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(Giveaway!) A Fun Fall Family Adventure Awaits in Gulf County, Florida

October 2, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Visit Gulf County. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

In May my family decided to take a risk and try out a new (to us) part of Florida for our summer vacation: Gulf County.

We loved it so much that we have plans to return every year. It’s now our go-to place for an amazing retreat and a fun way to get rejuvinated.

What I really love about Gulf County, Florida is the relaxed vibe and the focus on nature. You won’t find tower after tower of condos or a crowded beach strip full of souvenir shops. But you will find some really cool stuff there, especially as it relates to nature.

My oldest, for example, spent an entire day playing with a tiny little clam she named Clammo. She used her pails to build him a little ecosystem, and even gave him a teary-eyed goodbye when the sun was setting and it was time to return him to the wet sand.

Fall may not seem like the best time of year to head back to the beach, but I actually think it’s a glorious time of year there. And Gulf County has a few fun adventures that I think would be just perfect for the month of October.

If I could go back this month, I’d be sure to go for a kayak ride on the Dead Lakes. Just look at how amazing (and yeah, spooky!) they look, especially when the fog comes off the water in the early morning!

Another “gentle thrills” option would be to go shark fishing. Fish’N Xpress offers a 3 hour experience with all the logistics handled for you, including the equipment, bait and licenses. You can snare a tiger shark and get your photo taken with it before releasing it back into the water. Just imagine how your kids will love to tell the story of the time they caught a shark! 🙂

Finally, we’d head over to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park to see some wildlife. Deer, bobcats, squirrels, raccoons, Kingfishers, owls and otters call the park home and can be spotted by the watchful eye.

Take a moment to check out the Gulf County Adventure Guide to see what fun fall adventures might be right for your family, as I’ve barely scratched the surface with my ideas. There’s really something for everyone there, and I can tell you from experience that if relaxation is on your list, it doesn’t get any better than this place.

Giveaway!

From now through 10/25, ten winners each week will win a $50 Visa gift card! You can put it toward a family adventure in your own community, or save it for your next trip to Gulf County! Be sure to share this great giveaway with your friends to spread the love around (and to give yourself a little good karma!).

Taking it Easy at the Beach: Our Tentative Gulf County, Florida Trip Plans

March 30, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Visit Gulf County. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

Today I’ve been doing something really fun: working on summer vacation plans. We have had such a rough past month with the unexpected loss of my husband’s dad, and I feel such a strong need for our family to have some quality time together to heal, to relax and to rejuvenate.

Vacations with young children can be a bit of a misnomer, at least for the parents. When’s the last time you took a vacation with young kids and really and truly got to relax? I hope you have had that experience, but likely not unless you had additional adults on hand to share the child supervision duties.

But what if your vacation could look different? What if your destination was so inviting and intriguing that every member of your family could feel free to explore and marvel and simply BE right there in the moment? Friends, that’s what I’m looking for this summer. And I think I’ve found it in Gulf County, Florida.

I’ve been checking out the Gulf County Adventure Guide which is actually a series of brief recommendation posts written by different locals. You get an insider’s perspective on some of the best things to see and do in the area. And I have to say, I LOVE that not a single recommendation has to do with visiting a theme park or creating an itinerary that keeps you running from sun up to sun down. Everything in this guide is focused on the great outdoors and the unique beauty of this particular part of the country.

For starters, I’m very drawn to the plethora of housing options through Pristine Property Rentals. It’s my preference to stay in a condo or a home than to stay in a hotel room. Having the extra space to stretch out, and the kitchen available so that we can prepare food when we want and how we want it is worth the extra expense. And frankly, I often find that the extra expense is surprisingly nominal, especially for vacations that last several days to a week. I am significantly more relaxed in this type of environment than I am in a hotel room, where I often find myself relegated to the bathroom floor if I want to stay up past 7:30 pm when the girls go to bed. Pristine Property Rentals manages over 250 properties of all sizes so I’m sure we’ll find something just right for us and our budget.

For the big “splurge” event, I’d go with a 4 hour boat tour of the area from About Fun Charters. It’s $350 for 4 hours, just $100 more than the 2 hour charter. And my family will be the only ones on the boat, just enjoying the gorgeous views and taking in all sorts of sights. It sounds like the area has an amazing array of wildlife and that you can see quite a bit of it from a boat as you cruise around the bay and the island. It sounds absolutely heavenly!

photo credit: Stormy Skies via photopin (license)

And speaking of wildlife, one of the places I predict my family will spend quite a bit of time at is St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. Get this: this state park is the home of America’s #1 beach. Oh heck yes we’ll be going to that! It’s also home to some incredible trails that almost guarantee you’ll see some great wildlife. There’s a playground on site and of course, those beautiful Florida sand dunes. This sounds like an area where my family can just get out and get lost together for a while. What a gift that would be for my family to be in that environment. It’s a completely different vibe from a Disney vacation (which we did last fall and we loved!) but it is exactly the type of experience we so badly need: nature, connection and no distractions.

Win it!:

Right now there’s a great contest going on to encourage you to have an adventure of your own in your local town. Ten winners will score a $50 gift card each and every week from now until April 13th, 2015! You definitely want to take a second to get yourself entered! Nothing to lose and maybe a heck of a lot to gain! Be sure to share the contest with your friends so that they can have a chance to win, too!

My Top Five Picks for Kid-Friendly Summer Fun Getaways

May 23, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Do you remember how awesome summer was when you were a kid? No school, no homework, long days to play outside with friends, lots of slumber parties (even on weeknights!) and of course, family vacations.

My family wasn’t very big on taking major vacations, although we did often go to the beach and to water parks. The beach was only 2 hours from where I lived, so day trips were very doable. I do wish we had been able to do more in the way of vacations.

I think if you don’t plan ahead, the time just escapes you (and the funds, too!). Tim and I have made a list of 5 vacation experiences that we think Darah should get at some point in her childhood. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Time at an amusement park of some sort. When my youth group would take trips to Six Flags over Georgia, I would always sign up to go, even if it meant that I had to sell candy at school as a fundraiser for months. I LOVE roller coasters and cheesy boat rides and even the live entertainment that they have at these places. I love water parks even more than places like Six Flags, and I will most definitely be taking Darah to Shipwreck Island in Panama City Beach when she is a bit older. The lazy river ride calls my name every single summer! And Disney World….I had been 6 times by the time I left for college! I really do have a “Disney fund” for Darah, and I put $25 into it every single month!

2. Camping/hiking. Ok, so I’ll admit that I’m not necessarily thrilled about this future vacation. I’ve NEVER camped overnight anywhere. I just don’t have the interest. But Tim’s family would do these kind of trips and do lots of hiking on them. He has some of his best memories of his family happened on hikes, and talks about how shared crisis really brings families together. I can see his point. This would most definitely be a bonding experience!

3. Time with family. I went on a few vacations as a child with one of my cousins, and I had a BLAST! Tim would go on a vacation with his cousins every single summer. Darah has so many cousins (all girls so far, but a little boy is on its way!), and I want them to know each other as they grow up, even though they don’t live near each other. Planning some vacation with family is the best way to make sure this happens.

4. Beach trip. Oh heck yes you need to take your kids to the beach! The time in front of the ocean is relaxing for mom and dad, and there’s endless entertainment at the world’s biggest sandbox and swimming pool! Just be sure that you keep everyone slathered in sunscreen and get one of those sun tents for extra protection. I say this as someone who has suffered from MANY sunburns over the years. The beach is fun, but the sunburn is NOT. There are ways to prevent it and make sure that your beach memories are awesome ones!

5. A cross-cultural experience. Taking your child to another country is ideal if you have the means to do it. If that is out of the question, just get outside of the norm. If you live in a rural area, pick a big city to explore, and stay downtown, right in the middle of all those skyscrapers. I’ll never forget my first trip to Atlanta in the second grade, seeing all those tall buildings. I totally fell in love with the city right then and there! If you already live in an urban environment, find a quiet place to go to and explore. I have always wanted to go out West and go horseback riding and stay at a dude ranch (isn’t that funny, since I am not really interested in “roughing” it, otherwise?). Those areas that are known for great skiing in the winter months have their own charm during the summer (and vacationing there is likely a bargain since it is out of season!).

What about you? What kinds of experiences do you think all gets should have during their summers. What are your plans with the kiddos this summer? Do tell!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.