Rosemary Part 2

Happy Tuesday-that-feels-like-Monday everybody! I hope you had a great long holiday weekend!

I started telling y’all about our Rosemary Beach vacation last week but wanted to share just a little more about all of the wonderful places we ate, things we did, a few travel tips with kids, and all that good stuff!

First off, this was our first vacation with TWO babies. The thought of traveling with both of them (#twoundertwo) gave me mild anxiety, but it was all good! I’ll tell you what made all the difference for Price and me. Two words. TRAVEL NANNY. We took a friend of a friend named Haley and she was outstanding! She allowed us to get so much more out of our trip! While the kids were napping, Haley would stay back at the house while Price would play golf, I would shop, we’d go get a massage, or even just a quiet lunch. Then after the kids were down at night, we were free to go grab dessert or a few drinks, ride our bikes around the town, and go visit with family!

Speaking of bikes… Bikes are where it’s at when you visit down there! We pre-rented bikes with baby seats on the backs from these guys and were able to wheel our kids around everywhere we needed to go! A friend told us that if you don’t pre-reserve bikes with kiddie seats, then they can be hard to find once you’re down there. We didn’t want to risk it! Other than Price going golfing, us running to the grocery store, or me going shopping in SanDestin one day, we did not get in the truck at all! We were able to bike to where everyone else in the family was staying, to the beach, to tons of restaurants, to the spa… You name it! The day before Haley got there, Price had to pull a bunch of stuff behind his bike (more on that in a sec), so I got to ride with both babies! Lily Ry on front in the Bjorn, Wilson on back! So fun 🙂 (By the way, I’ve found this version of the Baby Bjorn to be much cooler for baby toting in the hot weather. This material is much more breathable!)

The house we rented (which we LOVED and would totally rent again!) actually came with some bikes, but they were sans baby seats. So we rode those around when we didn’t have kids with us! The house rental included them, so that was a pretty sweet deal!

A few of the restaurants we ate at that we particularly liked were…

… La Crema Tapas and Chocolate. We got a few tapas as a very light meal (the hummus sticks out as my favorite one!) then for dessert, we split the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and the chocolate fondue. We really went to this place more for the dessert! It was all so so good. And the atmosphere was very modern yet cozy!

… The Havana Beach Bar & Grill at The Pearl Hotel. I think this was my fave. Their signature cocktails were superb! Despite the name, we went at dinner and found that it was slightly more formal, so don’t go straight off the beach! You’d stick out like a sore thumb, and we can’t be havin’ that! Our server at dinner was named Wade and he was probably one of the best servers I’ve ever had in my life. I used to work for a food blog, so I’ve been to a lot of restaurants and I pay really close attention to service. Wade was VERY good at his job! Props, dude!

… Pizza By The Sea was a cute and casual pizza joint with some really great pizza! It seemed like good, authentic Italian style pizza. Not too Americanized. It was great!

… Wild Olives. Everybody loved everything at this place! Excellent restaurant 🙂

… The mobile popsicle stand! No idea what it was called, but it had outstanding popsicles! My favorite of the ones I tried was the coconut one! Yurm.

(By the way, all of these were in biking distance!)

… The Red Bar is always a fun little evening trip! We went late, like 9:00, and only had about a 20 minute wait for a party of six. Going late was the key, I think!

Back to The Pearl Hotel, which is where Havana was located… My grandmother stayed there and the view she had from her room was completely unreal. Look at this!

I went to the spa there and had one of the best massages ever from Mark! If you go here soon, ask for Mark! He was so professional and did a great job. And I know some of you can relate to me when I say this– being a girl with a guy masseuse can be weird. But not with Mark. 110% professional and very good at his job. Way to go, Mark, for not creeping me out! 😉

So about the beach!

Our house was .2 miles from the beach, and with babies, you feel like you’re taking a vacation while on vacation to get all your ish down to the sand. This was another time when a nanny came in VERY handy! She and I were able to bike the babies over to Walkway H, which was closest to our rented chairs, and walk down to the beach while Price was on a separate bike pulling a wagon behind him with all of our gear! Poor Price had a lot more work to do than we did, but he never complained about it and was a PRO at getting that wagon down to the beach after a few days of practice! 😉 (By the way, Walkway H does require you to take a good many stairs down to the sand. Price + a wagon + a ton of stairs was NOT happening, so he started using the walkway right off the main green. It had a ramp, which he said made pulling the wagon WAY easier! Until he got to the sand. Pulling it through the sand was a pretty intense workout… Thanks Pice! We appreciate all you did for us down there!)

// hat (on sale!) // similar shades // beauty counter sunscreen //

// Lily Ryan’s swimsuit //

One of the fun things we did with my grandmother, who is the reason we were all on the trip in the first place!, was a little art class that my sis-in-law Katie arranged at The Hidden Lantern, a very cute bookstore and art gallery!

They set up a big table, four canvases, and a lot of acrylic paint. My grandmother (who loves art) and all the babies were able to go to town on the canvases and create some really special original art! Although all of it may not be worthy of being hung on the walls of her beautiful home, it’s a really sweet keepsake! I love how they all turned out!

Overall, our trip was about as perfect as it could’ve been! We are so thankful for a fun family, the opportunity to take a vacation, and for the all-inclusive nature of Rosemary Beach! 😉

Thank you so much for stopping by today! It means the world! I hope all of you had the BEST 4th!!! XOXOXO!