Thirty-Eight on 30A

30A Beach Trip: Day One — Waiting, Wandering, and Way Too Many Naps

Our trip to 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida officially started on April 22, but for Pete, it started very early.

Actually, maybe too early.

Pete made it down to the beach about eight hours before Jessica, Tandi, and Rudy arrived. Which sounds peaceful in theory, eight hours at the beach, no responsibilities, just sunshine and salt air. But in reality, it turned into a full day of waiting, wandering, and trying to figure out how to pass the time without getting too bored.

First stop: grocery shopping.

There is something about doing the grocery run before everyone arrives that makes you feel both responsible and slightly abandoned. But the house needed food, snacks, drinks, and all the beach-trip essentials, so Pete knocked that out early.

Then came the bike rental situation.

We decided we wanted bikes for the trip, so Pete went and rented four of them. That part was easy enough. The difficult part was trying to actually get them back. Riding one bike while holding onto the handlebars of another bike sounds simple until you’re actually doing it and realizing that one wrong move could send you, two bikes, and your dignity straight into traffic. Somehow, by the grace of God and a questionable amount of balance, all four bikes made it back safely.

After that heroic effort, Pete did what any exhausted early-arriving beach traveler would do.

He took a nap.

Then he drove up and down the beach for a while, taking in the views, exploring the area, and trying to kill time.

Then he took another nap.

At some point, ice cream felt like the right decision,  because at the beach, ice cream is not a dessert. It is an activity. So Pete grabbed some ice cream, wandered a little more, and then, you guessed it…

Took another nap.

Eventually, after a full day of waiting, Jessica, Tandi, and Rudy finally arrived, and just like that, the trip really began.

We all met up at Red Fish Taco, and it was the perfect first stop. The food was amazing, the atmosphere was relaxed, and after a long day of traveling and waiting, it just felt good to finally be together. There is something special about that first meal on a trip, when everybody has arrived, bags are mostly unpacked, the stress of getting there starts to fade, and you can finally breathe a little.

After tacos, we did what any reasonable group of people at the beach would do.

We got more ice cream.

Because apparently, ice cream was going to be a theme of the day.

From there, we headed back to the house for the night, full, tired, happy, and ready for a few days of beach, bikes, food, and time together.

Day one was a little chaotic, a little sleepy, and a lot of fun, which honestly might be the perfect way to start a beach trip.

30A Beach Trip: Day Two — The Ultimate Beach Day

Day two was what every beach trip hopes to become: sunshine, waves, music, food, laughter, and just enough chaos to make the memories better.

As any good vacation day would begin, we had a “tentative” schedule.

Now, for those unfamiliar with what “tentative” means when traveling with Tandi, it means whatever time you thought you were leaving, go ahead and add 45 more minutes.

Also, consider this a public service announcement for anyone who may vacation with Tandi in the future: do not speak to her until she has had her coffee.

Not a word.

Not a question.

Not even a cheerful “good morning.”

Just imagine you are staying in a haunted house, and when the ghost moves around, you all quietly agree to act like it was just your imagination. That is the safest approach until the coffee has fully entered her system.

After a couple cups of coffee and breakfast at the house, life began to feel a little safer. Spirits lifted. Conversations resumed. And eventually, the girls assigned Rudy and Pete the sacred responsibility of setting up the beach site.

Now, for anyone reading this, that may sound like a simple task.

It is not.

There is a very specific kind of pressure that falls on a man when he is asked to set up a beach spot without female supervision. You’re not just choosing a place to put chairs. You are making a decision that will be judged for shade, distance from water, distance from people, wind direction, walking distance, view quality, cooler accessibility, towel layout, and probably four other things we didn’t even know existed.

Pete and Rudy loaded up the bikes and rode all the gear down to the beach. And yes, we said gear, because apparently a chair and an umbrella are no longer enough to survive a few hours by the ocean. There were chairs, blankets, bags, food, towels, music, and enough supplies to make it feel like we were preparing to establish a small coastal village.

Once we arrived, we looked out across the vastness of the beach and immediately began debating where the girls would most likely approve.

Actually, “debating” may be too calm of a word.

It felt more like offering a sacrifice to the beach gods and hoping the location would be acceptable enough that we would not be struck down by lightning when the girls arrived.

After making our petitions known to God and asking for wisdom, we finally chose a spot and set up camp. Chairs were placed. Blankets were spread. Food was arranged. And, of course, music was playing.

Side note: Rudy is absolutely obsessed with his portable speakers. I am pretty confident that may have been the only thing he packed for the beach. Clothes? Optional. Toothbrush? Maybe. Speaker? Absolutely essential.

Eventually, the girls arrived, examined the site, and gave their approval.

Victory.

For about five minutes.

Then the waves came crashing in and tried to soak everything we owned, so we had to move the entire setup farther back. Because apparently, even the ocean wanted a say in where we sat.

Once we recovered and relocated, the day became everything we had hoped for. The sun was out, the waves were crashing, the music was playing, and everyone was loving life. It was one of those beach days where time slows down a little. Nobody is in a hurry. Nobody is checking the clock. You just sit there, laugh, eat snacks, listen to music, and remember why getting away together matters so much.

That evening, we all got dressed up and headed over to Inlet Beach. We walked around, shopped a little, took tons of photos, and had dinner together. The whole night had that perfect vacation energy, sun-kissed skin, full hearts, and everybody laughing at something.

One of the highlights of the evening was Rudy’s conspiracy theory about cell service.

His phone wasn’t working in certain areas, which naturally led him to conclude that “they” must control the cell service depending on where you are. Who is “they”? We still are not sure. But Rudy had thoughts, and we were all privileged to hear them.

We laughed all night long, took more pictures than necessary, and ended the evening the only way this trip apparently knew how to end a day:

With ice cream.

Day two was the ultimate beach day, a little sun, a little sand, a little stress over chair placement, a little conspiracy theory, and a whole lot of laughter. Honestly, it was perfect.

30A Beach Trip: Day Three — Bikes, Booty, and Bridges

Day three began with a decision that sounded innocent enough: “Let’s ride bikes.”

Now, when most people say they want to ride bikes at the beach, they mean a casual little ride down the street. Maybe grab coffee. Maybe look at some houses. Maybe feel the breeze for twenty minutes and call it exercise.

That is not what happened.

Somehow, we ended up riding like we were training for an Ironman.

First of all, I (Pete) have long legs. The rest of the group? Think Bilbo Baggins and friends…Enough said.

So when I was accused of being an “overachiever,” I would like to respectfully clarify that I was simply riding at a normal pace and then waiting for the hobbits to catch up.

The ride started with big dreams and beach-trip confidence. But your mind can have all the ambition in the world until your lack of recent exercise pops that bubble real quick.

There were hills.

There was heavy breathing.

There were questionable decisions.

And there were certain people… names will not be mentioned… walked their bikes up the very first hill.

These same people “allegedly” rode some obscene distance, like twenty miles, the last time they were here. Like I said there were no witnesses so I stand by “Allegedly.”

After the walk of shame, we kept riding and eventually made our way to Scratch Biscuit Kitchen for breakfast. And let us just say, it was worth every pedal, every hill, and every moment of questioning our life choices. The food was amazing. It was one of those meals where everyone gets quiet for a second because the biscuits are doing what they came to do.

After breakfast, we stopped in Seaside to do some shopping and wandering around. We came across the cutest bookstore, where a local author was signing books, which made the whole stop feel even more charming and perfectly 30A.

We took more pictures, because apparently that is just what you do on vacation. Then we found a frozen banana that was, honestly, to die for. It was one of those random beach treats that you do not expect to be a highlight, but then suddenly you’re wondering why frozen bananas are not part of your regular life back home.

After that, we started heading back.

Tandi told us she wanted to take a picture at the Draper Lake Bridge, so that became the next mission. Somehow or another, Jessica and I got ahead of Tandi and Rudy, and while we were standing near the bridge waiting, the peaceful moment was suddenly interrupted.

Out of nowhere, Tandi came flying down the hill like she was being chased by a bear. She yelled something that sounded like, “Get out of the way!” and blew right past us like she had lost control and accepted her fate.

Then came Rudy. Not to be overshadowed, Rudy came in even faster and somehow even more out of control. He locked up the brakes on that bike like he was on a drag strip timing a quarter mile.

All I could think was, “Yeah, I am definitely not getting my deposit back on these bikes.”

Thankfully, everyone survived the bridge incident, and we made it back to the house. We changed for the beach and quickly realized we were all dealing with the same painful truth:

Our butts were sore.

Beach biking sounds cute and aesthetic until you have been on that seat long enough to question every choice you have ever made.

But sore or not, we rallied and made our way back to the beach for more sun, sand, and relaxing.

And of course, we cannot talk about day three without mentioning Jessica’s dream:Pizza by the Sea.

The dinner conversation turned into a full debate over where we should eat, which eventually became less of a discussion and more like the old “Who’s on First?” sketch.

“Where are we eating?”

“Pizza by the Sea.”

“Right, but where?”

“Pizza by the Sea.”

“Yes, pizza by the sea sounds great, but what’s the name of the place?”

“Pizza by the Sea.”

“But are we eating pizza by the sea or is the place we are eating called pizza by the sea?!?!?”

“Yes”

It took longer than it should have, but eventually Rudy and Pete went and picked up the pizza. Jessica, naturally, took her aesthetic pictures of the pizza boxes, because if you eat pizza at the beach and do not photograph it, did it even happen?

Then we all dove in.

After a day full of bikes, bridges, biscuits, sore backsides, frozen bananas, and pizza boxes, we were tired in the best possible way.

Day three was hilarious, exhausting, beautiful, and completely unforgettable.

In other words, it was a great day.