Since I’ve already overshared our vacation details, now it’s time for me to shut up and post the pictures. Here’s our most recent trip to Rosemary Beach in photos.
© 2014 sarahfortune.
Since I’ve already overshared our vacation details, now it’s time for me to shut up and post the pictures. Here’s our most recent trip to Rosemary Beach in photos.
For the fourth year in a row, we visited one of my favorite places on earth – Rosemary Beach, Florida. I’ve written about our previous trips here, here, here, and here! These posts are still some of my most trafficked stories. I swear if you go to the 30A area just once, you are completely spoiled by the white sand, emerald water, and quaint little coastal towns.
The first two trips it was just Todd, Iris, and me, but last year we finally talked some good friends into meeting us there. Once Seth and Ashlee arrived, they surprised us with the news that they were pregnant! One year later, they met us there again – with their little beach babe, Frankee. We also had another family of friends join us who have two little girls, one of which is Iris’ age. So for the first time ever, Iris actually had kids to play with at the beach. It was magical.
Our crew (photo by Stephanie Jones):
Since we had a much larger group this year, we needed a much larger house. If it’s just our little family we rent a carriage house, but it sure is fun to get to stay in one of the huge, gorgeous houses in Rosemary. This year we had a little trouble finding the perfect one, but finally we booked the Seahorse Cottage, which has its own private pool. Rosemary has several amazing community pools, so that wasn’t really a priority, but now that we had one it will be a requirement from here on out.
Originally we were booked for five nights, but at the very last minute we extended our trip. The ocean was a little rough in the beginning of our week, so the extra day ended up being THE perfect beach day.
On a couple different days, the dudes and the ladies took turns keeping the kids so that we all could enjoy some kid-free time. The girls opted for a spa day at The Pearl in downtown Rosemary and I’m pretty sure we won. I’ve admired the property from afar for years, but this was the first time I got to experience it. Ashlee, Stephanie, and myself each got an hour massage, which was right off of the adults-only pool area. Afterwards, we lounged poolside along with frozen cocktails and appetizers. We basically wanted to live there… So of course now I want to go back to Rosemary for a full girls trip and see what it’s like to actually stay there.
Over the course of the week, we hit up the staples: The Donut Hole, wandered around Seaside where The Truman Show was filmed, seafood at Crabby Steve’s, bike ride to the fountain at Alys Beach, Charlie’s Donut Truck, drinks at NEAT, tacos at Cowgirl Kitchen, sangria at Le Crema, and of course plenty of beach time. Usually once a vacation comes to an end, I’m ready to come home. But Rosemary Beach is one of the few places I feel like I could stay forever and be just fine. Since I can’t, I’ve already started looking for a property for next year because, if I can’t be traveling, I can at least be planning. ‘Till next time, 30A!
I’ve been pushing off writing this post for a couple weeks now, mostly because I’m in denial that our annual Rosemary Beach trip is already behind us. This was our third year in a row going to 30A in the month of May and of course I already want to go back. Our previous two trips took place closer to the end of the month, while this year we went the very first week. (You can see my posts about those here: 2014 vacay, 2015 vacay, and my Mom’s Guide). I was nervous about what the weather would be like, but we got off pretty lucky. While the water was a little cooler than in previous years, the daily highs were in the 70s and 80s. Some of our very good friends from Kansas City met us in Rosemary, where we had an ahhhh-mazing house rented.
Previously we’ve only stayed in small carriage houses, but this year we were able to upgrade. The house was right near the sweet, little town square of Rosemary Beach, which meant that dining, drinks, and shops were just a stones throw away. The home itself was huge, comfortable, and very unique. With its own tower, multiple outdoor decks, a full kitchen, a breakfast kitchen, the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, built-in sound system, small pool/hot-tub, walking distance to the beach…. This place was legit. And of course we still had all of the other amenities that Rosemary Beach had to offer: private beach, four community swimming pools, tree-covered boardwalks all through the town, etc.
While carriage houses have been great for our small family, I don’t know if we can go back after staying in this house.
As for getting to Florida, we started our journey on a Saturday and drove eight hours to Birmingham, Alabama. We’ve learned that this is a good way to break up the trip and make the drive not just a chore, but part of the vacation too. We stayed at a hotel downtown that had a roof-top pool and Todd was able to stock-up at his favorite beer store in town, Hop City Beer.
The next morning we were able to take our time on the remaining 4.5 hours of our drive. We got to town about an hour before check-in, so we swung by the grocery store to pick a few essentials. There’s a liquor store right next door that serves drinks while you shop, so I’ve made it a tradition to grab a margarita while we make sure we’re set in the drink department.
For the next five days we ate, drank, swam, and explored our way around 30A. From here, I’ll just let the photos do the talking.
To Birmingham & beyond!
Made it!
Moving in.
Exploring & enjoying.
Is it just me or has everything been completely crazy lately? I feel very scattered with too many things on my to-do list. I still haven’t even unpacked my suitcase from my California trip and that was nearly three weeks ago.
What we’ve been up to lately:
– At home we’re more than half-way through our kitchen upgrade, so that means our kitchen gear is randomly stashed across the house. Cooking dinner now involves playing hide and go seek with my pots and pans. It’s coming along nicely though – I can’t wait to do a before and after post! Currently Todd is priming our cabinets to be painted and I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new refrigerator.
– Speaking of the beach, we leave for our annual trip in less than two months. We’re headed back to Rosemary Beach, FL and this time going with a couple of our good friends. Since we’re going with more folks, we were able to rent a big house with a tower – yes, a TOWER! I’m counting down the days, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds – well, you get the picture. Now if someone could find me this swimsuit in blue for a wee bit less than $350.
– This past weekend my mom, Iris, and I got to watch the Razorback Baseball game from the Chancellor’s box suite. And yes, the chancellor was there. I tried to act cool, but with Iris in tow that never works out too well (she was shoveling the free brownies in her mouth the whole time). Special thanks to my alma mater, The University of Arkansas for the sweet suite tickets!
Hopefully we’ll fill this upcoming weekend with a few fun things and a lot of work on the kitchen. Sadly, I think you’ll find me cleaning out our old refrigerator… Anyone need a fridge?
I have to admit – I have a major travel bug in me lately. Maybe after a few trips I will get it out of my system, but Iris is at such a fun age to travel with, that all I want to do is go exploring. Recently inspired by Emma’s post over on A Beautiful Mess, I decided to make my own list of top destinations I want to visit with my family. While it may be a bit unrealistic to accomplish all of these trips in the near future (we only have so many days we can take off from our jobs after all), planning and daydreaming is one of my favorite parts about travel. So, here goes…
Disneyland
Iris has started the inevitable… asking to go to Disney. While she doesn’t yet know the difference between Disnleyland and Disneyworld, I’ve had the chance to visit both and really want to take her to California. I love the nostalgic (and less overwhelming) feel of Disneyland. Plus, I would love to make the trip about exploring Southern California and not solely centered around Mickey. Maybe we can surprise her for her fifth birthday (that’s THIS year, y’all!) or for Christmas, but just looking at these vintage photos makes me want to book a trip today.
30A – Florida
We’ve visited Rosemary Beach, Florida the past two summers in a row and we are making it a priority to get back to the 30A area again this year. Todd, Iris, and I all agree that this is one of our favorite getaways and I hope the annual tradition continues for years to come. For months, Iris has been asking when in the world we can go to the beach again. I hope my answer of “once the weather is warm” is accurate.
New York City
NYC is one of my places on earth. In fact, as a kid I always dreamed of graduating high-school and moving away to the Big Apple. I ended up in Washington D.C. instead for a couple of years, which I grew to love in its own way. And while I’m more than happy living in Arkansas, I now have dreams of visiting New York again and bringing Iris along. My last trip there I was pregnant with her and I went alone for work. The feeling of being by myself, almost for the last time, in such a crowded city was such a unique, lovely experience. I walked through Central Park, ate way too much Indian food, and brought home a pink snowglobe that still sits on Iris’ dresser today.
Hawaii
Maui is another place that my work has taken me (again, all by myself) and ever since then I’ve been dreaming about going back with my little family. The island was pure magic – the air seemed to smell like fruit and flowers everywhere I went. The ocean was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. And the Road to Hana was one of the best life experiences. However, flights from our airport are crazy expensive and, of course, so are the resorts, so this one might have to wait a little longer. One day, one day.
Nashville
We have several friends in Nashville and I severely need to make the time to pop over to see them and to hang out in such a cool city. Growing up in Memphis, I never made the trip to Nashville as often as I should. The city seems to have really grown over the last few years in such an awesome way. I took Iris a couple of years ago and we had a blast – it’s time we do it again.
Random Location
Iris has flown on an airplane a few times, but she was so little that she doesn’t remember it. For her, an exciting trip would just be the experience of flying in the air. Todd and I have talked about packing our bags and picking a cheap place to fly one weekend. We’d have fun wherever we go, making an adventure out of it.
While I’m not sure where all we’ll actually end up in 2016, I’m excited I already have a few trips planned this year, including a girls trip to Mexico this summer (CAN’T WAIT) and a work trip next month to Newport Beach, California. We also want to take some quick weekend trips too. On our list is:
+ Kansas City (to visit friends… and Ikea.)
+ Tulsa (to visit a brewery and perhaps see Peppa Pig live)
+ Wilson, Arkansas
+ Back to Memphis (Iris has requested to visit Elvis’ house)
Where else should we add to our list?