Beachin' Betty

After graduation, I knew I would want a much needed break, a getaway, a VACA!!!

So, we loaded up in our new Volkswagen Jetta and hit the road to Ft. Walden beach in Florida.

 The drive wasn't too bad...especially when in the luxury of a new vehicle. I never had that experience before! haha Usually, it's no A/C or some type of hurdle. Anyway, I was so happy to get in my bathing suit, grab a cooler filled with beer, and just sit. Ya know...like the Zac Brown Band song, "I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, cold beer in my hand, life is good today."

 Boogie boards, the beach, my babe, beer...what's better than that!? I wish I could live everyday like that.

 We indulged quite a few times in one of our favorite meals...SUSHI!

 We stayed at the El Matador Condos. They were soooo nice. Man, I wish I could live there. This is on the porch of our condo.

 Our condo was right on the beach. It was nice to look outside and see the beautiful blue waters and snow white sand.

 Jesse's parents, Jeff and Tammy, went on the trip too! None of us wanted to come home.

 Day 2: More beachin' with some beers! hahah Actually, the whole 7 days was pretty much spent doing this.

 Our little setup on the beach. I love just laying in the warm sand next to my babe.

 Every morning I would drink coffee on the balcony and just enjoy the breeze, the salty smell of the ocean, the peaceful sounds of the waves, and the beautiful view.

At sunset, I'd be on the balcony again with a drink...only this time beer or pina colada. We spent Fourth of July in Florida and is was a great firework show display. We didn't even have to leave our room to see it. 

This is how crowded the waters were waiting to see fireworks at 3:00pm. The roads and waters got more congested closer to night time. I'm glad we didn't have to leave our room to see fireworks. 

 We went on a snorkeling excursion and dolphin tour. We saw a whole family of dolphins! Well, actually the captain said it was all females and some of their babies. It seemed like they were following our boat because they stuck around for a long time. It was so exciting to see them swimming around in the water. Everytime they would pop out of the water, all the ladies on our boat would scream in excitement, which scared the dolphins away for a minute, but they would come back. They looked so happy and playful. I also learned it's an extreme no-no to feed the dolphins. I didn't do it, but I wanted to and asked. The captain said it would make them sick, and I would get fined. So, we just looked at them. :)

 WEEE! I love the beach. One of my favorite relaxing places to go. I could spend all day there and never get tired of it.

 While lounging in the sand, I made a sand turtle.

 Flying kites on the beach

 We went  for sushi again, and I loved the outside decor of this restaurant...so pretty! I wish I had a backyard that looked like this.

 We tried a new restaurant I had never been to before... Bubba Gumps!

 As you can see, the whole restaurant is themed based on the film, "Forrest Gump."

 The restaurant was FILLED with memorabilia, cool little knick-knacks related to the film. The waitress also gave us a "Forrest Gump" quiz and I was shocked how much Jeff knew about that movie. He was answering questions like "How many Dr. Peppers did Forrest say he drank before meeting the president?" "What was Forrest's football Jersey number?" "What book is he reading at the beginning of the movie?" "What is Bubba's full name?" And the questions got much harder, but he knew EVERY answer. lol

 We went on a snorkeling excursion and dolphin tour. It was so hard to swim and walk in those flippers.

 The water was pretty, but it was kind of cold. Didn't stop us from diving in though!

 I love how his freckles appear more when we go on vaca! haha

 Here we were on the open sea, taking a boat ride to get the Shell Island where we were going to snorkel and look for shells and sea life.

 We found a lot of hermit crabs while we were snorkeling. We raced them on the boat, but we threw them back in the water. I also came back with many shells for crafting.

 We drove to Panama City because one of the main restaurants we wanted to visit was Hofbrau Beer Garden. It is a German beer garden that brews their own beer and has awesome German food. We really wish we had one nearby. Jesse looks pretty happy with his beer sampler tray. Food wise, he ordered one of his favorite German dishes, Wiener Schnitzel. I had franks in a blanket and potato pancakes with applesauce, sourcream and chives. Everything was AMAZING.

 Oh, I also drank a couple of my favorite beers, HofBrau DUNKEL.

 Tammy and JEff enjoyed the HofBrau experience as well.

Well you can't go to the beach without having a couples photoshoot. I asked Tammy if she would take alot of random pictures of the two of us. My mom bought me that white dress for beach pictures. I love it! It is such a cute dress and looked perfect next to the white sand and sea foam. ( Makes me look tan too haha) 

 Sunset walk on the beach

 As you can see in this picture, there was a lot of June grass on the beach. It's a gross, stinky, type of seaweed that comes year round. The locals said it was usually gone by July, but it had stuck around for a while. It kept us out of the water some days because it was so murky, but we drove and walked to more clearer spots on the beach, so we could swim.

 I love my hunny!

 on the balcony of our condo

 I was a little chubbier than I wanted to be when I went to the beach this time. But hey, remember I was so stressed and busy with graduating, who has time to work out. I had a hard time finding a one piece bathing suit, but I finally found one. Even better, it was the pinup style I favor so much! So I had to do a classic pinup pose in it.

 NEVER wear a skater skirt on the windy beach. I found that out the hard way. It blew up several times. That's why I'm holding in in this picture. haha

Tammy took this photo. I thought it would make a good canvas painting. 

 This pretty much sums up what we did the entire trip, lounge and relax! It was such a great trip and as usual, I got sad when we had to come home. I want to live on the beach! I hope we get to go back soon!!!