Carillon Beach

We took a trip west and visited Carillon Beach, a little bit of the Bahamas right in Florida's panhandle. The houses all look like this...caribbean colored siding wrapped in white porches.  It's a master-planned community.  Master-planned to maintain the small caribbean beach town feel.  Golf carts drive the streets and shaded pathways connect the streets.   

We walked around, from the shops in the front, to the sand in the back.  Until we could really feel the 98 degrees and 98 percent humidity.

Then, we took these hot, tired kids back to the sand.  And the water.

Another great day at the beach.  Sadly, our last!  We are sure going to miss PCB.  And Mimi.  And Mai Tai.  Going home is no fun.

Gator Sighting!

We did see a gator.  A trip to Florida is not complete without an alligator sighting!  Over at St. Andrews State Park there is a gator swamp, complete with an observation deck and information sign.  We watched and watched...

when we were finally ready to give up, and started walking to the car, something caught my eye.

alligator eyeballs and a nose!  

Dining...Where the Boats Leave From

I had some delicious mahi.  We shared the amazing crab dip.  You can't go wrong with the sweet potato fries, the black beans, or the fried plantains.  If your dish doesn't include all of these sides, you will definitely be grabbing a bite from someone at your table...or a neighboring table when they are not looking.  Really, it's that good!  I skipped the fried plantain cheesecakes for dessert.  Oh why did I skip the dessert, I wonder now??  When I was pregnant with Landen and down for a visit, I had the fried plantain cheesecakes a few times.  One late night, I called the Boatyard to order take-out.  Dessert take-out.  One extra large order of fried plantain cheesecakes!  At 6 months pregnant, dressed in some mangy sweats, I darted in and right back out with my cheesecakes.  I love this restaurant.

The food is great.  Sitting right on the docks with the breezes blowing past your table, watching the boats come in...it's how you want to eat every night.  The live music starts up and you have to check that Jimmy Buffet isn't singing right behind you.  I love this restaurant.  I would not leave PCB without a visit.  We made it.  Our last weekend here.  Sadly, Royal was already back in the OC.  I should have gotten a fried plantain cheesecake order to go.  Straight home to share with R.  Seriously though, it wouldn't have made it out of the parking lot.  I'm drooling right on my computer keys wondering why I skipped dessert.  The fried plantains.  The cheesecake.  The boy is 4 1/2, but I'm pretty sure I'm having some serious pregnancy cravings right now.

And the Sun went Down

Pool Day

You can never tire of the beach in this family.  But, you can tire of packing beach stuff, loading 3 kids, unloading the beach stuff and the kids, hiking the sand dunes, setting up the beach camp...and in only a matter of a few hours, having to re-pack the beach stuff, hike up the sand dunes, shower everyone off, load up, arrive home, unload.  

So, we made it a pool day.  To simplify.     

Pool Day.  Marriott Hotel, Bay Point.  {We know the pool cleaning guy}

We had to stay wet to keep from being cooked alive in the heat.  So, we swam for a good couple of hours and decided it was a little too simple for us.  We missed the blood, sweat and tears involved in having a great day at the beach.

So, we headed out back to the saltwater...and took the boardwalks to Lime's Bayfront Grille for lunch.

Lunch.  Hot dogs and lemonade at Lime's.

It really is this fun here in PCB.  We love it.  We don't want to go back to the west coast.  Ever.

Morning

A Day

in the Life of the Erickson Family visiting PCB

We start with a little bit of this...

Sandcastle Building

Then...a little of this...

Boogie Boarding

A little rain found us, so we packed up our beach chairs, and took a walk.

Playing Peek-a-Boo in the Tube Rentals

Heading up the Boardwalk

A View of the Boats Coming through the Channel

Taking the Tired Baby Home.

An afternoon at home, for this...

Abbey and Mimi Kayaking

And some of this...

Splashing on the deck

Whew.  All in one Day.

      Happy Little Campers.                                                      Wish You Were Here.

The Docks at Bay Point

It was a beautiful night for a walk along the docks.  We picked out our favorite yachts, read boat names, and dreamed of life on the water!  

PCB

Day One:  Beach Day!  There is nothing like the sugary-sand and warm crystal clear Gulf to wash away the memories of being peeled out of a Camry late last night, a good 10 hours after being squished into that Camry in Tampa.  Panama City Beach, Florida...also know as the World's Most Beautiful Beaches.

Landed

Tampa International.  Midnight.  9pm to us...Californians.  After a drive-thru McDonald's, the only restaurant open at 12:30am, we hit the hotel, scarfed down our chicken nuggets, then hit the hay.  Fortunately, one long day of travel is under our belts.  Unfortunately, tomorrow begins the other long day of travel.  Tampa to Panama City Beach.  Road trip.  See you tomorrow Mimi!

Celebrating the 4th

The Flag.

The stars and stripes.

Hot dogs.

Fireworks.

Family.

The tradition hasn't changed in years.  For our family, or for families across the nation.  But, it really doesn't get any better than this.  An all-American celebration.  Simple summer pleasures.


Fun at the Kershaw's for a barbecue. 

Landen.  Not pictured, Uncle Ryan who tossed and caught and chased that big green ball.

Layne and Owen.

En Route to the park for Fireworks.

Ryan and Whitney go motor-scooter.

Fun at the Park.

Cute Sophie and Emma.  The perfect playmates all afternoon.

Layne couldn't resist the red-checkered quilt sprawled out on the grass.

Landen.  The red wagon.  He rode it, pushed it and pulled it till the sun went down.

Dad had to toss him out of it!

My brother Ryan.  Me.  Photographer and Flag Cake Maker.  Proud to be an American.