In June, with our Disney Anniversary Trip canceled, my husband and I searched high and low for a place that we could spend our sixth anniversary. Since it was the height of COVID, we wanted to find a home we could rent, within driving distance of where we live, and we didn’t want to feel like we were in Texas. We live near San Antonio, so I thought this would probably be impossible to find, but then we stumbled upon Cinnamon Shore.

Nestled on the Texas Gulf Coast, in Port Aransas, you will find a small beach community called Cinnamon Shore. Cinnamon Shore is a magical place full of family activities (like sandcastle building and movies on the lawn), shops, restaurants, swimming pools, and easy access to the beach. They offer different vacation homes that you can rent, for the weekend or a week, in many different sizes, one-bedroom to six. Although almost everything is within walking distance, there are also golf carts available for rental; you can park your car when you get there and forget about it. Our favorite part is that you no longer feel like you’re in Texas when you pull into Cinnamon Shore.

Initially, I was planning a big birthday party for my daughter. But, with COVID still around and social distancing measures in place, we decided to forgo a big party this year. After some brainstorming with my husband, we decided that the best place to celebrate her second birthday would be Cinnamon Shore. Cinnamon Shore is practicing social distancing, and masks are currently required while you’re inside their main office, shops, and restaurants (if you’re not actively eating), but it is still such a wonderful place to be. We invited my family to come along for our trip, and I think they loved Cinnamon Shore just as much.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent the next two and a half days experiencing all of the fun that Cinnamon Shore has to offer. Even though it was a weekend trip, we had enough time to experience it all and found that it is the perfect family destination and the perfect place to host a birthday.

Something neat about Cinnamon Shore is that you can rent a vacation home through Cinnamon Shore directly, even though each home is privately owned. We rented the house “Happy Kat Cottage II,” and it was absolutely perfect for our weekend trip. This house is a four-bedroom, four-bathroom home with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and incredible views. Although Cinnamon Shore is a beach community on the Texas Coast, most houses do not face the beach, BUT there are many homes throughout the property that are on a lake. Happy Kat Cottage II is located on Lake Colby, and that, along with its huge porch, made for the best views day and night. We had six adults and three kids in our home, along with our puppy, and we had plenty of space to spread out.

I mentioned before that Cinnamon Shore has its own restaurants and shops. Dylan’s Coal Oven Pizza is one of our favorite places to eat while we were there (we ate their twice) and Coffee Waves has some of the best coffee ever! My husband and I enjoyed grabbing coffee from Coffee Waves first thing in the morning and then driving straight out to the beach in our golf cart to enjoy a view and coffee. On this trip we also ate at Lisabella’s, which I would consider Cinnamon Shore’s fine dining option. Although we ended up getting caught in the rain while eating outside at Lisabella’s, it was one of the best meals we have ever had. I can’t wait to go back and eat there again!

Along with Golf Carts, you can also rent beach chairs and fishing poles from Cinnamon Shore. The beach chairs are great because you literally don’t have to lift a finger! Every morning Cinnamon Shore sets out your beach chairs on the beach, and every evening they head out and pick them up. If you have a golf cart, you can drive right up to your chairs and park when you’re ready to enjoy the beach. It makes for a delightful beach day. My daughter loved building her first sandcastles on the beach.

We also rented fishing poles and a tackle box for some catch and release fishing in their lake on this trip. Fishing was a family favorite, and my niece and nephew have not stopped talking about it.

When we weren’t enjoying our vacation home, eating, riding in our golf cart, building sandcastles at the beach, or fishing, you could find us in one of the three swimming pools! Each pool at Cinnamon Shore has a different vibe. Kiera’s Pool has a bar and restaurant, so it was usually busy with lots of families, the Stillwater Pool is heated and quiet, and the Dune Pool (our favorite) is enormous and located right next to the playground. I love that the swimming pools at Cinnamon Shore feature shallow areas with fountains (almost like a splash pad) where my daughter could play. We spent hours and hours in the pool having so much fun, and there were tears when swim time was over, and it was time to head back to our house.

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend at Cinnamon Shore, and we made so many incredible memories. We are already planning on returning this fall and next summer because we enjoyed it so much. I have noticed that Vacation Rentals at Cinnamon Shore book up quickly, so make reservations as far in advance as possible. If you are looking for an incredible vacation destination on the Texas Gulf Coast, find yourself at Cinnamon Shore.

Tomorrow I will be sharing all of the details of my daughter’s birthday celebrations (yes, there were two) while we were at Cinnamon Shore, so stay tuned!

Sending love and magic.