Just a Couple of Beach Bums

Ok, people. I'm finally writing about our trip to Panama City Beach, Florida! :) My mom and my aunt Patti were planning a trip and were kind enough to invite Reagan and I along. The two of them came to our house on the 18th and we all drove down together the next day. What map quest said was a 5 hour 5 minute trip took us 8 hours... There was a ton of construction. We had to slow to 45 in almost every construction zone. Then add in stopping for lunch and feeding a baby, and not having a clue where the hotel was. Patti claimed to know the way. Next time we will have printed directions! :) lol Love you Patti!

Reagan and I stayed until Thursday and headed home after lunch. We did have a really great time. Traveling with a baby is never really relaxing, especially when your super helpful hubby is at home (boo). Reagan decided that she didn't want to sleep in at all. She woke up at 5:45 one day, 6:15 another day, and 7 the next. But it was good just to get away from the normal for a couple of days and play. Plus the fact that the beach is my favorite place on earth to be. Even if it's cloudy and windy it's still gorgeous. I think the beach is the most beautiful of Gods landscapes. It's one of those things you just have to see for yourself to appreciate fully. Pictures and paintings just never quite live up to how beautiful it really is. You can't ever capture the colors perfectly.

This was Reagan's second time at the beach, but the first time that she could do more than sleep through it. Here is one of the few pictures of her in her hat. She wouldn't keep it on for anything.

She really enjoyed looking around and taking it all in. It was pretty windy the first day and she loved it. For some reason she thinks wind in her face is hilarious.

She started crawling towards me and hit the sand. She immediately stopped and looked at her hands. She couldn't figure out what in the world that stuff was! :)

The water was I really cold so we only stuck her feet in for a minute. First she sucked her breath in when the water hit her. Then she said, "Oooh!" Then she fussed. End of ocean. :)

She absolutely loved the pool! It was the first time she's ever been in one. She was kicking her little feet like she was swimming. She can already swim better than her daddy! :) (He dog paddles feverishly then sinks to the bottom if he tries to tread water. I've seriously tried and tried to teach him but I think it might be impossible!) She loved it so much she cried when we took her out of the water.

And, of course, she wouldn't be Reagan without trying to eat someone's face!

The next day was much more sunny so we stayed under the umbrella!

This was the view from our balcony! We were 20 floors up.

Thanks Patti for letting us come along!

I have to talk about something I ate while we were there. I love food. When I travel food is always a big part of the experience. If I tell you about my trip to New Orleans I'll tell you about the red beans and rice I had there. If I tell you about my trip to New York City I'll tell you about this awesome brunch sandwich I had at a Mexican restaurant there. When I think about our time living in Memphis I think about all the great restaurants we went to there and my favorite dishes. I am a lover of seafood. Part of my joy of going to the beach is getting fresh seafood. We ate at a place called the Salt Water Grill. I highly recommend eating there if you ever go to Panama City Beach. I had what was quite possibly the best meal in my life. It was Pan Seared Diver Sea Scallops. It came with Parmesan risotto, fresh cooked spinach, tomato salsa, and extra virgin olive oil. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it was a beautiful plate! The risotto and olive oil covered the bottom of the plate. Four huge sea scallops sat neatly on top of the risotto with the spinach and tomato salsa (which I would describe as Italian pico) in the middle. When I took the first bite I literally groaned and said, "Wow, this is good!" I think every time I took a bite I said out loud that it was ridiculously good. My mom kept laughing at me because I was taking a breath and closing my eyes after every bite. The scallops were seasoned perfectly. The spinach was cooked thoroughly but was not mushy. The tomato salsa was amazing. The only thing I didn't finish eating was the risotto because I just couldn't fit it all in! I can still taste it right now thinking about it. It wasn't a cheap meal, but it was completely worth it! I don't mind paying for food when it's that good! I want to go back to Panama City Beach just to eat that meal again! I don't know what it is about food, but just thinking about this meal makes me feel so relaxed and satisfied...except for the fact that now I'm hungry because I've been thinking about it. Fortunately it's lunch time. :)