Happy Thanksgiving

It’s a beautiful day in Destin. The sun is up with clear blue skies and temps that will warm into the 60’s. It is a perfect day to give thanks for all I have…my beautiful wife Sunshine Cindy, my family, my friends and my health. Life is good!

With Sunshine Cindy

Not much was going on this week. Wednesday I made a stop at KC’s Sandbar on the way home from work. We are having our big Crab Island Mambo “Holiday CHAOS” party on Saturday. Everyone is invited so I dropped off some flyers that were posted around the bar area. It is going to be a fun party with music, food, raffles and a lot of good times. Come join us 3-7 pm at KC’s in Fort Walton Beach. https://www.facebook.com/events/652545271528596/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

When I got home Sunshine Cindy showed me all the stuff she had bought for the party. She has a lot of snacks, some booze for a raffle prize, more snacks, some decorations for the tables and finally more snacks! LOL  We then took off for a while. We stopped at Rotten Apple. It turns out Mindy was getting ready to play some music. We talked to her and also talked to Tony who was there. When Mindy was playing her ex Matt came in. I guess they are still on speaking terms as he was there to help her with the sound. Matt was looking good as he was getting ready to head to Maine for a week.

Stephanie and Sunshine Cindy at last year's Holiday Chaos party

We left the Apple and stopped in at Hogs Breath. The outside bar area was packed. Chris Hays was playing music. At a back table was Jack and his lovely wife Lynn. They had some friends with them who just into town from Columbus, Ohio. They were glad to escape the cold and ice. Andy was holding down the one end of the bar. Folks were coming and going. We had some food and enjoyed ourselves but it was a long day so we headed home.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. We hope to see you on Saturday at KC’s!!!!! I will have a full report on Monday.

Living and Playing in Destin

The weather continues to be the story in Destin. Sunday we had a front blow through and it brought with it some strong thunderstorms. The wind was blowing right in off the Gulf of Mexico. We are about two blocks from the beach but we could hear the waves crashing on shore at our house. When the storms hit on Sunday the winds was blowing so strong the rain was horizontal. Stuff was blowing all over the neighborhood. Luckily it didn’t last too long.

Sunshine Cindy and I got out a little this weekend. Thursday night we went to Bonefish Grill. It has been a while since we were there. We had a nice relaxing dinner. They had a good happy hour crowd for off season.

Landshark Pizza

Friday afternoon we headed to Landshark Pizza. Tommy and Pops were there and we talked to them for a while. Sue was working as was Austin. We also got to talk to the salesman for Landshark’s beer distributor. He was a nice guy. About the time Tommy and Pops left “B” came in. We ended up talking to him for a long while. B always has some fun stories. When we left Landshark we made one more stop at The American Legion. We didn’t plan to stay too long but we knew a bunch of folks in there. When Capt. John came in we knew we were there for the long haul. I ended up singing a few Karaoke songs too. It was not a pretty sight. LOL

Saturday was a stay-at-home kind of day. We got some things done around the house and I was able to do some Crab Island Mambo work…but mostly I watched football and hockey games. Tampa played a great game against Minnesota and won. It was an exciting game.

Tampa hockey

Sunday we stayed in so I could watch the Browns game against the Falcons. It was a back and forth game. Neither team played all that well but the Browns did get the win. We will take it. After the game Sunshine Cindy and I went to Landshark to watch some of the afternoon games. When we walked in Brian was sitting by the door. He said the storm earlier had knocked out his Dish TV. They had rigged a laptop to pull in the NFL redzone on the big TV so we were able to watch some of the games.

Just as we sat down in walked Alan and Jackie. They had the same idea that we had about getting out for a while. We all shared a table. Cheryl waited on us. She always asks how Tiffany is doing in Atlanta. She is proud of her for taking the leap and moving to the big city. We had a good time. Jason is a big Falcons fan. He gave me a hard time about the Browns winning the game. Of course I gave it back.

Jackie and Alan

I did hear some news about the new World of Beer that will open soon in the Commons. I had heard it might open about December 8th but now it might be a few weeks later…maybe not till the first of the year. When you have hundreds of beer on tap and several hundred more different bottles available from almost every known beer maker you have a lot of work to do. I am looking forward to them opening though.

This is a short week with the Thanksgiving holiday. Be safe if you are driving to Destin for the holiday. See ya Thursday!

The weather

Like most of the country the big story in Destin this week was the weather. We didn’t get anything severe, just some cold temps. Destin got down to the low 30’s but north of the bay the temps were down into the mid 20’s. I know for someplace like Buffalo that had some areas get up to 8 feet of snow, a little cold weather with sunshine is perfect winter weather but here in Destin we had to actually put on long pants and socks! Oh no…..

Yep, winter is around the corner

This has been a quiet week for Sunshine Cindy and me. We stayed in each evening. I did some Crab Island Mambo work but I mostly just relaxed.

Things are kind of quiet around town too. There was an announcement that Goodyear is opening a service center store on an empty lot in front of Home Depot. I have used Goodyear for tires so it will be nice to have a place closer to the house.

I want to remind everyone about our Crab Island Mambo “Holiday CHAOS” party on Saturday November 29th. We will party down at KC’s Tapworks Bar (or out at the Sandbar if the weather cooperates) from 3-7 pm. Music will be provided by Stevie Hall. We will have food to munch on and you will receive a wrist band to get 20% off your entire tab during the show. We will have a 50/50 raffle and some special surprises. No cover charge either.  Everyone is welcome to join us to celebrate the holiday season. https://www.facebook.com/events/652545271528596/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Holiday CHAOS party at KC's 11/29/14

Short and sweet today. Have a great weekend. See ya Monday!

Living and Playing in Destin

Sunshine Cindy drove up to Atlanta for a few days to visit her daughter so I was a bachelor for a while. Thursday was an odd day. One of my employees in the morning saw a truck with a pole in the bed of the truck hit some power lines on the island. Sparks flew and power went out. Then in the afternoon someone must have hit a pole near my plant and we lost power. Lines were down and a transformer blew. We sent everyone home early instead of having them sit in the dark. Finally as I was heading home the fire department had a hydrant open on the island. It was spewing water and add in a strong wind and all the cars going by were getting drenched.

Mike from KC's

After all that I decided to stop at Landshark Pizza for some wings. As I was finishing Ken walked in. He was going to Beach Liquor. They have about a dozen craft beers on tap and they do a two for one for happy hour. He asked I wanted to join him. Sue was also going. We had a good time having beer in a liquor store!

Friday night I went to the Parrot Head meeting at Harry T’s. It was chilly but we had a good crowd show up of almost 100 people. I stayed for a while then headed home to work on the Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper.

Sunshine Cindy got back home on Saturday. We stayed in after she got home. She was tired and I was still working on the Mullet Wrapper. We decided to head out on Sunday instead.

Dolphins in the harbor

Sunday morning we went to the harbor and Crab Island Cantina for brunch and to watch some football. They have the package so all the games are available. The Cantina has a special football menu but we opted for the brunch. The food at the Cantina is fantastic. We filled up and then watched the Browns game. I am sorry to say the game was ugly for the Browns. We watched the first half and then walked down to Harry T’s. There was a big crowd at Harry T’s watching the games.

As the early games were ending our friends Alan and Jackie came in. They were going upstairs so we joined them. It was a nice afternoon. Jackie said they were there a few days earlier and they saw some dolphins putting on a show in the pass. They were jumping out of the water and a couple times there were two that jumped together. That had to be so cool to see.

Harborwalk Village

When it got dark they headed home and so did Sunshine Cindy and I. When we got home we decided to take a walk. Well, we walked all the way to Chip’s! We had a bite to eat as it was now dinner time. JD and Tami came in. JD had been playing at the Legion. We did not realize it at first but the bartender was their daughter Summer. We have not seen her in over a year. She looked like she was doing well. We finished up and walked back home.

I did publish the Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper on Sunday. You can read all about our trip to Key West in this issue. http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Mullet-Wrapper-November-2014-edition.html

Have a great week. See ya Thursday!!!

Here comes winter

For those who have been reading this blog over the years you know I hate cold weather. I don’t like it. I want to be in flip flops and shorts all the time. Well that won’t be happening the next few days. Tonight and Friday night we will be down into the 30’s around Destin. By the end of the weekend we will be back to a more normal temp but winter is letting us know it’s on its way!

I actually had to break out the long pants already the other night. Tuesday night Sunshine Cindy and I went to KC’s Sandbar in Fort Walton Beach. We needed to finalize our plans with Mike for the Crab Island Mambo “Holiday Chaos” party. The party will be Saturday November 29^th at KC’s. We plan to be in the Tapworks bar but if the weather is nice we will be in their new tented area. 

 Jan and Kenny at KC's Sandbar

Sunshine Cindy and I had heard about the big tent they put up over the sand but it was even more impressive once we saw it. It covers about 2/3’s of the sand. They have tables, a plastic floor down and sides that come down. There are several heaters inside too. If the weather looks like it will be half way decent we will be outside in the tent otherwise we will be inside at Tapworks.

We will have Steve Hall playing music for us. We will also supply some food for everyone to enjoy plus the entire KC’s menu will be available. Everyone is welcome to join us. We will give armbands that will get you a 20% discount on your entire tab the day of the party. It starts at 3 pm. Come out and join us!!!

Stevie Hall

We had fun at KC’s. Jan and Kenny were playing music. It was open mic night. A couple of young guys were there for their first time on any stage. They had about a dozen of their friends there. The kids were not too bad. It was a kind of mellow music and not some head banging noise. Melissa was behind the bar, Matt was working the tent and a bunch of regulars were there too. We had a good time.

The rest of the week was spent working on the Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper for November. I will be publishing this weekend. It will be a day by day account of our recent trip to Key West.

A couple of things from around town. Fisherman’s Wharf has officially closed. Reports say they are looking to put in another restaurant that will open by the Spring. I hope they get a local to own it and not a chain. 

Good times at KC's Sandbar and Grill in Ft. Walton Beach, FL

The old Destin Diner is about to be resurrected. The owners of The Red Bar from Grayton Beach are remodeling it and plan to open this Spring too. They are keeping the diner concept but with beer and liquor and it will be open 24/7. This should be interesting.  

The snowbirds are coming. We are seeing some already in town with more coming by Thanksgiving. To quote our friend Brent Burns about this time of the year, “If you have a car with Michigan plates pass you….It’s stolen!”

Have a great weekend. See ya Monday!

Destin is Quiet

This time of the year is probably the quietest time of the entire year in Destin. The fishing tournament is over, fall breaks have been completed and the snow birds have not descended on the town in full force yet. This is when you can walk into almost any restaurant and get a table at dinner time! LOL

Sunshine Cindy and I didn’t do much this weekend. We are still winding down from our Key West vacation. Thursday night I headed to Landshark Pizza to watch the Browns football game. It was a big game for them against the Bengals who were heavily favored. Paige, Jason and Austin were working. I settled in at the bar with a pizza and a beer. I watched the first half at Landshark. The Browns were kicking butt. I got home in time for the second half and they continued their domination. Wow is all I can say. They look like a real team this year.

Landshark Pizza

Friday Sunshine Cindy and I ran around town doing a bunch of errands. It was mid afternoon when we were done. We decided we wanted some lunch so we headed to the Boathouse. As we walked in someone was waving at us. It was our friends from Southern Illinois. Alan and Jackie are back for the winter. They also had Kistin, Jeff, Cathy and Dale with them. We knew they were in town but we never expected to run into them at the Boathouse on a Friday afternoon. We had a good time catching up with them.

We saw some other friends there too. Gigi was running around making sure everyone was doing their jobs, Kerby was there fixing some things, Paige stopped by with Lela and Bree was there with her child. We had a nice relaxing time there. We left and headed home for the evening. As I was driving home on Main Street, some old guy riding a bicycle in the right hand lane was weaving a little so I moved over to the outside lane. Just as I got to him he turned right in front of me. Good thing I was watching. I slammed on my brakes and avoided the old guy but it scared the crap out of me.

Fun at The Boathouse

On Saturday Sunshine Cindy and I worked around the house and on Crab Island Mambo stuff. Plus Sunshine Cindy cooked up a pot of potato soup to take to a party we were going to that evening at Julies. The soup turned out fantastic. The party was a lot of fun. It was nice hanging with friends.

We didn’t go to the harbor on Saturday for the Blues, Brews and BBQ festival. From what I have heard they had big crowds. We were there last year and had a fun time so I am sure everyone had fun this year. I have not seen who won the best BBQ but there are some real good BBQ in this town so I am sure it was deserved.

Blues, brews and BBQ last year

We were very lazy on Sunday. I watched some football. Sunshine Cindy cooked up a great brunch. The only place I went to was Landshark Pizza to visit with our Southern Illinois friends. I wanted to drop off some flyers for Kirstin to take back to her parrot head club for our June "Phlocking of the Phaithful" Trop Rock party in Put in Bay, Ohio. We would love to see some of their club come up and party with us. In fact we love for everyone to join us for this fun time. Here is the link for all the information: http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-presents-Phlocking-of-the-Phaithful.html

As I mentioned it is real slow around town right now. Driving home Saturday night there was almost no one on the road. This is such a far cry from just a few weeks ago. But don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. It is a nice break.

It looks like some colder weather is coming in again later this week. I am ready for summer!!! Have a great week. See ya Thursday.

Back home in Destin

Sunshine Cindy and I got home Monday night from our trip to Key West. We had a great time partying with our Trop Rock friends from all over the country. We plan to do it again next year.

It was a 13 hour drive as we drove straight through. Needless to say we were wore out. I took one last day off from work on Tuesday to recover. The only thing I did was make a stop at Landshark Pizza in the afternoon. Brian was working. He had followed a lot of our exploits in the KW from our Facebook page. James also stopped in. Brian and James were planning for the upcoming “Blues, Brews and BBQ” event that will be held on Saturday on the harbor. Landshark won one of the divisions last year.

Landshark Pizza will be  back to the festival this year

Jason came in to start his shift. He is a new proud papa. He has a beautiful baby girl. You can see how happy he is. Good for Jason!

Our friends Alan and Jackie are back in town for the winter. They got here last weekend. We have not seen them yet but we will soon. They are great folks and have become good friends. Welcome “home.”

There were big crowds last year

Only in Destin can a sign cause a ruckus. For a few weeks a sign was up and then gone on an empty lot next to Big Kahuna’s. The sign said the lot was going to be the future home of “GI Joe Amusement Park.” People were wondering what the sign was about. No one seemed to know.

It turns out the original developer of Big Kahuna’s, Max Brunner is buying the land with the intent to develop some type of amusement park. Now everyone in town is up in arms as Brunner is not the most respected person in the area. It will be interesting to see if this development will happen.

I have heard some rumblings that World of Beer will open in the Destin Commons December 8th. Sunshine Cindy and I visited the WOB in Key West and her daughter has gone to work at the WOB in Atlanta. If you are in Atlanta stop by the Mid-Town location and say hi to Tiffany.

World of Beer in Key West had a "cup of bacon"...Yep, I was in heaven

It was also just announced Whole Foods Market will open a location in the Destin Commons too. It seems like the Commons is getting a little of every type of retail outlet now.

While we were in Key West at our Crab Island Mambo Welcome to the Island Party, we held the drawing for our Phlocking of the Phaithful special raffle. We are pleased to announce Capt. John from Destin was the winner of the prize package. Congrats Capt! For registration information for the “21st Annual Phlocking of the Phaithful – 21 and Legal, Let the CHAOS Begin” here is the information. http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-presents-Phlocking-of-the-Phaithful.html

Have a fun weekend. See ya Monday!