Our "beach story" began over 40 years ago. On one of their many journeys, our grandparents discovered the sugar white beaches of Panama City Beach in 1973. It is with this visit, that our family story unfolds across four generations. Our Grandma, immediately fell in love with the sugary white beach, crystal clear blue waters, and the many pools that would sometimes form on the beach. Living in Missouri, Panama City Beach offered a tropical getaway that they could frequent for extended weekends as well as full-week getaways. In 1977, Grandpa surprised Grandma with a very special "Sandcastle" birthday present. He purchased an adorable little beach cottage two blocks from where we are today. Our grandma appropriately named her new escape "Our Sandcastle". In those days, the little cottages, and now our new "Sunswept Sandcastle" were the only structures on the beach. Our mom's remembers spending days on the beach, seeing only 20 people pass by the whole day. Besides the beach front houses you still see today, the rest of the beach was a multitude of sand dunes. In the early days, the favorite beach front restaurant was called "The Beach Party", and it still exists, but is now called Schooners. It remains a family favorite for everyone, and one of the first places we enjoy on each visit. Grandpa had a special love of boating, and back then he would leave early in the morning and go fishing for the catch of the day. During the afternoon, our mom and aunt would seek out fresh oysters, scallops, and crabs from the bay. Grandma would create quite the feast, including our Grandpa's famous Oyster Stew. Mom (our awesome property manager) remembers walking the beach with her dad (grandpa), and how he named the beachfront building of Sunswept "The Big Gray Monster". At three stories, it was the tallest structure near their beloved Sandcastle.