Road Trip Review - pt. 2 of 5

This was the week we had been waiting for. This was the week where 30 family members would converge into a condo along 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. We have all been vacationing in this area together for over 30 years in some capacity. (Yes, I remember when I was the child in grade school sleeping on the floor of the condo.) We no longer fit in one giant house, hence opting for a condo complex where we could each rent our own unit. We settled on the Adagio 30A and it was the perfect setting to accommodate our large group. The week was filled with fun, laughter, joy, kids playing, adults playing, food, drinks and so much more. The weather was a bit less than ideal leading to red flag and double red flag days, yet somehow we managed to make the best of it and grow closer as a larger family unit. My cousin said it best, "We love fiercely, laugh a lot, have deep conversation, party hard, and help strangers. Family is the best."

Check out the photo review below...

First up and most importantly, we had to pick up Dad and Noah who both flew in from Arizona.

We checked into the condo and the kids wasted no time heading down to the water. Below in the view from our lanai. There are seven different 4 story buildings in the complex housing several units each all surrounding a large pool area, with 3 of the buildings being ocean front. As we live in the desert, we opted for ocean front views!

The sunset was pretty magical on night 1!

The shot below is from the central pool. It has 3 large tiers with waterfalls flowing into the lower tiers.

The weather was crazy at times...on this day, a tornado touched down just a mile or so inland from where we were staying. This front rolled in so fast and was so ominous, yet majestic.

A shot of some of the cousins in the top tier of the center pool. As you can see, there was a large fountain in the middle that was surrounded by a bench. Not sure how relaxing that would be constantly being sprayed!

These are my girls. Well, four of them. It is not lost on me the fact that I grew up with and am raising children with some of the most incredible, strong, smart, loving and supportive women.

We attempted some family pictures.....close enough.

My cousin organized a beach bon fire to celebrate her son's high school graduation. She worked with a company, Light me Up Beach Bonfires, to organize, set up and take down all of the equipment. There are only a certain number of permits for these each night in the county.

The kids played lots of games.

And we rafted in the single red flag waves.

Love these boys. :)

This day was a double red flag. As you can see there is no one in the ocean. The photo also shows the complexes second, yet much smaller, oceanside pool.

The morning we left there was lots of reflecting on our family time...and even a few tears shed after goodbyes.

After this road trip stop, we picked up an additional child as my nephew joined us for our next few stops. Click here for part 3!