A Beach Staycation on the Emerald Coast

I took myself on a beach vacation this weekend.   Yes, I live here on the beautiful beaches of Northwest Florida but how often does a local gal vacay like a tourist?   I contacted Sandcastle Escape Vacation Rentals and they suggested a two bedroom beach condo near the Sandestin area.   It’s tucked into a neighborhood right off the main drag (Hwy 98) just east of Destin, FL, and a fantastic location as it’s close to restaurants, shopping, and everything a hometown tourist would need yet a quiet retreat, as the neighborhood is a gated community.   Maybe I could have just saved myself two lines of text description if I just told you the name of the community {I’m chalking up that blogger blunder to my vacation brain}!
It’s called Hidden Dunes and the name is a perfect description for this community.   I started my staycation (this is what we locals call vacationing in our own town) on Friday and jumped into my bathing suit as quickly as possible.   Pool. on. the. beach.   Enough said!   Being as it was getting dark, we stayed in the pool and hot tub and listened to the waves crash in (my favorite zen ritual).   Note:   I went to bed with the air conditioner on but insisted the sliding glass door be open somewhat so that I could better hear the waves.   Apparently, if the air is turned low and the humidity is high, the air conditioner works hard and this can freeze up air conditioner!!   I don’t suggest doing this!

The following day, we gathered a group of friends/beach-goers and trotted down the boardwalk onto the beach and spent the day watching our kids “surfing” on their boogie boards and shuffling back and forth between the pool and the beach (tough life, right?!).   We ended the day with a long walk on the beach, checking out the works of the days artists:   turtles, alligators, hammerhead sharks, and castles (don’t worry, these were all sand sculptures.   So much fun to see what our fellow beach bunnies came up with).   Checked out this morning and headed back to reality.   One weekend beach staycation, two days of not doing laundry and chores at home equals one very happy Hometown Tourist!

Wish you were here!

-The Hometown Tourist