Spring Break 2026: Mexico Beach, Florida

Last fall, when we were thinking of going on spring break to Florida, we discussed as a family what we wanted: a quiet, quaint town where we could go shelling and snorkeling. So that’s what I literally googled and the town, Mexico Beach, Florida came up! When we told people where we were going, the next comment was, “So where is that?” And that’s what we wanted :). A place where not lots of people were and that’s what we found. Mexico Beach was incredibly family friendly, not lots to do in town, but plenty to do outside of it and so that’s where we went!

No trip down to Florida is complete without a stop at Buc-ee’s!

Dan is our “drive through the night” guy, and this is what he dodged…that little blue dot is us. Yep, he gunned it to bypass this big guy!

The first day we went down to Grayton Beach and drove down 30A, a place/road I’ve always wanted to check out!

We miraculously found a parking spot in Rosemary Beach and oh my, what a dream town!

It literally felt like we were in a different country:

We stayed in Panama City Beach the first night on our way down and I will say, that town isn’t necessarily for us. It was WAY too busy, but it was fun to at least see for a night.

On the way down to Mexico Beach, we stopped at St. Andrew Beach State Park where we checked out Gator Lake (recommended by friends) and saw this little guy…

Some deer…(4 to be exact)

And a bit kahuna! Glad he was in the water…

We also went snorkeling at this beach which was so fun! We saw a sting ray, sheepshead, and some bigger fish (don’t know what they were).

And this is what spring break is made of: FAMILY TIME!

Easter morning we went to a small, local Baptist church. It was quaint, friendly, and this is something we love to do: go to a local church on vacation to worship with other believers. As Mazy said, it sure was different, but different isn’t bad! We were 3 of about 40-50 people. When we walked up, they encouraged us to take a flower and put it on the cross behind us. I started to get emotional as that act encompassed so much of what Easter is about: beauty in the cross because Jesus arose from the dead. What a perfect way to celebrate!

The rest of the week was filled with so much goodness:

We found a giant sloth and Mazy snuggled with it:

Doing an Easter egg “hunt” around our condo. This year we did get some candy, but also 2 devotionals and Dan and I wrote little notes of faith to encourage Mazy that she found:

We found a GIANT sharks tooth in Cape San Blas:

Explored much of Mexico Beach that was destroyed by hurricane Michael in 2018. Almost the entire town was destroyed and is now rebuilt.

We watched the Michigan basketball team absolutely DOMINATE during March Madness and oh what fun!

This was our rig going to the beach each day:

The sunsets were absolutely STUNNING.

Our view from our condo complex, on the way down the stairs, to the beach:

There were starfish EVERYWHERE and TONS of shells. Mazy made sure to rescue every starfish that got washed up:

Holding sweet Mazy’s hand just never gets old:

Lots of sand castle building:

Crab hunting:

Walks in town:

And what’s not pictured was just pure time together. These past few years have been hard on our family. So many others have experienced hard times as well. And so to have this time together, adventuring, exploring, and just BEING was so precious! We can’t wait to do it again and are just so grateful for God’s grace and goodness to us. We don’t take these trips lightly and realize they are such a gift. Something we never want to take for granted!

Now we take we had down there, bring it back home, and build on it. The games played, the time spent together, the simplicity, and how life is so much more than what our culture makes it to be. It’s about God. His beauty. His creation. His people. And that’s what we take with us and move forward with. We love to meet new people, hear their stories, and realize that we are all on this earth together, at this time, in this place. We always enjoy chatting with others, hearing where they are from, and even meeting fellow believers. One of Mazy’s memorable moments was when a girl she met from Georgia, asked if Mazy was a Christian. That’s what it’s about. Talking about the gospel, even when away from home.

What did your spring break look like? Whatever it may have entailed, may we all move forward with an acknowledgement that God is at the center of our lives, no matter where we are in life. No matter where we travel to. May we always see GOD as the orchestrator and gift-giver. For in and through Him, are all things.

To God be the glory.