Family Vacation Recap

Mrs. RCS and I had an ‘oh s!#t’ moment about a month ago, realizing that our oldest starts kindergarten in six weeks, and we didn’t have a beach trip planned.  We immediately did what any normal human being does: pulled out our calendars and found a week that worked.  Fortunately, the week of the 4th was doable, so we immediately started searching all the right sites (VRBO, etc.).  We had originally had the week of the 4th reserved for another trip, but it fell through.

Knowing that availability was going to be scarce, therefore pushing up the prices, we were still determined to get our boys down to the coast.  We searched every beach within a 7-hour drive from Atlanta…and it was slim pickings.  Well, there was plenty available, but the prices were a little more than what we were comfortable spending.

The next morning, I got a text from Mrs. RCS with a link, and the message ‘you have one hour’.  It was a 3-bedroom house in Grayton/Blue Mountain, and the price was shockingly reasonable.  Knowing that we’d searched that area last night, my guess is that someone had it rented, but cancelled.  We booked it immediately.

We arrived on July 3rd just before lunch as we were able to get into the house early.  We took the kids to the neighborhood pool and had lunch, while Mrs. RCS took the truck to Publix and then to the house to unload our stuff.  After a couple of hours at the pool, I brought the boys back to the house to get cleaned up for dinner.  We went over to Red Fish Taco for a 5PM (CT) dinner, which was fantastic.  Of course, we came home with a scoop of ice cream from The Creamery and ate it with the boys as we all chilled out from a hectic day.

The next morning was the 4th of July, and we were all SERIOUSLY excited to go to the parade in Grayton Beach.  They do it right with locals driving decorated golfcarts, trucks and cars through town playing music and throwing candy.  It’s extremely patriotic and very family-friendly and reminds us both of parades from when we were kids. We met up with friends who had a spot at Red Bar, which we used as HQ. We saw a bunch of friends at and around the parade, which was so nice.  After the parade, we headed back to the truck, and drove straight to the pool.  It was HOT down in Florida that week.  Really hot.

After cooling off at the pool, we grabbed a quick lunch and all took an hour or so to chill out.  Early in the afternoon, we packed up and headed down to Blue Moutain Beach.  What a scene!  It was wonderful – and packed!  Our normal experience down on 30A is normally on a quieter side of the beach (Watersound, etc), so this was a fun experience.  The boys enjoyed taking in all the scenes: skim boarders, slam ball games, making enormous sand castles, etc.  As is true to the core, our kids lasted exactly two hours and fifteen minutes on the beach before they were ready to go.

We cooked out for dinner and ate outside on the screened-in porch.  After dinner, we grabbed our blanket and a cooler and made our way to the beach to watch fireworks.  Note: there is a GREAT boardwalk that leads directly to a private beach to which we had access – right across from our neighborhood.  The beach filled up pretty quickly, and we enjoyed fireworks up and down the beach.  Needless to say, we were all wiped out.  Bedtime.

The rest of the week was a pretty standard beach vacation.  Being that our kids are Eastern time zone kids, paired with the heat, we were usually up pretty early (6-6:30 ish).  We’d get up and eat, then go hit tennis balls around 7:30, be to the beach by 8:30, and then to the pool around 10:30/11.  Mrs. RCS would go home and make them lunch, and we’d head back to the house around noon, eat and take a couple of hours of naps/quiet time.  Mrs. RCS and I would straighten up and chill out.

The afternoons were either back to the pool or the beach for a couple of hours, riding scooters, and general tomfoolery.  As long as the kids were having fun and nothing was on fire, we were rocking and rolling.  We ate in with the kids, had some sort of dessert, and let them stay up a little late, which resulted in us having NO problems getting them down for bed.

Mrs. RCS, being extremely resourceful, was able to line up a few babysitters for us during the back half of the week.  We had a 1-6PM block on Wednesday when we both had work calls to attend, followed by a day date at Wine Bar in Watercolor and some light window shopping, and then bumming around 30A.  It was very relaxing…  We had another afternoon block on Thursday (pretty much did the same thing), and a babysitter for a date on Friday night.  Everything you’ve heard about Mimmo’s is true.  It’s insanely good.

We were scheduled to depart on Sunday by 10AM, but made the executive decision to leave on Saturday night at dinner.  We knew the Sunday traffic heading North was going to be a disaster, and we both had busy Mondays at work.  We had the truck packed and the house cleaned by 5:45PM CT on Saturday night, loaded the boys, and hit the road.  Chick-Fil-A at 6:30, and we found the Braves game on the 680 The Fan app.  The boys passed out by 8:00, and we landed at our Fort at 12:30AM ET.  Everyone was asleep by 1AM.

The Good:

• The Grayton/Blue Mountain side of 30A is fantastic.  A super cool vibe: it feels less touristy, and we didn’t see any of the family beach picture outfits/over-Instagrammed vibes that are prevalent down on the east side.  It was casual, friendly, and fun.
• Babysitters.  I got roughly 100 DMs from folks asking about sourcing babysitters at the beach.  The honest answer is that we got lucky.  We have a few friends that own on 30A, and we asked them.  Within 24 hours Mrs. RCS had five or six numbers, and the personal references made it a very pleasurable experience.  Otherwise, there are services down there that offer childcare.  I feel like this is an untapped market.  We love our children, but the breaks for Mrs. RCS and me to have some moments together made it feel more like a vacation.
• Mimmo’s.  Insanely good.
• Fishing.  We took our boys out in the bay with Shallow Water Expeditions.  They are (almost) 6 and 4, and the 2.5-hour trip was PERFECT.  The day started with a boat ride across the entire bay, which set the tone.  We caught fish, told jokes, ate snacks, and were back on the dock after a couple of hours.  Our boys have asked to go fishing with Captain Jason every day since.  Win.

Stuff that Worked:

• We are late to the game, but we both brought down a 40 oz Stanley, and it was perfect for our trip.  We both refilled multiple times during the day – even between beers/glasses of wine.  We’re so hip.
• Yeti gear.  We brought the blanket and the (retired) flip top backpack cooler to the beach every day, and we can’t live without either.  Both are functional and make the beach excursion experience better.
• Kid food accessibility.  Our boys are extremely active, so getting them to sit, focus, and eat is a chore.  We always had Uncrustables and a Tupperware of fruit with us at all times.  Additionally, we had fruit pouches and big water bottles.  When the boys mentioned being hungry, we told them ‘here’s what we’ve got’, and it worked every time.  Reducing the options was a good move.
• Early Morning Action.  Getting up and doing something active felt GREAT.  Mrs. RCS and I were a little groggy, but powering through and hitting the tennis balls or going swimming set a good tone for the day.

• Leaving the night before.  I’m still reconciling the most cost-efficient way to do this, but as of now, the value of having a full Sunday at home outweighs the extra couple of hours we lost at the beach.

All in all, we’ll seriously consider Grayton for our next family vacation.  It checked all the boxes for us, and most importantly: the kids had a BLAST.  We made family memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.