brother and his family leaving soon after.  Even though we only had the condo until late Saturday morning, we stayed the night and decided to stay one more night in a hotel, as the flights were much more open on Sunday than they were on Sunday.

Saturday we had a nice day together as a family, first stopping for an early lunch at Finn’s Island Style Grub, where I had delicious seared tuna tacos.  We continued on to Idyll Hounds Brewing, where World of Beer was on site filming a feature on the brewery, the brewer, and their beers.  I first checked them out last year, and still feel they make the best and most unique beer in the area by far.  There were games and a Jenga set for the girls to play with while Laura and I sipped on beer (mostly me) and talked.  We made our way back into town and checked in to our hotel, the Hampton Inn and Suites Panama City Beach.  I booked it using partial points and partial payment on my Chase Sapphire Reserve.  It was a beautiful property, was right on the beach, and had a nice pool, so the girls could get in one more afternoon of swimming.

The trip home via Atlanta was mostly uneventful, and the ability to spend an hour or so eating snacks and letting the girls move around a bit at The Club (a club lounge), also available through my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, made it a nice layover.  They were also very excited and happy to see my mom, “Nana,” who had spent the night in Atlanta on the way home from a week in the United Kingdom.  We were split up a bit on the last flight and the girls got cranky with having to rush on the plane and determine seats, but eventually calmed down.  We were home with plenty of time to relax a bit before going back to work Monday, only to have Tuesday of for Independence Day.

Overall, a successful trip with Laura’s family to the beach!