Billy Bowlegs weekend

It’s the summer season in Destin. A great time of the year. People are out boating, tourist are taking over the town, the restaurants are packed, lightening is seen most days…yep, I love Destin in the summer. Sunshine Cindy and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday evenings catching up on more Crab Island Mambo stuff. It was nice to spend a few quiet evenings at home I even got to watch the first game of the Stanley Cup finals between New Jersey and LA. It was a great game that went into overtime with LA prevailing. It should be a good series.

Crab Island

Tonight (Thursday) we went to Sunshine Cindy’s parent’s house. We have finally made time and plans to take the boat out for the first time. We spent tonight getting it cleaned up. The boat has been in the lift since last October. Needless to say it needed some cleaning but it was really not too bad. Tiff had cleaned it up a month or so ago. We just wiped it down, vacuumed the interior and we will be good to go.

Party Boat at Billy Bowlegs

This is going to be another big weekend around here. Tomorrow Wayne has a friend from Cincinnati coming into to town to spend a few days with him. We are going to meet up at the harbor tomorrow to give Joe a tour of our waterfront. I am sure we will end up at the Boathouse and then most likely the Tipsy Turtle for a few brews. Saturday is the big Billy Bowlegs Pirate festival in the Sound in Ft. Walton Beach. That always brings a couple thousand boats together for a big party. They will have fireworks over the Sound on both Friday and Saturday nights. It should be a good time as everyone is “Embracing the Chaos!”

Get out and enjoy your weekend no matter where you are at! A full report to follow on Monday!!! See you then…..

Memorial Day

Please take a few minutes today to remember all those who have or are serving our country. They are the reason we can do what do!

It has been another fun weekend here on the Emerald Coast. Friday was spent on Charlene’s boat at Crab Island. We had Julie, Dean, Trish, Julie, Mike and of course Capt. Russ. It was a beautiful day in the water and we even had Rick and Jane boat up to join us. We ended the evening at Julie’s swimming and eating pizza till almost 11 pm. Fun!

Crab Island

Saturday was the 17th annual Memorial Day Party at Bobby and Darla’s house. Bobby is a vet who does this party to show his support to all the troops. He has tons of food, a band and about 100 friends show up. It is always a good time. Sunday started out with Sunshine Cindy and I going to Harry T’s for brunch. The harbor was packed but we were able to get a seat inside. Sunshine Cindy ordered a Bloody Mary. As she started to drink it a guy came up behind us and told her she could not have that drink. It was our musician friend Steve Hall. He was there with his wife and another couple. Steve is a fun guy and an excellent musician. His wife is a wedding planner who just completed a wedding that cost over $200k. Wow, some people have more money than they know what to do with it.

Fun at Bobby and Darla's party

Sunday afternoon and evening was our Crab Island Mambo party at KC’s Sandbar in Ft. Walton Beach with John Friday. Thank to Mike and Bev and the staff at KC’s for putting this show on. John played for 4 ½ hours solid without a break. It was in the low 90’s and he had the sun right on him. I am not sure how he did it! John had the crowd dancing and the drinks flowing. Meg took good care of our group. Everyone had a great time! Thank you again Mike!

John Friday at the Crab Island Mambo party at KC's Sandbar

Enjoy your Memorial Day. See you Thursday….

Memorial Day Weekend

We are about to start our Memorial Day Weekend. Be sure to think about all the men and women who have served and the ones that gave the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy our freedoms in the greatest country in the world. It is because of them that we can do the things we love!

Dennis in Afghanistan

This week we have been playing catch up after the big party. There were a couple of evenings spent working on the computer and getting all the supplies back into order. Tuesday we received some new merchandize. Our new tank top t-shirts came in and they look great. Like almost all of our merchandize and our regular t-shirts, the tanks are Made in America. We are proud to sell American Made merchandize and keep fellow Americans employed.

Sunshine Cindy and I did get out Wednesday night. We headed to Crab Island Cantina for some food and to enjoy the great view down on the harbor. Since the Cantina opened, they appear to be doing a good business. The food is good and not too expensive considering you are in the middle of a tourist area. Add to that some great Margarita’s and you have a nice spot to stop in and relax. It will be interesting to see how well they do as the summer season kicks in. From there we walked down to the Tipsy Turtle. Matt was working and small crowd was around the tiki hut. We had a few beers and chatted with Matt. At one point a young lady who works at one of the local places came by and asked Matt if she could use his phone since hers was dead to call her boyfriend to come and pick her up. A few minutes later the phone rang again and it was the boyfriend calling back to say he was there. Off went the lady but not where the BF was. Another call came in and Matt had to convince the guy she left. Kind of funny how trying to help you can still get in the middle of things. LOL

Sunset at Crab Island Cantina

While there Sunshine Cindy got a phone call. It was our friend Julie. She was checking to see if Sunshine Cindy wanted to go boating Thursday. She couldn’t go as she had plans but it was decided we would all go on Friday. Julie also invited us over to have a drink with her and her friend Dean who just got into town from Louisiana. We stopped and chatted with them for a while. We are all looking forward to going to Crab Island Friday. The start of a fun weekend!!!

See you all Monday…..

"Trop Rockin Rocky Bayou"

What a fantastic, fun filled and somewhat exhausting weekend it was. It was our big Crab Island Mambo “Trop Rockin Rocky Bayou” Backyard party. Sunshine Cindy and I have been planning this for about 7 months now. This was the big weekend. It started out Friday with all the set-up in her parents backyard. They have a beautiful home that sits right on Rocky Bayou. It is the perfect backdrop for a party. Friday we had a tent, stage, tables and a port-a-potty delivered. We set up all the tables, put up 4 different pop-up tents and did all the pre-decorating. Wayne was a big help to us as was Jim and Pam, the hosts of the party.

Loujean and Pam

Chef Larry came by about lunch time to drop off all the food and his cooking stuff. Everything was getting in order. After working in the hot sun all day with very little breeze, Sunshine Cindy and I got checked into our hotel room at the Hampton. It’s right across the bayou and they take good care of us there as our host hotel. After getting cleaned up, we decided to head over to Schooners at Bluewater. We ran into some folks we knew, had a beer and moved on to Beef-o-Brady’s for some dinner. We love their dry rub blacked wings. After that we went back to the hotel, grabbed a few beers and went down to the pool. While there we met a nice couple from Michigan, Jack and Karen that we chatted with for a while.

Chef Larrry cooking his gumbo

Saturday was the big day of the party. Chef Larry was there at 6 am to start cooking. We got there about 8:30 to finish setting up. Guest started arriving about 11:30. Steve was helping Larry cook and the food was smelling great. Brent Burns was the first musician to get there with Jerry Diaz and his band right behind. The show started right at 1 pm as the crowd continued to flow in. The rest of the day was pretty much a blur. The music was great, the food fantastic, the weather perfect…yep, a great day. We had a special treat as old friend Eric Stone showed up. Jerry talked him into doing a few songs too. That was great.

Jerry and the band played on past 6:30. We hated to see it end. Over 120 people showed up to party with us. I believe they all had a wonderful time. We worked on getting some cleaning up done and then headed back to the hotel where we took over the pool for a party. Jeff broke out his guitar and did some songs for us. David ordered 5 pizza’s, the drinks continued to flow and the party went on till almost 1 am. Bud was telling stories and everyone had a great time.

Jerry Diaz and Hanna's Reef

Sunday was a tough day. We had to finish cleaning up at the house then we headed to Anglers as we had Bwana Ray playing for us. It was hard to get started but we had everything back to normal at the house by 11:30. We made it to Anglers about 12:45 for the start of the 1:00 show. We had a few of our friends show up and were able to sell some merchandize to some tourist. It was relaxing and we ended up having some dinner there with Ray, Loujean, Jan and Wayne. A perfect way to end the weekend. Exhausted, we were asleep early!

This week will be a little slower! Till Thursday….

Two Days till the Party!

The has been a busy week so far and it is only going to get busier. Saturday is our big “Trop Rockin Rocky Bayou” Backyard party and there are a million details to finalize. Thankfully Sunshine Cindy is good with the details! We spent Monday and Tuesday evenings making sure those details are taken care of so all of our friends will have a great time. We have a tent coming Friday, a port-a-potty coming Friday too, we pick up more food today, decorations are all set…I think we are about ready to make this happen!

Picture from last years party

But all work and no play makes Steve and Cindy dull people. So last night off we went to KC’s. Last weekend some of us had talked about meeting there to hear Jan lead the sunset sing-a-long. As we were heading over the island with the top down, the skies were getting kind of dark. I parked BadAss in the city lot and started to walk away but had second thoughts. I told Sunshine Cindy I better put the top up since we were a few minute walk away from the car if a shower came up fast. That turned out to be a good decision.

Another shot from last years party

When we walked in to KC’s Terry and Michele were there. About 10 minutes later Jan came in. I saw Greg who used to work with me and talked to him for bit. Then Wayne came in. Yep, it was starting to look like a party. Bridget, Sarah and Kacie were behind the bar and the rest of the bar was crowded. Pat pulled up on his motorcycle and Jan was getting prepared to play. But while this was going on the skies got darker and we could hear thunder in the background. It took about 30 minutes and then the storm was right over us. Driving rain, lightning, wind…it was all there. Everyone huddled close to the bar so as to not to get too wet. It let up about an hour later and Jan started playing. Wayne’s sister Becky and her friend Betty who are visiting from Cleveland stopped in. The drunk Landsharks had new “bait” to chase. It was funny. The rest of the evening was a good time. Kenny and Scott made it in. Mike bought us a shot. A good start to the fun we will have this weekend.

A full report on the weekend to follow in Monday’s blog. Till then…..

Mothers Day weekend

The weekend got off to a fast start for us on Thursday. Sunshine Cindy and I decided to go out for some dinner. We kicked around a few places to stop at but finally decided on Hogs Breath Saloon. We like sitting at the outside bar. We were worried there would not be a spot for us but we got lucky and there were two stools at the end. Cam was working behind the bar. He is always fun to talk with. The inside bar and restaurant was actually kind of quiet. Inside there were only a few folks although almost all of the outside bar spots were filled as well as the tables on the side. We meet a nice couple from Kentucky. Mary and Jerry are looking for a place to buy to move down here. We chatted with them for a long while as they had questions about areas and such. After the conversation, some food and a few drinks we headed to the Rotten Apple. The day time manager was still there and pretty drunk but she was funny. She kept saying I looked like a guy from some movie. We managed to escape from her and headed home.

Hogs Breath Destin

Friday was interesting. We went to TGI Fridays in Destin for lunch and to get some pictures of Rick, the afternoon bar area server. We named Rick our Bartender/Server of the month in the Mullet Wrapper. He was surprised and gladly posed for some pictures. We have known Rick for many years. A great guy. Friday evening was the monthly Parrothead meeting. We met at our new location, Harry T’s on the harbor. It was a perfect evening. The tour boats were packed as they went out for their sunset cruises. There was also a Cobia tournament awards presentation held at the same time. It was fun rubbing elbows with the fishermen. Sunshine Cindy and I were joined by Wayne when we left to go the Tipsy Turtle. Some folks headed to KC’s for a top rated reggae band. Mike came by Harry T’s to have us give out some free passes. It turns out they had a big crowd and packed KC’s. Good for them!

At the Turtle Matt and Mindy were playing. We talked to a nice couple. We didn’t get their names but the lady had moved here from Key West. We thought that was kind of funny as most people go the other direction. She does want to go back. A little later Steve and Dottie also stopped by. We chatted with them before they headed on to the Boathouse. We stayed a little while longer before heading for home as we had a big day for Saturday planned.

Fun at the Tipsy Turtle

On Saturday, Hank and Jane threw their yearly house party. The theme this year was “pet rocks.” The best decorated rock would win a bottle of Champaign. The weather was iffy with rain forecast but it held off all day. Steve Hall played and there were maybe 75-80 people show up. Chef Larry cooked up some great egg rolls and Lumpia which is a Pilipino dish. He did his usual great job! It was a fun time with good friends. Thank you Hank and Jane. Sunday was Mothers day of course. Sunshine Cindy’s Mom and Dad came over as did Tiffany, her daughter. We all went to Friday’s for dinner. It’s nice going out. Someone else does all the work and all the cleaning afterwards. We had a nice day together.

This week we are preparing for the big “Trop Rockin Rocky Bayou” Backyard party that we will be holding in Sunshine Cindy’s parents backyard. It will be a hectic week as we get closer to the day. Details on how we are doing on Thursday!!!

Ready for the Weekend

Even though this blog is titled, “Living and Playing in Destin” we are not always out playing. The living part gets some attention too. But with that being said, we did go to TGI Friday’s in Destin Tuesday evening. It was a kind of working dinner as we discussed the upcoming backyard party as well as the party we just announced for August 25^th to be held at Anglers. The usual ladies were behind the bar, the beer was cold and we even got them to put the hockey game on the TV. Life was good as we munched on chicken wings and pretzels.

Crab Island Mambo on the beach

We had planned to go to KC’s Wednesday night. As I got home from work, the skies opened up and it looked like it would rain all night. We decided to stay in and get some work done around the house and for Crab Island Mambo. Well, it ended up clearing up and the sun came out but we were already knee deep into our projects. We ordered a pizza and plugged away. The Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper will be published sometime this weekend. I am almost done getting the layout together. Look for it.

Sunset over the Destin bridge

We will be out and about somewhere tonight…just now sure where yet. Don’t worry, you will be able to read about it next Monday! We just had a new fridge delivered that we put in the garage. Yes, we now have a beer fridge! So we have to celebrate that accomplishment. It’s another busy weekend here on the Emerald Coast. Friday night is a parrothead meeting at Harry T’s. Also Friday night Capt. Josh is playing at Juana’s. KC’s has a top rated reggae band called Heritage playing from 9-1 am with a $10 cover. Saturday Hank and Jane have their yearly house party.  Then of course Sunday is Mother’s Day. Enjoy your day all you Mother’s that are out there!

Till Monday…

Calm before the storm

This has been a very quiet week for us so far. Sunshine Cindy has been busy during the days getting ready for our "Trop Rockin Rocky Bayou" Backyard party that will be held May 19th. So far this week she has hit Sam's and Party City getting supplies and decorations. I have been spending my evenings getting caught up on Crab Island Mambo web site updates. I have snuck in some time to watch the hockey playoffs though!

Party time

Living in Destin is like being on vacation every day. Yes, I have to get up and go to work but when I am not at work, I am on perpetual vacation! Not too many folks get to drive alongside the beach each day with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the bay on the other.

We have a good day planned for Saturday. It is the parrothead club beach cleanup and party. The weather is supposed to be perfect and we always have a lot of fun out there. This is between seasons for us so the beach should not be too crowded. We have two distinct tourist seasons. The first is Spring Break time and then the summer season after schools have let out. Destin is mostly a family destination so the wild parties are not as evident here like Panama City Beach.

Beach Clean Up

Speaking of Panama City Beach...this weekend is Thunder Beach. They will be thousands of bikers descending on the beach for a good time. Destin gets many of the bikers as they roll through town going and coming. I always try to make it to Hogs Breath to see how many show up there. With the nice weather predicted, the roar of Harley's should be loud!

Till Monday....