We recently went on a family vacation to Fort Walton Beach, Destin and let me just tell you we had the absolute best time EVER It did not disappoint Traveling with teenagers and one young adult (our daughter Daijah who has special needs). It gets challenging trying to make sure we have enough room and entertainment for everyone to enjoy themselves, honestly my husband and I could sit on the beach for hours on end as long as we have snacks and drinks we are easy breezy popping in and out of the ocean when we feel then just relaxing at our very posh beach bungalow set up, hahaha that's how I see it anyway. Which brings me to realize that I don't have a picture of (mental note to take one) My husband found a very spac
ious vacation rental, 2 bedrooms, 2 full bath, living room, dining and fully equipped kitchen. It also had a washer, dryer and all the other home away from home essentials that a family of 5 would need for a comfortable stay and it would not be like my husband if he did not make sure we had an awesome view of the Ocean. We stayed at Nautilus Condominiums they also have a pool of course which the kids visited, the rooms were keyless entry so we didn't have to fuss over where is the room which I totally appreciated, the bed were so comfy and there was ample seating space in the condo honestly you could move to the beach and live in one of these condos. Day1- Kids in tow we had for the beach with out cart full of all our necessities 5 beach chairs, 2 beach umbrellas, cooler full of enough snacks and drinks to keep us entertained for a fun filled family day on Fort Walton Beach. Take full advantage of the free hotel beach chairs and umbrella if you don't have your own like most beach resorts they are a courtesy to the guest. Be careful the stingrays love coming in close to shore on the Florida coast and it was really cool to see them. They seem to enjoy being the center of attention lol everyone was trying to get a good picture. We later packed it up as the teenagers were done with the water and ready to get into something else they'd previously looked up somethings to do in the area while at home and decided on Go-Karting. Before heading there we stopped over at the Boardwalk which was cool, this is where you can reserve boat rides, go dolphin watching, jet skiing, parasailing and things like that. There was a Margaritaville Restaurant, and food trucks( the fried cheese cake was soooo good), daiquiri shops, vendors selling trinkets, souvenirs and jewelry, the girls are into beaded bracelets so they purchased a few. There was other restaurants as well and activities like axe throwing, if you hit the target you win a money prize, Kaylee did the axe throwing and hit the target on the 3rd try but the catch was you have to hit it on the 1st try to win the prize (she got totally suckered we all did). Next we went Go-karting at The Track it was a 3 level go carting track with single and double carts, mini golf course and arcade room and one other flat track that was just circular. For me the price was a bit expensive $55 per child but If I remember correctly it was 16 points per ride. You had to buy a card that can be scanned upon getting on the ride. The area where the carts are isn't really big and there were bleacher for sitting but nowhere else to go and nothing to do but watch people on the go-carts. It began to rain and they started to shut the rides down as the tracks are uncovered and there was pretty much no shelter from the rain. Everyone kind of went with the crowd across the parking lot the arcade room to wait out the rain most likely in an effort to be able to take advantage of the rides and get their moneys worth once the rain stopped as I'm sure most people were there on vacation. We waited in the car a while in the rain and let the girls use up the rest of the funds on their cards all in all we had a great time. And think you and your teenagers would enjoy this as a vacation spot as well. Let me know what you think if this blog inspires you to visit Fort Walton Beach or if you've been and I've missed something amazing. Side bar - we drove down to Florida from Atlanta where we live we prefer to have the freedom of our own vehicle over flying places as a family and enjoy the drives to anywhere that it makes sense to drive to for us.
