Florida, 2017

 

Who doesn't want a picture with a mermaid?



The entrance to Weekie Wachee

We spent 4 days at Universal Studios and then we trekked across Florida towards the Panhandle. Along the way, we stopped by Weekie Wachee.  I had heard of this place because of Instagram.  I love kitschy, odd and bougie type places, so it was right up my alley!  We were only there for half a day, unfortunately. When we left Universal, we made our way to Weekie Wachee.  We had made a whole day of riding rides and using up our park tickets, so we got a late start.  We spent the night somewhere near the park.  The morning of July18th, we got up super early, because fairly early in the day, the Weekie Wachee park meets its maximum amount of visitors for the day and will not allow any more in, unless the crowd thins out.  I WOULD NOT let this happen to us, especially since we stopped just to see this.  It was really cheap to get into the park.  We were able to take in our towels, a beach bag and a small cooler.  When we entered, we got in line for the first mermaid show.  Sophie and I were stoked.  Brad and Braden, not so much.  The huge auditorium was underground.  It was quite large.  There was a huge glass window with bubbles blowing on the outside to look like a curtain.  Once the curtain bubbles lifted, the mermaids put on quite a show.  We had to laugh at one point, because a turtle in the river continued to harass the mermaids until they finally gave him a snack!  We enjoyed the show and the girls really did a great job! 

A small part of the show 

After watching the show, we went down to the springs and found us some chairs!  The water was ice cold! The water is around 72 degrees, even at the hottest point in the summer.  The water gets extremely deep toward the back of the springs, and there is a huge dock that people can jump off of and into the water.  Water slides are also on the springs.  There is a warning that there are alligators present; however, we did not see any.  We did ask about it, because locals were acting very nonchalant about that, and they did tell us that the alligators, fish and manatees steer clear of the roped off swimming portion of the park due to there being so many people.  The bottom of the springs was sandy and there were some shells at the bottom.  Many people were snorkeling. There were nice bathrooms with showers, and a bar/snack shop.  I would suggest making sure you brought your own cup with a straw, because they only give out paper straws. I understand, and I want to do my best to help the environment, but God love it, I HATE paper straws. Reusable is best, anyways!  We hit up the gift shop before we left for some souvenirs.  While walking around the park, there are peacocks and other birds roaming around, which is kind of neat.  Overall, it was a neat way to spend an afternoon.


Mr. Braden!  You can see the dock in the background and how crystal clear the spring water is!

After we left the park, we made our way to Panama City Beach!  It took us quite awhile because of traffic.  We got to our condo late that evening.  We had the Reflections at Baypoint booked.  We have stayed there another time.  It sits on the bay and there is a shuttle that takes people over to Shell Island.  The condo is nice and there is a fantastic pool that the kids love.  We haven't used it, but there is also a nice restaurant and a spa.  We enjoy the pier and the Bar and Grill, called Pelicans.  Pelicans serves yummy drinks and a pretty good meal!  That night we didn't do anything, except walk the pier and look for crabs along the bay. Baypoint has a private beach along the bay that is very nice. You can watch dolphins playing in the bay, and there are huge crabs always walking around near the water.

The following day, we went to St. Andrews State Park.  Every time we go to PCB, we hit up this park.  It is our most favorite state park in Florida.  There are two sides.  One side is not protected and you get the big waves and currents.  The opposite side, is a protected area that they call the jetties.  There are huge boulders that encircle a very large area to help block the waves.  There is good snorkeling and calm water for the kids to swim in, with ocean water that constantly comes in and keeps the water fresh, unlike the bay.  In the park, there is a large lake that has alligators.  Of all the years that I have been there, I had never seen an alligator, until this time, so that was neat.  My kids asked if we could feed it.  Uhmmmm....NOOOOO!  That evening, we ate at Pineapple Willies and snacked on some alligator tail.  We sat on the large deck that has a decent view of the beach.  There was a nice breeze from the ocean.  After four crazy days at Universal, driving, and Weekie Wachee, it felt great to just lay on the beach all day and to relax. 

Pineapple Willies...Poor Braden, the sun got to him!!!

On day three, we swam in the resort pool and then took the shuttle to Shell Island.  On Shell Island, there are no bathrooms or places to get drinks or food.  You are completely on your own.  We packed plenty of snacks and drinks to be prepared.  The shuttle comes back every couple of hours.  The water was perfect and the waves were fun.  Lunch was enjoyed at Pelican's on the pier at our condo.  We got some shopping in at Pier park that evening. 


Shell Island

Day four was spent just like the day before.  We took the shuttle over to Shell Island.  The kids enjoyed seeing the dolphins from the boat.  We spent most of the day on the beach and that evening we ate at Hammerhead Fred's and then played some putt putt at Pirate's Cove.  Unfortunately, this was our last full day on the beach and it was time to head home.  The kids have a surprise for them in the morning.  We are making a special pit stop.  I will go into further detail in my next post! 

XOXO...Becky

Hammerhead Fred's