travel

The Adagio: Spending More on a Vacation

December 11, 2020 /

I have one more post to share about our trip to the beach this past Thanksgiving with little tour of Seaside. Today, I wanted to share where we stayed and discuss why I was okay with spending more than we usually do on a one week vacation in the US. As I have mentioned before, we chose to rent along 30A in Santa Rosa beach because we wanted to rent bikes, there were several pretty little towns to explore and the beaches are beautiful.

The Adagio

I usually pride myself on finding nice accomodations for a low budget but this year, I decided that since we were not going to Europe and had a healthy vacation savings account that we would indulge and we would book somewhere a little nicer that usual. I looked at different places along 30A and I knew we couldn’t afford places in Seaside or Alys Beach of course but there are many other areas along this stretch of beach that have less crazy prices. My requirements were a spacious condo with 3 bedrooms, a pool for the kids and easy access to the beach: too expensive to have view of the beach at the really nice places but a short walk and being on the same side of the beach was good enough. After narrowing it down to 2 condos, we chose a condo at the Adagio.

This was the view from our condo which was on the ground floor which made it so much easier to lug our chairs and things to the beach. The pools were an immediate draw. These pools were not heated but the children still took a dip and the view was so pretty at night.

There was another pool, much smaller with a view of the ocean that was heated so the boys really enjoyed it!

A closer look of the view from the pool: the dunes are really pretty!

The complex was in walking distance of the bike rental places as well as Blue Mountain Bakery which we visited a few times.

When we arrived we were very impressed with the size of the condo, it is very spacious and I apologize for the lack of pictures showing that: I should have taken pictures before we settled in and had things everywhere.

I love the decor and everything looked like in the pictures on the vrbo listing. Everything was clean and in good shape.

I actually was jealous of some of the pieces in the condo. Great taste!

Why Spend More on a Vacation

  • Sometimes you do get what you pay for: location, space, aestitics! In this case, I have no regrets!
  • My food budget was completely blown: we spent about 3 times what we usually spend on a week’s groceries (this is where I had the hardest time, I had to consciously relax about it) but we always say that we shouldn’t worry about it on vacation. We did have the money to pay for it, we did not go in debt on this vacation. We save all year long for our vacations so it is okay to indulge a little.
  • Enjoy and relax: it has become a very big part of our family life to take vacations and spend quality time together: my husband works hard and is out of town several days a week, I am home with 4 kids and a mother in law, my parents live nearby and are advanced in age… Different stressors during the year need to be put on the back burner several times a year so we can enjoy life without worries! I have no plans for spring or summer so far but I am sure when the time comes closer and we know a little more what is going on in the world, I will plan something. Most likely, if we do something in the spring, I will go back to my stricter vacation budget!

I am hoping Friday is better than Thursday as I write this, I sure wouldn’t mind being back here again.

A bientôt!

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