Pensacola Beach Babymoon

Our babymoon is officially in the books and I have to say that I’m feeling pretty sad to see it go! We went to Pensacola Beach with the goal of total rest and relaxation and that’s what we achieved. We didn’t plan much or follow any kind of schedule and it was so, so good for us. Isn’t it amazing what a little beach time {or time away} will do for your soul?

We were so relaxed that I pulled out my good camera all of one time so these iPhone snaps will have to do!

We headed out early Thursday morning and hit the road a little after 5:00am. We had planned on being in Pensacola by lunch time, giving ourselves the whole afternoon. After crossing into Alabama, we realized Cory’s mom’s house was only about an hour out of the way {and Cory said we would be some kind of rats if we came by that close and didn’t stop in}. We haven’t been able to visit since she moved to Alabama a while back, so we made a pit stop to see her for a little while before making our way to the hotel. Cory even learned how to play a didgeridoo.

Yep.

After a few other stops and really just taking our time, we arrived at Margaritaville Beach Hotel around 3:00pm and got checked into our room.

Where all the magic happened. And by magic, I mean we had a king-size bed and slept sprawled out every single night without kneeing or elbowing each other while trying to get comfortable. Magic, y’all. 

The weather was really cloudy and overcast, because there was a big storm blowing in, but it wasn’t raining yet, so we headed on down to the beach to check it out.

We found a comfy spot on a hammock and rested there until we got hungry enough for dinner.

I don’t have access to a good full-length mirror here at home so I took advantage of the one in our room. Cory thought about stealing it like hotel shampoo.

A few of my blogger friends had recommended we eat at a nearby restaurant called Crabs so we headed there for dinner. It definitely did not disappoint! It was one of the better meals we had the whole trip, in spite of the wind trying to blow us into the sea.

I sipped on a pina colada, {virgin, of course!} and we enjoyed the beach views while waiting on our food. 

Yesterday, I mentioned all the shrimp I ate. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered popcorn shrimp before, but it sure hit the spot that evening!

I think I had the best view of all. 

We woke up Friday morning to constant pouring rain, which we expected, so we decided to explore Pensacola. Whenever Cory goes to a new town he likes to check out their music stores, so we hit the local guitar shops so he could look around.

When we came across this pink ukulele, we absolutely could not pass it up as a first instrument for Hot Pie!

Cory was in absolute heaven in this great big music store.

Dress | Scarf  {old}

We were headed out to dinner that night and got all the way out of the parking garage before we realized it was absolutely Noah’s Ark pouring rain. I didn’t feel like getting out in the monsoon, so we turned around in the parking lot and headed back to Frank and Lola’s, the restaurant at our hotel. 

I feel like there are a lot of food pictures in this post but man, we ate a lot of food.

On Saturday, we finally woke up to clear skies. Hallelujer!

It was a little insanely windy so we opted for a canopy rather than an umbrella so we could escape it. I also want to add this- I debated on posting any pictures of me in my bathing suit because I didn’t feel “cute” but I have received such great support from you, my blogging friends, and my family about embracing and being proud of my body. I am growing a human after all, for goodness’ sake! So I will share them because they are part of our trip. But I also want to say a huge thank you! You guys really know how to make someone feel better!

Around lunch, I headed up to the room for our leftovers and of course, had to take an elevator selfie.

About 3:30, we decided to head up to the pool and get off the sandblaster windy beach.

Top | Bottom | Cover Up

It was nice to come up to the pool, where there was a tiki bar {for virgin drinks! Promise!}, good music, and a good change of scenery.

After fighting the wind for a bit, we decided to head up to the room to take a short nap and get ready for dinner.

Dress

Yes to all the bump pictures! Poor Cory tried his best to get pictures for me, but between the wind and the sunlight, getting good photos was frustrating business!

Obviously, Cory had already gotten some sun that day…he was looking about like a boiled crab already!

Dinner Saturday night was at Flounders’, another recommendation from a blogger, and since it was chilly, we opted to sit inside.

All the food, y’all! Restaurants in Pensacola definitely believe in huge portions! Those seafood nachos would have fed both of us. We had no idea how big they were gonna be when we ordered them as an appetizer. When the waiter set them down his exact words were “Good luck!”

Top | Cover Up

We woke up on Sunday to the most perfect day. It was warm, sunny, a light breeze…beach perfection! We spent pretty much the whole day reading on the beach, and we didn’t regret it a bit.

That afternoon, it got a little windy and my back was bothering me, so we headed to the pool {which was heated!} to see if that would help.

And of course, we ate a snack!

If you came here looking for a trip recap that was more than eating and laying on a beach, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.

Before getting ready for dinner, we spent a little time reading on our balcony.

I really, really wish I could have gotten this on video but they came out of nowhere. I know there is a navy base in Pensacola and I think this was some kind of flyover. It was really neat to see, though.

On Sunday night, we headed to a restaurant called Shaggy’s. It wasn’t recommended to us by anyone but the menu looked pretty good online and from the outside it seemed like a fun place. The service was pretty bad and the food was just okay. We really wished we had gone to one of the other places recommended by the locals, after we left. Oh well, you can’t win’em all, and it’s not like we hadn’t had tons of great food up to that point!

And on Monday morning, we had to pack up and say goodbye.

Cory really wasn’t ready to leave yet. In the days leading up to the trip and while we were there, he had repeatedly joked(?) about staying longer. He was dragging his feet all morning, and if I had said the word he probably would have marched down to the desk and reserved a couple more nights! Unfortunately, he and I both need to work as much as we can and save our time off {not to mention money!} before Hot Pie is born.

So in spite of Cory’s best efforts, we were back on the road and back home to our pups {who didn’t seem to have missed us at all}, then back to another day in the mines at work. All in all, it was a great vacation and we were definitely able to get some rest and relaxation with full bellies before parenthood sets in. I think we both really appreciated the opportunity to spend some time together as just the two of us, our last trip as a childless couple!