Roadtrip: Day 8: Gulf Shores, Alabama to Panama City Beach, FL

We only stopped at 1 roadside attraction on our way from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach.
15-foot tall Coca-Cola bottle
152 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE, Fort Walton Beach, FL
This one is behind the building. We parked in the parking lot next to strip of buildings and walked behind them to take our picture.

So I had read multiple places online that we should go to Shell Island. So that's what we did. We took the Shell Island Shuttle (which departs from St. Andrews State Park). We were originally planning to snorkel, but they said that it was low visibility while we were there because the current was a little strong, so ended up not doing that. So in the end, in my opinion. It wasn't worth it. We paid over $50 for the 3 of us to take a boat to an island where all we did was sit on a beach. They don't have a lot of shells, we didn't get to snorkel, and you have to pay just to get into the State Park. The whole thing just seemed incredibly unnecessary. If we ever go back, we'll make sure to check the snorkel conditions before wasting our money. Oh well. My son still had the time of his life playing in the water.

Dinner: I was really craving a buffet so we went to Captain Jack's Family Buffet.
8208 Thomas Drive, Panama City, FL
It was stupid expensive ($100 before tip) for the 3 of us, but it was at least delicious and I think my son ate more here than he did anywhere on this whole trip. At least there's that! Plus, our waitress was so friendly and attentive. If you get the chance to eat here, do it during lunch. Unless you're going for the crab legs, lunch is a way better deal.

Hotel: Boardwalk Beach Resort Hotel & Convention Center
9600 S Thomas Dr, Panama City Beach, FL
I wish I could say that this was a great hotel. But honestly, it's not. First off, I just hate any hotel that has 2 double beds instead of 2 queen beds. But beyond that, they allow dogs which means at some point, you're bound to hear some yippee dog barking for a long period of time. It is right on the beach, which is clearly the main draw to the hotel. There is no breakfast. It mostly seemed clean. The door to the bathroom looked like it had been eaten apart by a dog, but for one night, the hotel did it's job in providing a place to stay. There was an abnormally early 10am check-out time, though.

Overall, this was probably my least favorite day of our entire trip. Everything was unimpressive and over-priced.

Roadtrip: Day 7: Gulf Shores, AL

We woke up in Gulf Shores, Alabama with a plan. We set out for Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. I had found online that they basically specialize in animal encounters. One of those encounters happens to be with sloths! How fun, right? They also have encounters with kangaroos, lemurs, reptiles, and tamanduas. If you went to all of them, it would cost $40 per person plus the $11 it cost to enter. We decided we couldn't really afford that so we just chose to meet the sloths. We also got a cup of food for the goats and deer and a couple other animals. That cost $2 and you get to keep the cup, which is kind of cute. If you clean it really well, you can drink out of it later.

As for the sloths, you walk over to that area and give them the ticket you got at the counter where you paid. You then sign a consent form, sanitize your hands, and wait on a bench for the next available employee to take you in to meet the sloth. There are only allowed to be 2 people in the little room with the sloths at a time so with our party of 3, one of us had to stand in the doorway at all times. That was no big deal though. We just took turns. They encourage you to take pictures and ask as many questions as you like. There was no one waiting behind us so we didn't feel rushed at all. The sloths were sleeping the whole time we were in there and there are only a few places you can touch them so don't go in with the expectation that you're going to hold them or anything. It was pretty fun.

There were quite a few animals that can be fed the food that you buy at the front counter. And there are signs. That being said, we had PLENTY of food in just the one container. I'm glad we didn't buy more than that. It was fun though. And my husband thought it was really cool that one of the animals available to feed was the capybara.

After the zoo, we went back to our hotel to change, and then set off for the beach. My son had been looking forward to this moment the entire trip! We parked behind The Hangout ($5/4 hours). We brought along our beach umbrella (which I found to be the best decision we made!) and a beach blanket, plus some drinks and a couple toys. We had so much fun fighting the waves.

Then, since we couldn't just call it a day, we drove up to The Yard, which is a milkshake bar. We did have to wait in line for a while and it was probably 45 minutes between the time that we got in line and when we received our milkshake. And trust me, I heard plenty of older people complaining about it. But we weren't in a hurry so we waited patiently. Luckily, by the time we did get what we ordered, there was an open table for us. And man! That was probably the best milkshake I've ever had! We got the quart-sized build your own milkshake for $17 that comes in a souvenir mason jar. We got mint moosetracks with chocolate chip brownie cookie dough in the bottom, crushed oreos, gummy worms, and a brownie! It was so good.

When we got back to our hotel, we played around in the pool for a while before showering off, ordering a pizza, and getting to bed after our long day of fun!

Roadtrip: Day 6: New Orleans, LA to Gulf Shores, AL

On day 6, we were officially starting the second half of our 10-day road trip vacation. We started out our day with a swamp tour with Cajun Encounters. It was awesome! We chose to drive ourselves since it was actually on the way to our next destination. Plus, this made it about $20 cheaper per person. We saw a ton of alligators. And our guide fed one a hot dog so we got to see it jump out of the water. That was fun. We also saw some swamp raccoons that were so cute. Our guide told us lots of information. He seemed very knowledgable. If you have time, I would definitely suggest this tour for anyone near the New Orleans area.

Then we drove to Gulf Shores, AL. We stopped at a couple roadside attractions along the way.
1. Giant Rocket from Apollo 19
Discovery Circle, Pearlington, MS
The area around the rocket was under construction so we couldn't really get close to it. But it's just so big that you can definitely see it. Plus, there were some other things to see outside. It's a nice little stop.

2. Crooked Feather, a 30-foot-tall Indian Head
500 Bienville Blvd, Ocean Springs, MS
This is a nice little stop as well, but there's nowhere really to park so we had to park at the hotel down the street and just walk to it. There's also a streetcar right next to it you can look in.

We checked into our hotel and then went out to get some dinner. We stopped at The Hangout.
101 E Beach Blvd, Gulf Shores, AL
It's definitely a tourist place, but the food was still okay. There's always something going on. There was a band outside, lots of photo ops, a sand hill for kids to play on, and a guy inside that talks a lot. I'm sure some people found him entertaining. I thought he was king of annoying. They have a bunch of cool drinks. I got the shark attack. Our waitress told a fun little story about a shark and then poured grenadine from the shark into the blue drink. It was fun! And my son got a vanilla milkshake with chocolate syrup in a big souvenir cup.

Hotel: Holiday Inn Express
160 W Commerce Ave, Gulf Shores, AL
It was a nice hotel and while it's not on the beach, it is right off the main road that runs down Gulf Shores so it's very convenient to everything. I would definitely recommend staying here. Breakfast was good enough. The room was clean and modern. It was everything I expected from a Holiday Inn.