Beaching It...Topped Off With Some Camping

My favorite pic of all...

Again, I have been reflecting a lot on all the wonderful things that we have enjoyed here in the southeast of the country. One of which is having the gulf coast so close and awesome camping/hiking. So those last few days of Spring Break, I thought "Why not!" Thursday was full of storms, so we waited til Friday morning. 5am we were up and driving. By sun up we were past Columbus, GA and in Alabama. The kids were so good in the van. I was so proud of them. We did stop in Chipely, FL to secure a campsite as a walk in, because everything was reserved! We scored, what I thought, was the best campsite...more about that later.

By 11am we had made it to Panama City Beach. You know, even though Destin is only about another 30 mins. I don't care what anyone says, I think Panama City is just as nice. Hotels would be another story, but the beaches are just as white and the water is just as clear...sure there are some crazies out there, but you will find that anywhere. I have sooo many pictures, but these are only a few...

Because there were storms, the water was a bit chilly and waves were very consistent...but as you can see that didn't stop my kids from running and jumping in!

Once in awhile, they would emerge for a warm towel or some lunch, but otherwise they were busy having so much fun.

playing in the sand

jumping waves

wondering around for some alone time

helping each other
...Ammon loved being on the sandbar with Rian

loving everything the beach offers...

enjoying each others company

collecting shells
...so many shells, luckily some had "gotten lost" before leaving

Such a perfect day to be together and enjoy nature

Camping

About 4pm we decided we had enough sun and sand in the pants that we cleaned up and headed back to Chipely, FL to our campsite at Falling Waters State Park. You should be able to find a review I posted, because this place was perfect for what we were needing. It was clean, had bathrooms and even showers, it was peaceful, a lake for swimming was nearby, RV hook ups for charging my phone and camera battery, very well maintained campsites, playground nearby and the rangers were super nice. I would recommend this place to anyone. Probably not so much a teenager place, but perfect for our family.

Like I said we stopped in earlier that day to secure our spot and good thing we did. Later we found out someone had reserved an RV spot and it was too small for them and our spot would have been given to them if I hadn't already reserved it. It was a cute older couple from Canada, and after we left they were able to move in for the rest of the weekend.

I wasn't able to get any pictures the night before, for obvious reasons, I was the only adult to get fire, dinner and set up the tent before dark. Truly, I loved every minute! The kids were surprisingly helpful and willing to help out in every way. Jarom and Tarin helped with the tent, Rian and Jarom helped with the fire and everyone helped out with Ammon duty. That boy was everywhere. I was proud to show the kids my passions of camping and allow them to learn some great skills. The only reason for the sour faces in the pictures, because mom is taking another picture...I know right, they will thank me later!

yep neighbor was a bit close, but it wasn't so bad...Dinner and Breakfast included aluminum foil meals of hamburgers and pancakes and skillet. Yummy! you can see our lovely towels and suits drying from the beach day before The bathrooms were fabulous. Usually I love to rough it a bit more, you know REAL camping, but this time around having real running water and toilets was a nice convenience.

After packing up and loaded up we dropped by the state parks main attraction, the water fall and sink holes. Seriously, this place is well maintained! Boardwalks everywhere and trails were neat and tidy. The sink holes were neat, but nothing super exciting. Just reminds you how powerful nature can be.

Yep another picture together...hey I need to be seen once in awhile too...

There were several sinkholes around, but this is of course the main attraction. Not much rain fell here lately, so the water was sparse. But it was still amazing to view. Nature is so spectacular and mysterious. I love it all.

Couldn't leave without a crazy picture of my wild animals... Love my kids and would do this again in a heartbeat! Love them so much! What a great weekend.