Yanghou. We have two cottages at the Cottages at Camp Creek and love it there. You'll find you spend most of your time at the beach, pool, porch. It's easy to get extremely lazy. One of our guests just asked us for advice for things to do, and here's what I said:
Food (inexpensive to relatively inexpensive):
Get
- ready made food (e.g., cooked chickens, etc.) at Publix take-out and eat at the cottages, porch, beach
- I heard there's a new donut truck at Alys Beach and I'm definitely going to try that when we're there in August.
- Get a few buckets of beignets at Flip Flops in Seagrove and then take the buckets of beignets to the beach at Seagrove or the Seaside town center and eat them while they are warm.
- Go to Angelinas in Seagrove for the lunch special on Mondays - Thursdays/Fridays (check which days of the week they offer this - it can get busy so you'd want to get there a bit before noon to get a good table). Angelina's has good pizza for take out or eat in.
- There's a Chinese food place that just opened up in the Publix Plaza about 4 miles away on 98 going toward Panama City (at the light after Carillon Beach - Publix will be on the left right after that light).
- I think Bruno's delivers pizza - I'm not sure how good it is.
Expensive dining:
- For adults and for a VERY special evening, go to the Caliza Pool restaurant at Alys Beach. It just opened (evenings only so check when they're open) and the architecture is stunning, right down to every detail. We went there Easter and we'll go back in August (my teenage girls love it and it's worth it for them, but I don't think it would be worth it for young children). Not casual, but you wouldn't have to overdress either.
- Cafe 30A is a classic high end restaurant in Seagrove. Very good food and atmosphere. I think they have early specials if you get there before 6. Well worth it. You'd have to check. I love their grits and bread pudding. Not casual, though you could probably go in "nice" casual.
- George's is a new restaurant right past Alys Beach on the left. Very casual (flip flops), relatively expensive. I loved their lobster quesadilla. Not sure kids would appreciate it as much as adults would so you'd have to decide whether it was worth bring kids there.
- Most people, including us, love the Red Bar in Grayton Beach. It gets very crowded is very family friendly and is expensive (checks or cash only), but the food is very good and you get lots of it. I love the seafood filled eggplant. They have kids' meals.
Things to do:
Get the kind of pool floats that have a back (loungers) and just float around the pool and read (at night you can float in the pool and watch the stars come out). My kids (teens) like to play a game I think they made up called "gutter ball" in which they get those small water balls made out of cloth and make teams and try to throw the balls into the gutters in the pool.
Sunset at the beach - always a hit. Kids like to bring buckets (even though they're now 15 and 17) and catch the ghost crabs and other things (and let them go before we leave the beach).
Learn how to skim board. Pick up a few of the wooden skim boards at Publix and try to teach yourself how to skim board - you need to buy wax for the skim board (but I forgot where it goes and why it's necessary but we didn't have it the first time and realized we needed it).
Rent Bikes: There are a lot of bike rental places that offer bikes (with helmets and locks) at a reasonable weekly rate and they'll drop them off and pick them up.
Rent one of those little carts at Seaside and drive around Seaside. Kids love that.
The fountains at the Villages of South Walton, about 1 mile east of the cottages, has a fountain that "dances" and lights up at night. Kids love to run through it so have them wear bathings suits. It used to dance around 7:30/8:00 at night for about 30 minutes, but I don't know if it still does that.
Go to Grayton Beach State Park where you pay about $7.00 per car to get in and hang out at the beach there. There are showers, grills, picnic tables, bathrooms. It's worth it because you get to see what the area was like before development.
Go to Deer Lake State Park around 1 mile west of the cottages. It's a stunning beach with no development. They only have "outhouse" type bathrooms. If you have bikes, it's a nice short trip from the cottages.
Some people like to rent kayaks, though we haven't done that yet.
For young children, Alys Beach (the community not the beach itself) is familiy friendly and they have a little park right near Fonville Press that kids can play on. On Friday night, Fonville Press at Alys Beach (1/2 mile east of the Cottages) has an Apres Beach wine and appetizer event with music that's fun and is a good dinner (for around $15/person - at least that's what it was about a year ago).
inexpensive manicures and pedicures at the salan on the Publix plaza in Seagrove (near Watercolor). They have massage chairs - very relaxing. Great for a rainy day.
For teens especially, it's fun to go to the place at Seaside where you can paint your own pottery - it can be expensive, but it's a great way to spend a few hours (again, especially on a rainy day). Go a few days before you leave because you have to leave your creations there for 1 day before they're ready to be taken home.
Enjoy your stay!
Paula
(and I got a lot of my ideas from other people on this SoWal board). That's how I learned about Caliza Pool and the donut truck at Alys Beach. Now if only I could get inspired to get my behind off the beach, pool, and porch and try kayaking or fishing on one of those nice day tour boats...