Unplanned Adventures: Our Seaside Story
If you were following along on my Instagram last week, you already know we were on fall break, and that pretty much nothing went as planned. That’s what happens when a hurricane shows up where you’re supposed to be. It was a devastating week for so many people in that path, but we were safe the entire time and had a wonderful time with family, which I do not take for granted at all. We had left last Tuesday to head down to Seaside in the panhandle of Florida, but the closer we got, the more news came in regarding the worsening storm, so we changed our plans and headed west toward Pensacola. We were totally fine with that as that’s where our older kids are in college, so rather than them just meet us at the beach for the weekend like we had originally planned, we got to see them a few extra days. Besides braving a little wind, we weren’t affected at all in Pensacola, so we just spent time chilling out.
We even spotted Lester Holt in our hotel lobby…
The house we had originally planned to be in in Seaside was beautiful from the listing, which, being a decor lover, I had carefully chosen. We had hoped that the hurricane would weaken and pass so we could just get there a little later than planned, but extensive power outages were making that impossible. The owner of that home was so very accommodating but couldn’t do anything to help but refund our money and offer to let us re-book if the power came back on! So, we left for Seaside on Thursday in hopes that that would happen. But first we had to deal with another unexpected detour to the tire store since we picked up a nail in our tire along the way! As we got closer to Seaside, we began to see that we were going to have to come up with another plan as the power was still out, even in shops and restaurants! So, we began to frantically search VRBO.com for another option. Most rental houses will not let you book on the arrival day, so we were really limited. Finally, just as we were literally pulling into the Blue Mountain Beach area just west of Seaside, we found a very helpful agent who booked this house for us. We were able to finalize the deal just as we were pulling up to it, and it turned out to be just perfect. (Find the listing here.) Some of these pics are mine and some are from the listing. Click on the link for more!
We needed a large space since the big kids would be joining us for most of the time, and this house was not only the right size, but beautiful as well.
With two master suites, plus 3 other bedrooms, this house can sleep up to 12!
But not only is the house amazing, the neighborhood pool is just a short walk off the back porch, and it is just fabulous.
There’s also a very nice gathering space with grills and a TV where we made s’mores one night!
The house is just a short drive to the beach where we spent a couple of mornings relaxing. And because the power in Seaside was back up and running by Friday, we were able to take the short drive there to explore as well. It was as beautiful as we’ve heard it described and we loved taking it all in!
The only bad part is that time goes by way too fast when you’re here! But this is now on our list of favorite destinations and we will definitely be heading back there soon.
This was not a paid review of this house! You know I love sharing fun travel destinations with you all and this one I highly recommend! If you’ve been to the Seaside area, be sure to let me know some of your favorite spots for when I go back sometime soon!
laura janning
October 17, 2018 @ 10:30 am
it looks lovely julie. we have never been to seaside but always hear great things. It is so hard to see the destruction in the panhandle. glad you were able to work things out and enjoy your family.
Julie
October 17, 2018 @ 1:44 pm
Yes! It’s so hard to believe the damage that occurred just miles away from us. So sad! Those in Seaside were very thankful to be spared. And you would love it there!
Moriah
October 17, 2018 @ 10:53 am
Your post may be the answer to our prayers!!! I’ve spent the morning in tears wondering if our family would be able to be together for Christmas. Our plans were to go to my daughter’s who lived at Tyndall AFB. No one will be allowed to be living there the rest of this year and their home is most likely a total loss . We still don’t know if, when or where they’ll be relocated, but I’m trying to at least save Christmas as a family. Glad y’all were safe and had a great time. I’m off to check out the house (we have 6 kids so need the space). God bless
Julie
October 17, 2018 @ 1:46 pm
Oh wow! Yes, you should check this out for sure. I hope your plans work out for you all to be together!
Jody Domsch
October 17, 2018 @ 2:52 pm
I think Seaside is where The Truman Show was filmed. Such a neat town, we went for a visit when we stayed in Destin a couple of years ago.
Julie
October 17, 2018 @ 6:11 pm
Yes! It is. You can even drive by the house from the film. Such a cute town.