Paddle Plan It

Perfect Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental for Paddle boarding

Florida is fast becoming my favorite place to take a paddleboard vacation, especially now that I found this otherworldly vacation home rental. This gulf coast house is arguably the best Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental you can find.

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man paddle boarding in front of a Florida Gulf Coast vacation rental — Paddle boarding in front of our Florida Gulf Coast Rental

The Optimystical Vista Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

The Optimystical Vista House was our “home” for a week and it was a dream. You can see the kids and my reaction to this amazing home, in this video.

Optimystical Vista: a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental — Optimystical Vista: Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

We wanted a quiet place on the gulf water-a paddleboard paradise.

Side view of Optimystical Vista, the Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — One of the waterways beside OptiMystical Vista. The waterway leads to the Gulf

We found it at Optimystical Vista in the tiny gulf town of Aripeka, FL. This 3-level house on the Gulf of Mexico was perfect- water on three sides and access to a deck from every room.

A side view of Optimystical Vista, the Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — On the other side of our rental was more water. This house has water on three sides! we took this picture from our paddle boards.

The Garage Level

The kids (and we) were beyond excited to see the fun garage and lower deck complete with a pool table, ping pong table, arcade, fishing rods, fridge, kayaks, a canoe, a grill, and floats.

little girl standing by a pool table infant of windows with a water view. The garage of Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — Even the garage was full of windows and views of the water

a dad and son playing ping pong in a garage — We enjoyed playing all the games in the garage thought out our trip

pingpong table, an arcade, and a fridge in a garage of Optimystical Vista. Water view out of the window — The arcade was my daughter’s favorite garage “toy.” We also loved that the garage had a fridge. We stored a few drinks in the fridge and bait in the freezer.

a table and chairs in the Optimystical Vista garage — The garage had a little sitting area so you could take in all the intense ping pong and pool table games.

When we wanted to paddle we just grabbed our paddleboards in the garage and walked a few steps to the water.

2 paddle boards in front of the Florida Gulf Coast Rental — It as so easy to grab our paddle boards and go when we were this close to the water!

The garage at Optimystical Vista Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental — We stored our paddle boards right next to the garage door so that they were super easy to grab.

The kids also lost their minds when they discovered the elevator in the house.

a boy standing in a home elevator at a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental. Groceries are on the floor. — The elevator in our Florida Gulf Coast Rental

There “Treetop” Bedroom

One room and bathroom sat at the top of the house like a floating treehouse.

girls feet on a bed and a view of water through the windows and sliding door. — Water views and a balcony or deck access in every room including what I like to call the “treetop” room, which sat on the 3rd floor.

3rd floor room in Optimystical vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — The treetop room had it’s own deck and lounge chairs

You could get to the “floating treehouse” by either the elevator or outdoor spiral staircase.

artistic photo of a spiral staircase at Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental — The spiral stair case that lead to the 3rd floor bedroom and bathroom

The Living Room

Every level had wonderful views and places to lounge including the cozy chairs and couch in the living room.

The Bedrooms on the Main Level at our Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Home

A bedroom at Optimystical vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — Here is one of the rooms on the main level. You can’t see it from this picture, but the water is on this side of the house as well.

Bedroom at Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental — This is the 2nd bedroom on the main floor.

Sitting Areas at Optimystical Vista

I had a hard time choosing where to sit every day. The views were stunning everywhere! You could sit in lounge chairs on the main deck, or on chairs on the dock or patio on the ground floor. You could also sit on the dock or sides of the house with your legs hanging over the water. The 3rd floor had its own lounge chairs and the side yard had a beautiful bench that was flanked by two palm trees. I even brought my hammock, and it could be hung on the sturdy columns under the deck.

girl sitting on a bench in front of the water. Palm trees flank the bench. — Little places to sit were scattered around the house. This was a little bench sitting on the side of the house.

girl in a hummocky the water and a deck — I brought my hammock. There were plenty of places you could hang it around the house.

a grandmother and little girl playing a board game — We enjoyed playing family games in the living room at night

Dining Areas at Our Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

You could eat inside at the kitchen table, at the lower level picnic table, or at the little bar jutting out from the kitchen window.

A picnic table by the water at Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — A picnic table sat right by the grill and, of course, the water

A kitchen and kitchen table at Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental. You can see the water from the windows. — The kitchen even has a door that leads to the balcony and the windows have water views too.

Girl sitting at a bar by the water at Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — The little bar outside of the kitchen window

Cooking was an absolute pleasure because you were either cooking with a water view in the kitchen or grilling with a water view. We did both during our stay.

Kitchen window with a water view — My view while prepping for dinner

Kitchen window with a water view at Otimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — My view while cooking dinner

man grilling on a grill by the water at a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental — Chad grilled some chicken one night and some jalapeño popper on another night.

Man and women in Clemson attire. The man's shirt and the woman's shorts are the same pattern. — Matching Clemson Clothes makes everything more fun. My shorts and his shirt are the same Clemson Hawaiian pattern!

man and woman standing by the Gulf of Mexico water at Optimistic Vista

The Bathrooms in the Optimystical Vista Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

This Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental had 3 full baths and half bath downstairs. A place to shower off was also located on the patio.

A bathroom in Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

Girl taking a picture of a bathroom in the Optimystical Vista Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

Paddleboarding in the Gulf

Going for a paddle involved carrying our paddleboards a few steps from the garage to the water, which is why much of our trip involved paddleboarding. I decided to write a separate post about paddleboarding in the Gulf because this post was getting too big. In fact, this post was so full of pictures that I had to break up this amazing trip into 3 posts! You can find out all the details about paddleboarding around in the Gulf around our rental here. You can also see a video of our gulf Paddleboard adventures here.

girl paddle boarding in front of a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental House — Paddle boarding on my irocker in front of our rental

girl paddle boarding with a rainbow behind her — I’m calling this rainbow paddle boarding on my irocker isup

Kayaking and Canoeing in the Gulf

We mostly paddled using our own paddleboards, but this Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental came complete with kayaks, a canoe, and floats. We took the kayaks and canoes out a few times.

a little girl in a canoe and a boy on a kayak in the distance. The Optymistical Vista Florida Gulf Coast vacation rental in the background — Kayaking and canoeing by the side of the house. This kayaks and canoe came with this Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental

Sunrises and Sunsets

The Sunrises and sunsets were out of this world!

man paddle boarding at sunset, and boy sitting on a dock at Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental — Paddle boarding at sunset

man paddle boarding at sunset — More paddle boarding on the iRocker isup at sunset

a girl and boy sitting on a dock at sunset — The views every night changed!

girl paddle boarding in the Gulf of Mexico at sunset — So many colors in the sky!

The sunrise beside our Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental

boy sitting on a dock with a colorful sky behind him — Morning view from the dock

beautiful sky, water, and land — View on the side of the house

tow chips in front of a palm tree, beautiful sky — Another favorite place to sit at Optimystical Vista

Fishing in the Gulf

We alternated between fishing from the shores deck and sides of our Florida Gulf Coast Rental and fishing from our Paddleboard.

boy fishing of a dock of Optimystical Vista, a Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

boy fishing, You can see the inside of the Optimystical Vista Florida Gulf Coast Vacation rental garage beside him

father and some fishing beside a palm tree

man fishing from a paddle board — We also fished from our iRocker Paddle boards. Our iRockers have plenty of places to attach accessories. While fishing, we attached a rod holder to our paddle board

man fishing from an iRocker paddle board — Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

Crabbing of the Dock

We also did a little crabbing and caught a few small fish in the crab trap. Chad doesn’t eat fish so we always let everything go, which pleased our 8-year-old sweet animal-loving daughter.

Aripeka/Spring Hill Florida

This Florida Gulf Coast vacation rental was located in the tiny town of Aripeka, which was close to the larger Spring Hill, FL. The small town of Aripeka, FL is something special. We literally saw most of the town. There is a post office and a no-longer-functioning historical post office beside it.

Aripeka post office — The updated post office is still small and charming

The historical post office is still set up inside like it would have looked when it was operational.

Aripeka, FL Historical post office — The Aripeka, Fl Historical Post Office

There is also a bait/convenience store called Norfleet’s. Norfleet’s was walking distance from our house. (Almost the whole town is within walking distance).

We visited Norfleet’s several times for bait and treats for the kids.

Norfleet's in Aripeka, FL — Norfleet’s in Aripeka, FL

A tiny barber shop was connected to Norfleet’s. It looked like something from another time.

The Barber Shop Connected to Norfleet's in Aripeka, FL — The Barber Shop Connected to Norfleet’s

The Stone Crab Co. is across from Norfleet’s. You can buy a variety of fish at this long-standing establishment. Rumor has it that a former Weeki Wachee mermaid and her husband own the Stone Crab Co. (You can find out more about the Week Wachee Mermaids here.)

The only other buildings we saw in Aripeka were a community center and a church. That was about it for this charming town with a population of 320 people.

Things to Do Near This Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

We spent much of our time at our ethereal Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental, but for a couple of days we did venture off the property.

Busch Gardens Tampa

The Busch Gardens Tampa amusement park is about 45 miles from the Optimystical Vista House. We spent about a day and a half riding rollercoasters, taking in the shows, and seeing the animals at Busch Gardens. We really enjoyed eating at Four Brothers, which is located just outside of Busch Gardens. Their menu really has something for everybody.

Boy standing in front of Busch Garden's Iron Gwazi at night — Busch Garden’s Iron Gwazi

I ate chicken kabobs and yellow rice at Four Brothers.

Tarpon Springs, FL

We didn’t know about Tarpon Springs until some of the Aripeka locals told us about it. Now, Tarpon Springs, FL is a must-do whenever we travel near it.

Tarpon Springs is an actual Greek Fishing Town located about 20 miles from Aripeka, FL. This town had so much to offer that I had to write a separate blog post just about Tarpon Springs. You can find out all about it here.

Weeki Wachee Springs

Weeki Wachee Springs was only about 5 minutes away from our Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental.

This state park is a waterpark AND a perfect place to put in your paddle board on the Weeki Wachee Springs River.

You can find out more about the Buccaneer Bay waterpark and our Weeki Wachee Springs River paddle board trip here.

girl Paddle boarding down the Weeki Wachee Springs River — Paddle boarding down the Weeki Wachee Springs River

Dining in Spring Hill, FL

Aripeka is small, but a larger town is located around the corner. You could find lots of dining and your normal all-important stores here like a huge Walmart and plenty of grocery stores. Lots of fun restaurants line Shoal Line Blvd. Locals had suggested Brian’s Place so we made reservations on our last night in paradise.

Brian's Place in Spring Hill, FL — Brian’s Place in Spring Hill, FL

I ordered the local grouper over yellow rice with green beans. It was superb.

The Local Grouper from Brians Place in Spring Hill, FL — The Local Grouper from Brians Place

My meal also came with a side salad. The chickpeas and cranberries were a nice touch to the salad.

The side salad and Brian's Place in Spring Hill, FL — The side salad and Brian’s Place

We also ordered these cheese triangles as an appetizer. The sauce that came with the cheese triangles was what made this appetizer special. I’m not sure what the sauce was, but it had a creamy tomato vibe.

An appetizer at Brian's Place — An appetizer at Brian’s Place

You could eat inside or outside on the back or front patio. You could listen to live music on the front patio and enjoy a water view on the back patio.

After dinner, we walked to the back patio. For a quarter, you could grab some fish food out of a fish food vending machine and then feed the fish in the water below. While feeding the fish, we saw alligators, and I remembered why we do NOT paddleboard in murky, swampy water in Florida!!!

Feeding the fish on the back patio at Brian's Place — Feeding the fish on the back patio at Brian’s Place

(A note on alligators: According to a Florida Wildlife expert in Florida, alligators don’t like people, salt water, or brackish water. They are more active at dusk and evening, and they do like dark murky water. Although alligators could be found in any water in Florida, you are less likely to find them in clear springs, salt water, and brackish water that is heavily populated by people. And if you do come across one, don’t mess with it or feed it, and they will avoid you.)

Girl sitting on a bench between two palm trees

Our Beautiful Trip to Optimystical Vista: Our Amazing Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental

And that is it, a recap of one of the best trips I have ever taken. Whether we were paddle boarding, fishing, visiting the surrounding attractions, or relaxing at this perfect Florida Gulf Coast Vacation Rental, it felt like we were living in a dream. Remember, you can see our reaction to this house when we first saw it in this video.