DESTIN FLORIDA March 7-14

[JCSR]

Wife and I just got home after a week in Destin. Weather was sunny and in the high 60's to low 70's every day. Florida is pretty much opened up and thriving. Here's a few observations.

> Masks were mostly worn by the very old or young adults. I never put one on except at Target where they had a mask nazi at the door.

> My wife says last years swim suits are not to be worn on this years vacation. This is why I was in Target. I did score a 6 pack of New Belgium Hazy IPA , good IPA you know.

>Fresh caught sea food is hard to beat. Crab stuffed shrimp from the Back Porch restaurant may be my favorite meal.

>The sound of little kids playing is something we hadn't heard in a year. There have been times in the past I found it annoying. Last week it was so enjoyable.

> You can't drink all day if you don't start early.

View from our room on the 15th floor


Destin Harbor views from AJ's restaurant.

 

[hoosierdoc]

we love destin. i just threw away a frsibee from back porch yesterday

which condos were you in?

 

[JCSR]

we love destin. i just threw away a frsibee from back porch yesterday

which condos were you in?

Sundestin a short walk to Back Porch.

 

[churchmouse]

If there is not the sound of children at play.......You are missing out on so much.

We have some good friends in Destin. We need to get back down there.

 

[Dingleberry]

Destin and even PCB is nice. PCB gets a bad wrap sometimes but one of your nicer beach towns IMO.

 

[femurphy77]

Sister has a place in Ft Walton Beach, heading down there sometime next month. When not working on her place we spend most of our time between Destin and PCB. This trip we're going to go the other way for a couple of days though, considering a southerly address in 5 years so we've been doing a little reconnoitering.

 

[femurphy77]

Destin and even PCB is nice. PCB gets a bad wrap sometimes but one of your nicer beach towns IMO.

PCB's kind of the end of the trail so not as much tourist traffic down that way. Destin is perfectly positioned for the stretch between PCB and Gulf Shores.

 

[KellyinAvon]

White sand beaches with V-22 Ospreys and F-35s making an occasional pass. Can't beat that!

 

[SheepDog4Life]

When the kids were young, family vacations in Seagrove Beach, about midway between Destin and PCB, every other year. That stretch of beach doesn't have all the high rises, I think zoning limited it to 3 stories at some point, so the beaches weren't so crowded.

If there is not the sound of children at play.......You are missing out on so much.

We have some good friends in Destin. We need to get back down there.

The kids (and the big kid, me) always had a blast... a week never seemed like enough.

 

[tmschuller]

We did Panama City beach last year with 14 of us. Great time and love where we were.. about a mile from the pier. Quiet and gated community. Navarre is not far and even quieter. Not as much to do but quiet. Planes flying over doing training and some live fire off down the beach. Cool to hear and even see the flashes. Hope to go this year but not likely..

 

[Tactically Fat]

We've never been to that part of FL. I'd like to go. That's the kind of beach/water that I really enjoy. Quite evocative of a lot of Caribbean beaches - which I also quite enjoy.

 

[jwamplerusa]

We've been to Rosemary Beach, and Carrillon beach when the kids were middle to high school age. I like the area.

When they were young for years we drove to Florida to longboat key. That, was a hike. We really enjoyed the area however when the kids were young. We went again when my youngest was in high school and I was quite disappointed. The beaches had badly eroded and lots of the charm seem to have been overcome with development and touristy growth.

 

[Alamo]

Last time I was around Destin and the panhandle area was when a girlfriend came to visit me while I was in training at Keesler AFB, near Biloxi, just after Hurricane Opal came ashore there in Oct 1995. It blew the %$$#@!! out of that whole area. Much of the highway closest to the beach was either missing or covered in sand, had to go inland a ways to get farther east. Did find a way in to drive along Santa Rosa Island. ALL the hotels were destroyed. The structures were standing, but the parking lots were covered in several feet of sand, ALL the windows were blown out of the hotels, and furniture and bedding from the hotels were blown inland for as far as we could see from the road. Boats and all kinds of debris also was scattered inland. Pretty much all the houses and buildings looked trashed too, even if they sea surge didn't get them.

Went over to Eglin and it was messy too. There was an officers club on the beach that was basically buried in sand, always wondered if they ever reopened it. That's about where we turned around and went back to New Orleans.

New Orleans escaped the brunt of the storm, it just got a lot of rain, which scrubbed the streets in the French Quarter clean. Also the storm blew away the humidity, so the weekend after the weather in New Orleans was just perfect, sunny, mid-70s, no humidity, everything smelled fresh. We had a great weekend there, spent more money on food in a single day than any other time in my life, toured the bayous in again perfect weather, and I've always been reluctant to go back to NO because I am afraid it just wouldn't measure up.

 

[starbreather]

2 hours away...

 

[femurphy77]

2 hours away...

Braggart!!

 

[yote hunter]

Gulf shores - Orange beach 3/9 - 3/22 can’t wait ! The wife and I have the daughter ,son in-law and 3 grandsons & the wifes niece and her 3 daughters all come . We do this for them every year and it’s a great time. So enjoyable . Love the gulf ! Last year 18th floor looking to the west sun going down.

 

[starbreather]

Braggart!!

Couldn't help myself.

 

[BigErnNP]

Our family went to PCB last year. The favorite part of the entire trip was the full day we spent at Shell Island.
Rented a pontoon boat for the day, and had nearly the entire beach to ourselves. My little ones loved being able to run the beach without having so many people around. I cant recommend it enough.
Hoping to go back in 2022.

 

[JCSR]

Our family went to PCB last year. The favorite part of the entire trip was the full day we spent at Shell Island.
Rented a pontoon boat for the day, and had nearly the entire beach to ourselves. My little ones loved being able to run the beach without having so many people around. I cant recommend it enough.
Hoping to go back in 2022.

Shell Island is awesome. If you have little kids the Pirate Ship is a fun trip.

 

[BugI02]

> You can't drink all day if you don't start early.

Stealin' that