Beach Babe

We have another beach babe in the family! I took Gracie to Clearwater Beach, Florida with my mom and five other lovely ladies last weekend. We arrived Thursday around 11am and headed straight for the beach after picking up our rental minivan.

Unfortunately, a storm blew in as soon as we arrived at the beach, so we went straight to The Palm Pavilion bar and grill (our favorite spot right on the beach and next to our hotel, the Palm Pavilion Inn) for lunch and our first drink of the weekend. The food and drinks at The Palm are great and cheap. And they have live music all weekend, so it's a great atmosphere. Last year it's the only place my mom and I ate the entire weekend.

After dinner on Thursday we all walked down to the beach and let Gracie walk at the water's edge. We were disappointed that we didn't have any time at the beach but were hopeful it would clear up in the morning.

First time in the water

The weather did not cooperate. It was extremely frustrating to watch the days waste away under storm after storm. Friday we headed to John's Pass for breakfast and some shopping, hoping that after a few hours the sun would shine. But it wasn't meant to be, so we took our time shopping and even stopped for coffee and hot tea... something I never thought we'd want to drink at the beach! Friday night it was back to The Palm for dinner, drinks and music. Megan, Gracie and I again walked down to the water to get our feet wet. Grace loved sitting in the water as the waves splashed around her. Grace and I called it a night early, but the rest of the ladies danced and sang the night away!

Saturday morning we woke to a rain-free morning. There were still plenty of clouds in the sky, but we were determined to have a beach day, rain or shine. A few sprinkles came and went throughout the morning, but we didn't have to head for cover so it was a successful day!

This was Grace's only full day on the beach, and she did great! She was not so sure about sand on her feet and hands, but thankfully I had bought her a sunshade that kept her off the sand and out of the sun.

The Palm Pavilion Bar and Grill and Inn are behind Gracie

Although she wasn't a big fan of the sand, she LOVED the water! She relaxed on her turtle float (nicknamed Tommy the Turtle by Mimi), and giggled and splashed as the waves came and went.

Saturday night we had dinner at another great restaurant on the beach and saw our first sunset over the water before bedtime.


We had to head home Sunday afternoon, but the weather was beautiful that morning, so we spent a few hours on the beach before cleaning up and heading to the airport. Grace again floated in Tommy the Turtle and even fell asleep! Mimi and I were excited to see that we'd have a fellow sea-floater for our beach trips! I was again thankful to have the sunshade because it was sunny and hot!
It was hard to say goodbye to the beach so quickly, but we had great company that made the trip a success, even though we had less time on the water than we had expected to enjoy. I guess there's always next year!