Sandy Feet! Day 1-2 Road Trip to Florida!

To my amazing husband and travel partner... What an amazing journey!!!

"All of life is a journey, which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there."

1500 plus miles of amazing memories... enjoy our first days of the Zellner Family Vacation and our road trip to Florida!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010:
After saying good-bye to the pups and working a half day, I was ready to head home, finish a bit of packing, and finally begin our vacation! Since this family vaca had been in the works for what had seemed like years... I couldn't wait for our fun in the sun, family catch up, and much needed relaxation time to officially begin!

With bags packed and snacks purchased, we were officially on the road. What a wonderful start to our trip... the longest road trip that Ray and I have taken to date! The sky and roads were clear...well until we hit traffic a little outside of Canton, TX... and then we didn't move for over an hour... so we did our best to keep ourselves occupied!

But still we were in good spirits. We were on vacation! After some time, the traffic cleared and again we were ready to head out... Let the road trip begin. On day one we traveled through 4 states!

Welcome to Louisiana... America's Wetland! And boy... did we get a down pour!!!

For dinner we had decided to stop at a local restaurant... something a little different than our typical eateries. So what better than Mohawk Tavern Seafood in Louisiana. Now many of you know that I obviously am not a fan of seafood... but the best part was... they had spaghetti & meatballs... how AMAZING is that?!?! During our drive we saw some very interesting sights... Some really great art, buildings, skylines, bridges...

... and of course the typical road diva:)

Welcome to Mississippi! It's like coming home!

Welcome to Alabama... the beautiful!

Ray was such a trooper. We made it to Mobile, AL before we decided to stop for the night or should I say next morning at 12:30AM to catch some sleep. We had a very busy few days ahead of us.

Are you aware of the Captain D's right next to our hotel? Could this have been planned?!?!

Thursday, May 27, 2010:
After a very restful night sleep at the Best Western in Mobile, AL and a very tasty continental breakfast, we packed the few items we removed from our bags, gassed the car, opened a Monster (more Ray than myself) and were back on the road.

Battleship in Mobile, AL

In no time we had reached the beautiful state line of Florida... the sunshine state!

While Mapquest had advised us to travel a more northern route to get to Panama City Beach, Ray and I decided to ride along the coast of Florida to view some very beautiful beaches... green and blue waters with beautiful powdery white sand! During our travels we decided to stop for lunch in Destin, FL at the Harbor Walk Village. It was such a fun place with cute little shops and amazing restaurants.

My hubby & I at Harbor Walk Village in Destin, FL

Harbor Walk Village from the freeway!

Beach Bums Welcome!

Sorry love I made you hold this smile for so long. You were such a trooper... sometimes 1-2-3 can turn into 14-15-16!!! Ha! Just take the picture!

For lunch I of course was craving some Mexican food. So we decided to eat at Dancin' Iguana Tequila Bar & Grill. The food was absolutely amazing! Ray of course ordered fish and I ordered some very yummy quesadillas with drinks of course!

Drink in hands.... so close to the sand:)

After lunch, and a few hours later, Ray and I arrived at our condo in Panama City Beach! What a perfect end to such an amazing road trip!

Here is our condo! We stayed at the Ocean Ritz in Panama City Beach, Florida... a 4 bedroom condo with a beautiful view on the beach!

Beach Entrance from our condo!

After a few hours on the beach, both Ray and I checked into our condo. A few hours later, my sister-in-laws (Becky & Rachel) as well as their boyfriends (Todd & Tyler) arrived in town. After a 10 hour drive from Houston, they too were looking for a quick trip to the beach and some food.

We had heard that Montego Bay was extremely delicious with great portions and prices... so we decided to head out for dinner...

Ray and I on our walk to dinner! Such a beautiful area!

Becky & Todd... too cute:)

The group at Montego Bay Seafood House & Oyster Bar

I hope you've enjoyed this portion of our travels... do look forward to many posts involving the beach, family catch up, and amazing activities...

More to come!

Love,
Alicia