On the second morning in Panama City Beach, we were meant to go wreck diving. But the South has been having some weird weather of late, and the winds were a bit stronger than our liking, so we reconfigured our schedule and spent the morning getting our donut on instead.

You know you would have done the same.

Thomas Donut and Snack Shop is a local institution, but somehow it was my first visit ever, despite going down to PCB since childhood and the fact that the waterfront shack pre-dates me by 12 years. Don’t worry: We made up for lost time.

Thomas’ also serves Texas-style kolaches, another favorite baked good of mine, and Morning Glory Muffins, too, but seeing as we ordered nearly two dozen donuts (not an exaggeration), we stopped just short of indulging in those, as well.

I may regret that decision for the rest of my days.

“We’ve got a lot of kids in the car!” Angie exclaimed to no one in particular should any of our other Thomas patrons be judging our gluttony. (Given that not one but two men stopped us on the beach later and called us “the donut girls,” I’m assuming we didn’t go unnoticed.)

I don’t even care about the number of calories we consumed that morning; they were worth every extra trip to the gym.

Our bellies full of sugar and coffee, since we were right across from Laguna Beach, we decided to go for a wander. I’d say it was to walk off the donuts, but we all know it was actually to exercise my camera.

It’s so hard for me to believe that we could have such a major beach in a prime vacation destination more or less to ourselves. What pure bliss.

Some of us—the more mature ones, I should note—decided to take this peaceful moment as an opportunity to harass the locals.

And what’s a girlfriend getaway without a little spa visit? When the skies were looking a bit ominous, we ditched our plan to spend the afternoon outside and headed to Serenity Spa at Bay Point instead.

From the second we walked in and the receptionist handed us mimosas, we knew we’d made a wise choice.

Donuts and boozy spa days: Let’s just say we know how to rock a girls’ trip in style.

After my deep tissue massage, I met Angie and Jade in the whirlpool and we had another mimosa or three as we made plans for the rest of the day. The rest of the day obviously entailed more eating and more drinking.

From Serenity, we headed back to Pier Park to check out The Craft Bar, which a couple of our local friends had told us about. I’m forever craving a good stout, and now only did Craft Bar deliver, but they had a full menu front and back of both regional and domestic microbrews with the option to order a flight (twist my arm, why don’t you?).

My companions ordered cocktails, which was quite the production. I can’t say I’d ever before seen a bartender torch wood chips for an Old Fashioned before! It definitely gave it a smoky, campfire kind of finish.

We loved this place so much, we wound up going there twice in our four-day trip. I barely repeat restaurants in Nashville, but what can I say—Craft Bar was just that good!

Looking for other trip ideas to Florida? I’ve got a few:

• Swimming with Manatees in Crystal River
• 4 Ways to Explore Jacksonville
• Taking Your Dog to South Walton
• Planning the Ultimate Vacation in the Florida Keys
• Getting Your Water Park on at Volcano Bay
• Exploring the Elegance of St. Augustine
• Planning a Gulf Coast Bachelorette
• Experiencing the Magic at Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Going Wreck Diving in the Gulf of Mexico
• Swimming with Dolphins in PCB

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