Backyard beach

We tend to like state parks. We typically make travel days about 3 hours. Put those two together and we targeted St. Andrews State Park in Panama City FL. Plus I had read great things about the park and the area from the Bareneckers who we met back in Louisiana. We called, got 3 nights reserved, put the hammer down and made it to our 7th state of the trip, FLORIDA!

We rolled into the campground and got setup but hit a snag with the electrical which you can read about in the epilogue of this post. It was an awesome spot: good amount of room, shaded, private, close to showers and RIGHT ON THE WATER! The water is Grand Lagoon so it is pretty mellow. But still…our backyard had a little beach…Woot!

Brielle was up sick most of the night…poor thing. The next day she woke up feeling much better but exhausted. I spent most of the morning in my outdoor office, which has a killer view, while the kids made sand beignets (you can see them lined up on my desk).

Steph took care of some errands and then after lunch we took a bike ride to explore the park. We went to Gator Lake and thought for sure we would not see a gator. But, by golly, we saw one! Then we rode on out to the Gulf side of the park. The sand was like sugar. The kids ditched their shoes and got in the water. In a matter of moments some of them had completely soaked shorts and shirts. But they were grinning ear to ear.

We were also able to spend some time at the nature center, go shelling on another part of the beach and explore the jetty during our stay. There were lots of great birds to watch and deer that had zero fear of humans. If we could stay longer we would, but the place is fully booked up for the weekend so we have to leave. I definitely liked it here and would come again.