Winter is back in Destin

As Jim Morris sings about, “Someone left the door to the North Pole open.” It has been cold this week in Destin. I am talking about low 30’s at night and only into the upper 50’s during the day. The other morning it was warmer in Put-in-Bay, Ohio which is only a few miles from the Canadian border than it was here! Global Warming? Yeah, right. But we will be back into the 70’s by the weekend.

Sunshine Cindy and I did get out Wednesday. We went to KC’s Sandbar & Grill. Our friend Jan plays on Wednesday nights. Dennis is only going to be in town a few more days before he returns to Afghanistan and he wanted to get his new Harley out for a ride. We met Dennis at KC’s. Liberty was working behind the bar before handing off to Tia. A good crowd showed up. With the cold weather, Jan set up inside the plastic of the Sandbar. It was like old times at KC’s with everyone close and personal.

Jan at KC's

We saw a lot of old friends and met some new ones. Matt who used to be a bartender at KC’s stopped in. It was good seeing him. He is now at the old Scully’s. Kenny got out his harmonica and did some songs with Jan. It was a fun night in Fort Walton Beach.

Coyote Ugly is having their grand opening April 5th. Last weekend they were having auditions for servers/dancers. I bet that was a fun time.

Let's get to the beach!

Spring break traffic was heavy this week. It’s the busiest week of the season. One more busy week next week then it should slow down till summer season kicks in.

The new Crab Island Mambo t-shirts and tanks with our 2013 design should be arriving soon. Be ready to “Embrace the Chaos!” with our new design. Everyone will want one. The big unveiling will be soon! http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great weekend and Happy Easter! See ya Monday!!!

Destin weekend fun!

What a fun few days we had in Destin this weekend. Thursday night Sunshine Cindy and I went to a new Mexican restaurant to check it out. Coco’s is a stone’s throw from our house. It’s a small place. The food was okay and the beer was cold but there was nothing to make the place stand out. We were stuffed by the time we left thought.

Friday was a Parrothead Meeting at Cheeseburger in Paradise in Sandestin. Before we headed out there we ran some errands and decided to stop in at Rotolo’s pizza for a beer. Kelly and her husband David were there. Kerby had just got off work and he was there too. It was a nice way to start the evening.

Sunshine Cindy, Julie and Kelly at Cheeseburger in Paradise

The party at Cheeseburger was mellow. A decent crowd was there. The Parrotheads filled about a third of the place. Sunshine Cindy and I had some food and chatted with some of our friends. Julie was heading to the Boathouse to meet Jan, Loujean, Kenny, Leanne and Scott. We decided to join them there. The place was packed but they had a corner by the bar. No one was feeling any pain. The manager Gigi brought us some Jello-Shots, Catfish was there playing his saw, some other locals were there and Spring Breakers were also filling the place. It was a blast

When we left we walked the twenty feet to Dockside. They also had some guys playing music. By now it was getting late. Jan took off his shirt, Kenny got a cab home and the rest of us watched all the craziness. What a fun night. In Destin you never where the nights might lead too. This one was a lot of fun. Also, I have to ask…why do Spring Break guys all seem to wear dress shirts or sweaters? This is the beach. Get some beach wear for your evening out. LOL

Scott having fun at the Boathouse

Saturday was our 1st Saturday of Spring Beach Party. We woke up Saturday morning and it was dark and windy. There was rain all around but most had passed. We got out there. Dennis is home for a while from Afghanistan and he joined us. We ended up with a small group due to the weather. About noon or so the skies opened up. We all retreated to the pavilion to continue the party. We might not have been on the beach but we were still having fun.

As the pavilion party wound down, a group of us headed to Julies. She had a new recipe she wanted to try out on us. We were all happy to oblige! It was pork and sauerkraut. Very yummy! After eating Loujean broke out her Jello-Shots. Somehow we ended up with everyone trying to eat the Jello-Shots with no hands. It was funny to watch. For a crappy weather day we sure had a lot of fun.

No hands Jello-Shots

While we were at Julies on Saturday, I got a phone call from Matt. He told me he was sending me a picture of some folks he ran into down at the Boathouse. It turns out the guys are from Southern Illinois. They partied with us at the Turtle last year and have become regular readers of this blog. Welcome back to Destin and to being included in the blog! Maybe our paths will cross again. And thanks for being loyal readers!!!

Our Southern Illinois friends!

The weather on Sunday was clear, warm and breezy. It was going to be a Pointe Bum day to tan some fat. With the Mayor (Dennis) home it was natural for us to get together on the sand at the Pointe. Dennis was doing his usual fishing but the only thing he caught was a seagull. The bird got wrapped around his line. We were able to cut the line loose and set the flying rat free! lol  Russ, Jan, Loujean and Julie all joined us on the beach. There were tons of Spring Breakers. It was great seeing the tiny bikini’s again after a long winter. About 1 pm the wind really kicked in. We were being sand blasted and getting exfoliated for free! I called it a day a little later. 

Dennis flying a kite at the Pointe

In the evening Sunshine Cindy and I stopped in at Sago Sports Bar. JB was talking to a lady about voice lessons. His wife was there and we had a chance to catch up with them. They are doing karaoke on Tuesday’s at Crab Island Cantina. We will have to check it out. Stephanie was behind the bar. “Haircut” Gary came in for a beer and told us about his weekend trip to Jacksonville. We had some food and headed home for the night. It was a great Destin weekend spent “Embracing the Chaos!”

Have a great week. See ya Thursday!

Brooks Bridge versus a barge

The big news in Destin this week was the barge that hit the Brooks Bridge. Brooks Bridge is the way to get to Ft. Walton Beach from Okaloosa Island and Destin. It is the main east/west highway. On Wednesday afternoon a barge that was hauling equipment including a crane hit the bridge. The crane was what actually hit the bridge. It is obvious someone didn’t do their calculations of the height of the crane and the clearance properly.

Photo from the Northwest Florida Daily News

When the crane hit the bridge it took out a part of the concrete guardrail but more importantly it ruptured the main water line to the island. Luckily there was no structural damage to the bridge. The bridge was closed to all traffic as soon as it happened. Rush hour traffic was a nightmare. Anyone wanting to go east or west had to go across the Mid-Bay bridge and through Niceville. It was total gridlock all around. I was one of the unlucky ones that had to detour home. My normal 20 minute drive home became a 2 hour and 10 minute crawl. All that time to go about 30 miles! Ugh!

Photo from the Northwest Florida Daily News

I give high marks to the work crews who worked all night to get the water main fixed and a temporary guardrail set up. They had one lane each way open on the bridge last night and then early Thursday morning they completely reopened the bridge. A great job in a short period of time!

Other than that, the rest of the week has been pretty low key. I did stop in at Landshark Pizza on Tuesday evening. Brian and Stephanie were working. Steve and his wife were there as was Turtle and his wife and son. A little later “B” came in. He was in rare form cracking jokes and cutting up with Stephanie. It was a fun time.

Sunshine Cindy showing off our tee shirts

Sunshine Cindy got our next Crab Island Mambo T-Shirt order placed. We will be introducing our 2013 design with the new shirts in a week or so. We will have tee’s, tanks and long sleeves. We hope to add hats in the future too. We want everyone to “Embrace the Chaos!” with us.

I have heard the old Calhoun’s is close to getting leased. I do not know what is going in there yet but it is supposed to be some type of bar/restaurant. I also heard the old Electric Cowboy building might be leased too. That would be good as that side of the boardwalk needs some more places to hang out at. Coyote Ugly is scheduled to open April 5th. And still no official announcement about Margaritaville. Maybe by this time next year we will know! LOL

Beach Party

We have a big Crab Island Mambo “1st Saturday of Spring Beach Party” this Saturday. It is at Beachwalk #2 on Okaloosa Island and will start at 11 am. Come out and join us if you are in the area. We always have ourselves a real good time! See ya Monday!

St. Patty's Day in Destin

What a crazy couple of days we had here in Destin. It started out Thursday night. We went to Crab Island Cantina for a while. It was a beautiful evening and a great sunset. Dominic was working the bar and Judy was back from vacation running the show. Sunshine Cindy and I left there and decided to stop in at the Rotten Apple. Brian was at the bar. We sat next to him and shared some stories. Josh was working the bar. After a while, Brian from Landshark Pizza came in with some out of town friends of his. Brian bought us a round and the party was on. We had a fun time there with everyone.

Friday we dropped off our tax stuff with Tommy Gill, our CPA. Being in Ft. Walton we decided to stop in at Anglers. The usual suspects were there. Red was working the bar. Hoppy was in his usual spot. Kim was also at the bar. We were there only a few minutes when Mark and his brother Eric came in. Eric and his daughter Kate were doing the spring break thing and Mark was showing them around. That was a surprise seeing them.

Malibu Jack's

We left and headed to the harbor. We stopped back in at the Cantina. We wanted to talk to Carlos and see if the plans to have Southern Drawl Band play were finalized yet. They were just an hour before. The band will be playing April 18th at 9 pm and April 21st at 2 pm. It’s going to be fun! We hung around the Cantina for a while talking to Greg who was working the bar. A good crowd was coming and going.

From there we walked the harbor all the way to the Yacht club. The boardwalk is beautiful down there but there is no real draw to get people down that way. There is a lot of work going on so hopefully there will be some places to pull the folks in. On the way back we stopped in at AJ’s. It was another great sunset. We hung out there for a good while watching all the tourist. Finally we headed to Rotolo’s. Blake was playing and we wanted to support him. The place was busy and Blake sounded great. We ended up talking to another local couple. James and Vickie were nice and I am sure we will see them around town again.

Paul Roush

Saturday was another adventure. We have watched a new small place open on Hwy. 98 just a few doors down from Hogs Breath. It’s called Malibu Jacks. We decided to stop in and check it out. We were greeted by Wendy and James who is the owner. It’s a small beer and wine bar with some sandwiches. Several locals showed up including Kerby. There was also two David Gates’ there. Long story but both actually pilot boats that supply the oil wells in the Gulf. Small world. Our friends from Friday night, James and Vickie also joined us.

Loujean all decked out

We hung around there for a good while. From there we went to Millers Ale House. We got a bite to eat and watched some of the UFC fights. A big crowd was in there to watch the fights too. It was a good mix between locals and Spring Breakers.

Sunday was St. Patty’s day. We were at Crab Island Cantina all day. We had Paul Roush from South Florida playing for all the green revelers. He put on a great show. Many of our friends showed up. Even a few rain drops that forced us to move Paul in to the inside stage did not dampen the fun. Harborwalk Village was packed with folks having a good time.

Jose and Julie

After the show we went to Hogs Breath for some dinner. Paul, Paula, Wayne, Cherie and Sunshine Cindy and myself had a nice time. Sunshine Cindy and I had many compliments on our Crab Island Mambo T-Shirts. We had the lime green ones on so they fit right in.

We will probably be a little more laid back this week. Enjoy your week. See ya Thursday!

Here come's the weekend!

Once again there is a problem with trying to get pictures posted. Sorry but no pics today! Now, on to the blog!

Spring time in Destin is a great time of the year. Warm temps during the day make it nice. By this weekend we are going to be in the mid 70’s with sunshine. You can’t beat it.

This week has so far been spent on getting the final touches to the March Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper done. The monthly newsletter will be published tomorrow. Be sure to look for it.

Spring Break season is in full swing. Over in Panama City Beach they have had their first drunk student fall off a balcony. Lucky for this guy he was on only the third floor and landed in soft sand. Most of the time they are not that lucky. Over in Walton County near Sandestin the crowds of students have been large. The last couple of years this area has become a hot spot for Breakers.

With the crowds come some problems. The cops are clamping down this year. The other day they busted a house party arresting 32 underage drinkers. They were in an almost million dollar house that was totally trashed. Two hours after the bust cops were still hauling out cases of beer and other booze. I am not sure who’s rich dad rented this place but I am sure he is going to get a large bill for repairs. I don’t understand these kids that have no respect for others property. Is this a product of our “entitlement” age? I don’t know.

The Travel Channel has just announced Destin as the Best Family Beach in the country. How cool is that. The secret is getting out.

Cobia season is right around the corner. Cobia is a fish that migrates through our gulf waters in the Spring. They are a very good eating fish but hard to catch. There are several tournaments the local boat captains enter. I am looking forward to eating some Cobia soon.

For a few years now Destin has been trying to get a Farmers Market started. It looks like this time it might happen. There are big plans for a market on Main Street at the old Destin Water Users building where local farmers can bring their home grown stuff. They hope to have organically grown food, local produce, ethnic foods and fresh dairy products. I hope they can make it work.

Join us Sunday at Crab Island Cantina for Trop Rocker Paul Roush. He is playing from 1-5 pm. Crab Island Mambo is helping sponsor this fun afternoon of music, food, drinks and friends. A full report on this event and all our other weekend fun on Monday. See ya then…

Destin Chili Cook-Off

What a fun weekend we had in Destin. It actually started Thursday evening. I stopped at Crab Island Cantina to talk to Carlos about booking Trop Rocker Paul Roush. We were able to make it happen and Paul will be playing at the Cantina on Sunday March 17th from 1-5 pm. That will be fun. Stop in at the Cantina in Harborwalk Villate to hear Paul. You will enjoy it.

Paul Roush

Friday night the ECPHC had our monthly meeting. The big part of the meeting was taken up with plans for the next day’s Chili Cook-Off that was being held in Harborwalk Village. The weather was nice and we had a decent sunset. Alan and Jackie were there as they contemplated when to return to Illinois. Harry T’s was packed for the music, meeting and fun.

We left the harbor and stopped in at Lucky’s Rotten Apple to hear Matt and Mindy. Rose was working the bar. A good crowd was there including a group of Parrotheads. With a busy day coming up on Saturday we headed home about 10 pm.

Cantina Chili booth

Harborwalk Village is a perfect spot for the Chili Cook-Off. They promoted the event and all the bars and restaurants along the harbor participated. There were about 20 individual entries plus a couple of other local restaurants including KC’s Sandbar and Landshark Pizza. I got down there about noon to help with whatever was necessary. There were probably close to 100 auction items. There were so many they had to find a bigger place to display them. All the cooks were setting up and everything was in order.

To be able to taste you had to purchase an armband for $10. The tasting was to start at 3 pm but there were so many people there it started about 2:30. The crowds were large and everyone had fun tasting all the different types of chili. While this was going on a band was on the big stage playing music. The highlight of the day was when a rumor was started that Kenny Chesney was walking around with a lady. Stephanie and I spotted the guy. He had a cowboy hat on and if you drank enough he might of looked like Kenny. LOL

Kenny Chesney?

The other highlight of the day was a contest at Crab Island Cantina. The first annual “Lick Em, Bite Em, Shoot Em and Eat Em” contest was a blast. I actually entered. The contest in a nutshell was you had to lick the salt, bite the lime, shoot a shot of tequila and eat a tamale. Who did this most in 89 seconds was the winner. I came in second in my heat with 4 total. Not bad. It was fun as I had a lot of Parrotheads cheering me on.

Getting ready for the contest

The evening on the harbor ended with the Sauce Boss playing and making his gumbo and awards handed out. I am not sure how much money was raised for Relay for Life but it had to be a good amount well into the thousands. It was getting cold so Sunshine Cindy and I decided to head to someplace warm. We ended up at Sago Sports Bar with Mark, Stephanie, Larry, Cathy, Judie, Kelly and their son and daughter in law. It was nice because it was warm!

The Sauce Boss on stage

For those keeping score there was no announcement yet about Margaritaville. Some minor issues still to be worked out I am told. Oh well, maybe this week!

Sunday I headed to KC’s Sandbar & Grill to hear Steven Youngblood play. He was sponsored by the Island Life Social Club. It was windy on the drive over but KC’s is sheltered. With the sun out it was actually hot. It felt great! A good group was there. Steven and Sandra did a good job and had people singing along. When I left I stopped in at Landshark Pizza to take some food home. Brian and James were there and we chatted while I waited for my pizza.

It was a fun weekend in Destin. With Spring here it is only going to get better. See ya Thursday!!!

Spring Break in Destin

Spring break has started in Destin. We are not like Panama City that is pretty much anything goes but instead Destin is more family oriented. Sunshine Cindy and I stopped in at the Crab Island Cantina on Tuesday for a while. There was a group of 6 kids come in. Each one was sunburned. I guess if you are going to Florida for Spring Break you have to go back to wherever looking like you had fun!

Sunshine Cindy and Loren Davidson at Fuds

After leaving the Cantina we stopped in at Landshark Pizza. We just missed Alan and Jackie. But a good crowd was there including Kerby. It had been a while since he was there. Julie and Stephanie were working and Matt was sitting at the bar. Gigi from the Boathouse came in too and joined Matt. We had fun as Matt has cracking jokes that had us rolling. I wish we could have stayed longer but work beaconed in the morning.

Kerby and Kelly at The Boathouse

Wednesday we stayed in. We are donating two admissions to our backyard party in May to the ECPHC for their chili cook-off this Saturday. They are having a silent auction and we are glad to help. Sunshine Cindy did a great job creating a small placard to display and give to the winner.

Alan, Jackie and Sunshine Cindy at Landshark Pizza

The chili cook-off will be in the village at Harborwalk. It starts at 3 pm. I understand they have close to 40 entries already. That is fantastic. The silent auction items will be displayed upstairs at Harry T’s. For $10 you can taste test and vote for your favorite chili. All proceeds will go to Relay for Life. The ten bucks also gets you drink specials at all the bars along the Harborwalk. At 7 pm the Sauce Boss is playing on the big stage. Watch as he makes gumbo right on stage while singing.

One thing on Wednesday that Sunshine Cindy and I didn’t know about was a special bike ride by wounded vets. They spent the night at the Ramada on the Island. Alan and Jackie were there and said how inspiring it was seeing these guys/gals and what they are accomplishing. There was about 150 of them riding. They started in New Orleans and are heading to Tallahassee. How awesome!!! Good Luck to all the wounded vets!

Get out and enjoy the weekend. See ya Monday!

The Frozen Tundra of Tampa

Sunshine Cindy and I hit the road Friday to Tampa, FL for Music on the Bay. This is a three day Trop Rock music event that brought in over 800 Parrotheads from all over the country. Driving down Thursday the weather was nice. We made good time as we looked forward to meeting our friends. The forecast for the weekend was for colder weather and windy days. Thursday night was nice as we listened to Sunny Jim and John Frinzi. We ended up back at our room for drinks with our friends from Chicago Carol and Larry.

Sunshine Cindy all bundled up

Friday the wind started to kick up. The temps made it into the low 60’s but it felt colder. The music went on all day. By the time Jimmy and Parrots went on the big stage at 9 pm the temps were down in the 50’s. Most people held out to listen to Jimmy but by the time he finished about 11:30 pm the crowd had thinned out considerably. Everyone hoped Saturday would be warmer.

The fire pit was the place to be

I guess the prayers were not strong enough because the wind was stronger and the temps lower. It was going to be a long day of music so everyone layered up their clothes to stay warm. The sun came in and out during the day. It was actually kind of nice when it was out. The crowd came and went all day. There was a fantastic lineup of musical acts. Tropical Soul, Sauce Boss, Boat Drunks, Howard Livingston, Jim Asbell…what a day. By the time the music was done at almost midnight the most popular spot was the fire pits.

David wrapped up but he held out till the end!

Sunday seemed to start out pretty nice. Cold with temps in the 40’s but it was kind of calm. But it went downhill fast. The wind kicked up again and seemed to be the strongest yet. I don’t know what the wind chill was but when the people from Milwaukee and Michigan were complaining about being cold then you knew it was bad. But despite all that the music went on. The musicians were fantastic because they were as cold as the rest of us. Jim Morris and the BBB closed the party Sunday afternoon and put on their usual great show. A lot of money was raised for the Shriners. Whiskey Joes was a great venue and host. Parrotheads will have fun no matter what!

Now it is back to our Destin fun. Spring break is starting so no telling what the college kids will bring. See ya Thursday!