Happy Thursday!!! I’ve been wanting to recap our (quick) trip to Seaside, Florida since we got back last week. I’m so thankful that we decided a couple of weeks ago to getaway – even if it was just for a couple of days. My friend, Mariam, has a birthday two days before mine, and she are her husband were going to be in Seaside. They invited us to join them, and we decided to make it happen.
I booked us some flights out of Houston, and I asked our friend, Simon, to stay at our house to watch the puppies. Once that was settled, we were well on our way. It can be difficult for Aaron and I to getaway because Aaron has a business that he runs. And, he’s pretty hands on with it. Even just several years ago, we couldn’t just up and leave the way we have been able to over this last year.
I’m proud of him to expanding to a model where he doesn’t have to do allll the things, and he’s hired a fabulous team of people who contribute enormously when Aaron isn’t in Houston. I wasn’t sure if we would ever make it to this point, but here we are, and I’m so thankful. It’s a big prayer of mine (both of ours) come true. I haven’t shared a ton about the business, and I will one day, but it’s taken a lot of hard work and a whole lot of prayer to get it to where we are today. And as for me, I am so lucky to have a job that supports time off – and the mental clarity that can come with a couple of days unplugging from the computer. I’m back – and I’m ready to tackle the rest of this year.
All that to say that it’s not lost on me how lucky we are to be able to up and leave with a little more freedom these days. I had never been to Seaside, but I have heard tons about it. Tyler and Mariam go every year, and they only ever have positive things to say. Aaron and I took an early morning flight on Monday morning, and we were in Florida by noon. Our flight was maybe half full, which never happens, so we got to spread out a bit.
Seaside, Florida
They rented a three-story home in Seaside about ten minutes away from the beach, so we dropped our stuff off, changed into our swimsuits and headed to grab some lunch (and adult beverages). We ate at Bud and Alley’s, which was right on the beach. I had the chicken salad sandwich and a frozen mule, which was delicious. After we ate, we headed down to the beach. We rented some chairs and an umbrella. And friends, this is where the Florida hype is real. The sand is white and clean, and the water is clear!
The Beach Scoop
The chairs and umbrella are part of a private beach, which you access from the pavilion that leads up to the restaurants, restrooms and some really cute shops. The chairs and umbrella were rented from here.
We spent several hours in the water and lounging on the beach. We also decided to take some high quality group photos. 🙂 The water was warm, and there was a sandbar right where those people are standing in the back, so you could go out there and just hang out in the water.
After the beach, we stopped in some of the shops on the way back to the car. They have such cute little shops in their courtyard that I wish I could have spent a bit more time there.
After our day at the beach, it was time to head to dinner. We had reservations at the Surfing Deer, which is one of the nicer restaurants in Seaside. It’s called the Surfing Deer because one of the original developers of the area had a deer that loved to play in the ocean. Dinner was delicious – I had the red snapper, which came in a curry.
Day 2 in Seaside, Florida
After dinner we crashed hard. It was maybe 10 p.m., and you all know I’m a night owl. But, I was exhausted. To say we made the most out of our first day in Florida was an understatement. We woke up the next morning and had breakfast and coffee at the house.
Then, we headed straight to the beach!!!! We had chairs and an umbrella rented for the day again, so we set up shop right next to the water.
There were some devil rays that kept swimming up and down the beach that morning, which was really neat to see. They would come right up to the shore, almost as if they were saying “hello.”
The spot we were staying on the beach is highly recommended. You just have a short walk up to the Pavilion, and you can go grab food from one of several restaurants – or use a nice, clean restroom – or even grab some adult beverages.
Mariam and I ventured up to grab some lunch from Pickle’s. It was a cheeseburger and fries kind of day for me! We got our food to go and took it right back down to the beach to enjoy in our lounge chairs. We spent hours out on the beach.
And, we even got a better group photo!
We left to head back to the house to get ready for dinner, and we wanted to have a bit of time to take sunset photos on the beach before we had to get to our reservation. I showered, got ready and we were out the door!
I’m so glad we made it because the sunset photos were gorgeous. While we were taking our pics, several companies were setting up beach bonfires, and they looked like a ton of fun.
We had dinner at Cafe Thirty A, which was incredible. I like to explore some good restaurants when we travel to new places, and this one did not disappoint. Their wine list is extensive, and we tried one of the local wines: 30A Coastal Dunes, which is a Pinot Noir. It was not bad at all. For dinner, I had the scallops over their risotto. Aaron had their lobster, Tyler had their wagyu and Mariam had the seafood pasta. But, the real winner of dinner was the she crab soup. I don’t know what kind of goodness was in this soup, but it was delicious. We ended our evening with some key lime pie! If you are into the fine dining scene, you do have to give this place a try.
After dinner, it was off to bed, and we were tired. An entire day in the sun and a big dinner meant that I got some pretty good sleep. The next morning, we woke up to some rain. We packed our stuff and Tyler and Mariam dropped us off at at the airport (we flew in an out of ECP, which is about a 30 minute drive from Seaside).
I was sad to leave, but I’m anxious to head back at some point to explore that area of Florida a bit more. I get all the hype, and I’m a big fan! What a fantastic way to usher in my 35th year.
Happy Thursday, friends.
