Beach Weekend Getaway

We'd been wanting to bring my mom down to the beach since she is such a beach fan and has never seen the Gulf beaches. The opportunity finally presented itself the weekend before Thanksgiving so we took off for a quick weekend getaway.

Mom opted for the R&R approach, content to lounge around and read books and magazines....


Meanwhile, Katie and I were in the mood for a more active vacation. We recently got Katie a fancy new bike, and this was our first opportunity to hitch it up to the back of the car and take it on a road trip. The area around Seaside and Watercolor on the Florida Gulf coast is ideal for biking - flat and lots of paths. The weather was a little on the cold side, but no matter - we bundled up and rode all around both towns ...


Watercolor in particular has some really great biking. It is full of these nice, wide wooden bridges that go through the marshy areas and over the lake. Lots of wildlife to see, and plenty of great photo ops.

It warmed up towards the end of the weekend so we explored Seaside's town square and the beach on our last day there.



We had the beach more or less to ourselves, save for the occasional sandpiper poking around for snack.


A great weekend getaway with lots of fun activities and relaxation. Going to the Gulf beaches in the offseason is something we try to do at least once a year, and we always enjoy it. We're already looking forward to our next trip.