05.10.2018
I have been going to the 30a area of Florida since I was a tiny little girl! There are SO many things to do in 30a! Itโs the beach destination for a lot of people who live in the Nashville, Tennessee area where I grew up. Itโs crazy how much has changed since we went when I was little! Seaside Florida was created the year I was born- I like to think weโve grown up together ๐
What is 30a?
In recent years, since weโve had kids ourselves, itโs been amazing to go back and show them all of our favorite places and all the things to do in 30a! [For those of you that donโt know, 30a is the highway that runs by all of these adorable towns in the Florida Panhandle! The area has lovingly been called โ30aโ!]
Since there are so many different areas within 30a, Iโll break up my favorite things to do by neighborhood! Didย I forget any of your favorites? Comment below!
Seaside Florida Things to Do
Seaside is a super cute town created in 1989, the year I was born. I love visiting when we travel to 30a because it reminds me of my childhood and our trips to the gulf!
Raw and Juicy
There is a PRECIOUS line of tiny, renovated airstreams that serve delicious food and drinkโฆ I have a huge dream of living in a Tiny Home one day, so anything โtinyโ or airstream makes me SO HAPPY.
Combine my love for airstreams with my love for juicing, and you have โRaw and Juicy.โ I seriously stop here every single time Iโm in Seaside for a great juice!
Sundog Books
Iโve been coming to this precious bookstore since I was a baby! I can seriously, truthfully tell you itโs my favorite bookstore on the planet! They have a great selection of books for readers of all ages! (Iโm pictured here with what I was reading at the time last Summer- Chip and Joanna Gainesโ adorable book Magnolia Story!) If youโve never tried Audible audio books, this book would be a great time to! I love that Chip and Joanna read the book and you get such a great feel of their life story! It adds a special element to reading the book!
Modica Market
Modica Market is a staple of Seaside! The Modica family came to Seaside when it was created after 50 years in the grocery industry in Alabama, and have cultivated their grocery store since. I could spend hours walking around this precious grocery store! There are SO many fun, interesting finds in this store!
Duckies Shop of Fun
Iโm pretty sure this is the cutest toy shop of all time! They have so many great toys to choose from, and itโs a great stop for the kids if youโre doing shopping around Seaside and theyโre ready for a break!
They even have some precious clothes for kiddos (pretty high end) including my faves Freshly Picked!
Amavida Coffee + Tea
This is my favorite coffee shop in 30a! Thereโs a location in Seaside, and scroll down to find out more in the Rosemary section ๐
Rosemary Beach Things to Do
La Cocina
When youโre at the beach with 6 adults and 5 kids, eating out can be a major challenge!! Over the years, we have found a way that works for us. Each family cooks one night, each couple gets a date night (while the other 2 couples get takeout), and we go out to eat one night! When we goย out to eat as a whole group, weโve always chosen La Cocina! Itโs super fresh, delicious Mexican food. They are so accommodating of large parties, especially when you go early like we do ๐
See the full La Cocina menu here.
The Pearl Hotel
The Pearl Hotel isย gorgeous!!ย Itโs a boutique, 55-room hotel that was built in 2013! It seems like a super lovely place to stay! But we just enjoy it for the delicious restaurant Havana Beach Bar and Grill and the best rooftop in all of 30a!
If you love being active, itโs a great place to stay! They have golf and beach access, free bicycles, YOLO boards, kayaks, you name it!
Image courtesy of St. Joe Club & Resorts
Amavida Coffee + Tea
Amavida Coffee is a more recent love of mine! They opened their doors in 2004, and have been a staple ever since! The coffee is SO GOOD, but even more than that,ย I love the heart behind Amavida coffee! Theyโre a certified B Corporation, meaning they want whatโs best for the world.
AND, no big, they were Roast Magazineโs Micro Brewer of the year!
They have locations all over Florida, but my two favorites are in Rosemary beach (pictured above) and Seaside!
Inlet Beach Things to Do
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Amici 30a
Amici 30a opened in December of 2016โฆ I got to speak with the owner all about how he got to where he and his family are now. In a past life, he owned casinos! So he knows customer service! This was one of the best meals we have ever had. Literally ever!
Amici 30a gave us the opportunity to sit right with Chef Lock the entire meal, and he brought out all of his favorite dishes for us. We got to ask him questions and watch him and his team work!
Let me just say that for a restaurant that just opened 6 months prior, it was PACKED. We got there at 5:30pm (because we wanted to make the most of our date night!) and it was already totally full!
Since we were eating what Chef Lock chose, it wasnโt Paleoโฆ Come on, itโs an Italian restaurant after all! ๐ BUT our main course was absolutely Paleo and the best fish Iโve ever had! It was a black grouper dish. He served it on top of this purรฉe he had us guess what it wasโฆ His inspiration was salted caramel. Rich orange in color, we knew immediately- it was carrots. But you would never know. It tasted JUST like caramel! It was incredible! If you come to Amici 30a looking for Paleo options, absolutely without a doubt get the black grouper!
We started with the crostini with 4 different toppings (YUM).
We had a pizza with pesto, feta, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, onions, and topped with fresh arugula. Essentially if I could create the perfect pizza, it would be this pizza. It has all of my favorite toppings and it was scrumptious!
Chef Lock whipped up for us a Pasta Bolognese. He wrapped it all up, topped it with fresh basil slices and parmesan. I donโt know that Iโve had this specific pasta often, but man oh man! It was delicious.
If you want to indulge, absolutely get the Tiramisu. When I was in Italy studying abroad, everyone got gelato all the time. I didnโt get gelato very frequentlyโฆ Instead, I got Tiramisu! To this day itโs my all time favorite dessert. And Amici 30aโs Tiramisu lived up to my high Italian standards! Itโs the perfect way to end an evening.
Seriously, if we had ONE foodie recommendation in the 30a area, it would by FAR by Amici 30a!
Otium | Yoga + Juice
Otium is a boutique fitness and wellness studio located in the beautiful 30Avenue shopping center in Inlet Beach, Florida.
The carefully curated boutique at Otium carries over 85 lines of luxury activewear,ย yoga essentials, jewelry, accessories and natural apothecary.
They offer a wide array of classes, so I bet thereโs something for you: Power, Sculpt, Hot Yoga, Gentle Flow Yoga, Barre, Restorative Yoga, TRX, and private sessions.
To see their schedule and book classes, clickย here. And if you have the pleasure of being in 30a for an extended amount of time, they have class passes and memberships, too!
Transformation comes not by adding things on but by removing what did not belong in the first place.
- Baron Baptiste
I took a power yoga class and it was AMAZING. I loved meeting local 30aโers! The class was super challenging and fulfilling, and it set the tone for my whole day! I think Iโll get a whole week pass when we go this June!
Seacrest Beach Florida Things to Do
The Hub
Yโall, the Hub is THE BEST. We can bike to it from Seacrest. Itโs a longer bike, but itโs worth it, and make the food + drinkย that much more worth it.
The Hub is what it sounds like- a gathering place with events, TONS to eat and drink, and even shops! Itโs seriously so amazing! We will usually let the kiddos stay up late and go watch kids movies they host on their lawn. Mmmmm, my ideal summer night!
Some of my favorites are โFresh & Fastโ for healthy foods and โLocal Smokeโ because I can never turn down BBQ! (For my healthy, Whole30 approved Barbecue Sauce recipe that you can make at home, click here!)
Alys Beach Things to Do
Since we always stay in Seacrest, Alyโs beach is just a short bike ride away! I donโt think I have the words to tell you how much I love Alys Beach. Itโs a New Urbanism project to go back to our routes of a walkable town. Both the town and the architecture have only the necessary. Itโs the simplicity that makes it so heavenly. (Come on, you know Iโm a sucker for minimalism!)
There were years where when you went to Alys all that was there was Fonville Pressโฆ Itโs a precious coffee shop. Now there are so many more things to do in Alys Beach!
Fonville Press
This is one of my all-time favorite spots when we go to the beach! I grab my favorite book, bible, and journal in the mornings and head to Fonville Press. Since we typically stay in Seacrest, itโs a short 5-minute bike ride away! I order my favorite iced espresso drink, and sit outside on the patio. Chaz and I even do our once a quarter family / marriage reevaluation chat here every Summerโฆ My husband Chaz and I have made a tradition to sit in Fonville Press every year and dream about the upcoming yearโฆ we go through a worksheet about what are our priorities, what are we focusing on personally and as a family. How can we grow as people and professionally. It is always a few hours long (during nap times!) and is THE best way to spend an afternoon!
This year will be PERFECT timing to reflect over what God has done in our lives in Atlanta the last 3 years and prep our hearts for our super soon move to Colorado!
And this past Summer, while we were there, they opened up a new playground right nextdoor! Thereโs a slide thatโs built INTO a little hill. Itโs the cutest, artsiest little playground Iโve ever seen! The kiddos LOVED it. Which helped elongate our Fonville visits ๐
Their food is also *incredible.* One late afternoon we just needed a little pick me up, and we got a Caprese sandwich with waffle fries. Everything was local, farm fresh, and the mozzarella melted in our mouths!!
Georgeโs
Georgeโs is a super cute little lunch and dinner spot serving delicious coastal food! We love to bike to Georgeโs for a late afternoon feast! Their food is organic and locally-sourced, which you know I love! They have an entire board of salads, making it easy to stay on the healthier side of things!
Charlieโs Donut Truck
GUYS. Welcome to #vacation. Charlieโs Donut Truck in Alys Beach is about 2 minutes from where we stay in Seacrest! Even though Iย tryย to keep the visits to a minimum, do you SEE that sea salt caramel and BACON on that donut?!
Again, we have another love (donuts) mixed with my love for airstreams.
Are you catching on how much I freaking LOVE 30a?! ๐
Get to Charlieโs Donut Truck EARLY because the donuts will sell out every. single. day.
NEAT Tasting Room and Bottle Shop
I love every single thing in Alys beach, and NEAT Tasting Room and Bottle Shop is no different! Chaz and I went here on an after-dinner date, and I got the Pimmโs Cup and it changed my life!!ย There are a few seats inside or they have tons of outdoor seating.
It also holds a special place in my heart because when we were there last year, Chaz got the email that he got the fellowship in Denver!! Now, almost a year later, weโre getting ready to fulfill those dreams and move! So sweet.
The bottle shop has everything you could ever dream of! Itโs filled withย a thoughtfully curated collection of artisan spirits, wines, and craft beers. It even has all the tools you would ever want to make cocktails! Such a fun way to end the night!
Gluten Free finds in 30a!
There is now a new Five Daughters Bakery in Rosemary Beach! SWOON! Iโm from Nashville, where Five Daughters started, so this makes my heart SO happy! Five Daughters Bakery in 30a has Paleo donut options, and theyโre out of this world!
Amici 30a (scroll up for a full review) also has some gluten free pastas and they are SO GOOD!
We just went to Surfing Deer in Seagrove, and there were SO many gluten free gourmet options- I highly recommend it!
I always check out Find Me Gluten Free for a super complete list of options, too!
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