Destin Life

This has been a busy and hectic week for Sunshine Cindy and I. Monday morning we had her daughter fly in from Atlanta. Tiffany came into town to rent a U-haul and get her stuff up to Atlanta where she just got an apartment. They spent all day Monday getting the truck loaded. (They had movers lined up to do that.) Monday afternoon Sunshine Cindy and I had a Crab Island Mambo meeting with Jeff. He is with a local printing company. We talked to him about a logo for our Put in Bay music festival.

We met Jeff at Friday’s in Destin. When the meeting was done Jeff left and Tiffany joined us. We had dinner and relaxed. I went home but Sunshine Cindy and Tiffany did some shopping. Typical mother/daughter stuff.

Ed and Barb are ready for the beach

Tuesday I left for work and Sunshine Cindy and Tiffany got ready to drive to Atlanta. Sunshine Cindy rode with Tiffany. They made it fine and had movers ready to unload the truck. All went well. Back in Destin I stopped at The Crust on the way home from work. I wanted to get a pizza and talk to Charlie the owner. Charlie was not there but I did get the pizza. A few table were filled with snowbirds and some tourist. The town is actually pretty busy this week.

Wednesday saw Sunshine Cindy’s parents drive up to Atlanta. They will bring Sunshine Cindy back Thursday. I decided to stop at Landshark Pizza on the way home for some wings. The place was crowded for their Wednesday wing night. It’s only $.59 each for wings. A good deal. Alan and Jackie were there. I joined them. Steve, Bruce, Glen, Brian, B, James, Jonelle…a cast of thousands were there enjoying some good food. I had my wings and headed home to watch some hockey for the night.

Destin Bridge

There are a few changes taking place with local restaurants. The Pepito’s Mexican restaurant in Miramar Beach is closing and they will reopen at the old La Rumba’s next to City Market. The old Malibu Jack’s which was a Puerto Rican restaurant this past year is closed and some new folks are taking it over. I am not sure what their theme will be yet. A major remodeling job is taking place at The Back Porch. It has been a while since they updated. Still no word on who is taking over the Fisherman’s Wharf building but a lot of remodeling work is going on there too.

A big weekend is planned with a house concert party on Saturday with Brent Burns then of course Sunday is the Super Bowl. We plan to be at Landshark Pizza for the game. Here is my Crab Island Mambo Weekly Update: http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Weekend-Update.html

Have a great weekend. A full report on our “Chaos” on Monday. See ya then!

Living and Playing in Destin

Sunshine Cindy and I had a kind of quiet few days even though we did get out for a little. Thursday night we stopped in at Chip’s to relax for a while after work. There were a few folks at the bar but that was about it. We reminded the bartender and the manager that the Parrot Heads were coming in on Friday and they needed to be ready for about 100 people that like to drink. The owner of the Brink and Spoon restaurant, which is part of Chip’s, was there. That seemed odd but we found out he was the guy who invested in Chip. Rumor has it Chip is not coming back. The Palms might have to take this space back over.

Friday night we were back at Chip’s for the meeting. I guess no one believed us when we told them about the number of people that would show up. They only had one bartender and two servers. They were being overwhelmed. More staff was called in but the damage was done. The kitchen could not keep up either. We still had a good time but the bar could have made a lot more money. The staff worked their butts off. Monica was waiting on us and took great care of us. The owner was falling all over himself apologizing. I hope Tommy and Damon can bring Sago back!

The new Jim and Betty...lol

On Saturday Sunshine Cindy and I only went out once. We did a brunch at The Pancakery. We have heard good things about this place that is tucked away in a strip center. Sunshine Cindy had an omelet, pancakes and hash browns that she loved. I had a special burger they make. It is half hot Italian Sausage and half ground beef made into a ½ pound patty. It was fantastic. There are not a lot of tables in the place and it gets filled up with tourist in the season but right now the locals can get in and enjoy it. We will be back.

That was about it for us on Saturday. We went back home and I worked on Crab Island Mambo stuff as we prepare for our June party in Put in Bay, Ohio. Click here for all the details on this fun 4 day music festival. http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-presents-Phlocking-of-the-Phaithful.html

Micki, Fred and Michelle in Put in Bay

Sunday we ran some errands. In the afternoon we decided to stop in at Landshark Pizza for a couple beers. What a change from last Sunday where the place was packed for the football game. This day there were 3 people there. A few minutes after we got there Alan and Jackie came in. As we were talking to them in walked Kenny and Becky. We grabbed a table and had a small party. Kenny and Becky had been out on the harbor. He said they were looking for us! LOL It was a fun time as we livened up the place.

We are starting to get some pollen in the air already. I washed Badass on Saturday and I could see the yellow film. I actually had the top down on Badass on Sunday. Spring is around the corner.

Have a great week. See ya Thursday!

Not much to report…

It has been a slow week around Destin. Sunshine Cindy and I have not been out this week. We did have some warm days with the temps getting up to 75 yesterday. I wish I could have been out to enjoy it and not stuck at work.

We have heard of a few businesses coming and going. The Puerto Rican restaurant that went into the old Malibu Jack’s on Hwy. 98 a few doors down from Hogs Breath has closed down. I always thought that was too small a place to try and run a restaurant out of. The building is back up for lease but it is pretty high rent for that small a place.

The Boathouse

I have heard The Boathouse down on the harbor is taking over Dockside that is right next to The Boathouse. I have not confirmed that and I am not sure what they will do with that place. It is also pretty small.

This past Monday World of Beer opened in the Destin Commons. I saw some pictures from the opening and they had a big crowd there. We will be checking it out soon and I will have a report for everyone.

Parrot Heads

We don’t have a lot going on this weekend. We will be at our Parrot Head clubs get together on Friday night at Chip’s but nothing else really is planned. I am sure we will come up with something!

Have a great weekend. See ya Monday.

Gas under $2 in Destin

We have seen pictures from other parts of the country of gas below $2 and now it has come to Destin. Several stations in town have gas for $1.99 per gallon. Let’s see how low it can go!

Sunshine Cindy and I got out a little this weekend. It started on Thursday. I went to Landshark Pizza in the afternoon for a while. I hung out and had some wings and a few PBR’s. It was relaxing. As I was leaving Brian said he was going to stop in at Beach Liquor to have a few craft beers. They have a small bar area with a dozen craft beers on tap. Each Thursday they have a 2 for 1 happy hour. While we were there a guy from Vermont, Rick, was buying some beer. He stopped by and had a few beers with us. This guy was a trip. I will leave it at that.

Packer game at Landshark Pizza

Friday Sunshine Cindy and I had a few errands to run. We ended up at Cheeseburger in Paradise for some lunch. The bartender who waited on us had moved to Destin from Helen, GA last summer. We chatted with her as we ate our lunch. We left there and decided to stop at a new place on the gulf called the Surf Hut. This place sits right on the water. It reminded us of places we visit in Panama City Beach. There were great views of the gulf and a nice vibe to the place. We were pleasantly surprised to see our old friend Glen (Jager) behind the bar. We had not seen him in about a year.

While we were there at about five minutes to four a big group of snowbirds descended on the place. Sunshine Cindy and I asked Jager what was up with that. Well, their happy hour started at 4 and the snowbirds were there to take advantage of it. That was funny seeing them all come in at the same time. We left the Surf Hut and decided to stop at Cuvee Bistro to see if our friend Dominic was working. He was. The last time we saw Dominic was at our wedding. It was good catching up with him.

Packer fans everywhere

As we headed home we decided to make one final stop at Chip’s. Brian, Glen and Bruce were there so we joined them. The guys like to smoke cigars. At one point Sunshine Cindy went up to Bruce to talk to him. As she did, Bruce’s cigar flamed up. We told him she made him spontaneously combust. He needed to be careful around her!

Saturday was a lazy day for us. We did get out to the Olive Garden for lunch. But that was about it. We spent the rest of the just relaxing around the house. Sunday we went to Landshark to watch the Packers game. Landshark is the local Packer fan headquarters. The place was packed. We had fun but the Pack lost it in the end. All the fans were bummed.

"The Don" was in the house! lol

One final public service announcement….the Okaloosa County cops now have laser radar guns. There are a whole lot harder to avoid. They have been set up the last few mornings on Hwy. 98 using the laser gun to find speeders.

Have a great week. See ya Thursday

Buckeye’s Number One!!!

Monday night was a fun time for us. Sunshine Cindy and I went to Anglers on the island. We were meeting up with some friends. Mike Nash and his girlfriend Melissa were coming through town and wanted to get together for dinner. Wayne, Kenny, Tommy and Faye all came out too. We had a big table right in front of a big screen TV where we could watch the football game. We had a great time catching up with Mike and Melissa. It looks like Mike and his band, Southern Drawl Band will be back in Destin in the spring. We can’t wait.

The gang at Angler's

When halftime rolled around we all headed out. Sunshine Cindy and I went home as I had to work the next day. We were able to watch the balance of the game from home. Ohio State really played well and are now the National Champs. Way to go Bucks!

The rest of the week I worked on publishing the Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper. You can read the January edition here: http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Mullet-Wrapper-January-2015-edition.html

Ready for Summer

Destin continues to have cloudy, rainy and warm days. We have hardly seen the sun this year. Summer can’t get here quick enough.

The city is talking about annexing Crab Island. The city annexing Crab Island would be a big boondoggle and another waste of taxpayer money. I agree there needs to be something done but this won't solve anything. I can see the city "giving" someone like Peter Boz development rights or some crazy thing like that. Get a few more marine patrols and that would help. Besides everyone knows where the "family" area is and where the "party" crowd area is. This council is trying to legislate morality like their spending over 2 million dollars to buy out the strip club and now thinking of shutting down the bars at midnight. It's time they realize this is not Destin of 20 years ago and to use our taxpayer money on things to make us safe like more sheriff patrols on the harbor and a pedestrian bridge over 98 . Okay, I am done. LOL

Put in Bay, Ohio

Don’t forget we are accepting registrations for the “21St Annual Phlocking of the Phaithful” Trop Rock music festival in Put in Bay, Ohio next June. Don’t be left out of all the fun! You can get all the information and get registered right here: http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-presents-Phlocking-of-the-Phaithful.html

Have a great weekend. See ya Monday!

The Snowbirds are back in Destin

Yep, it’s that time of the year again. The Snowbirds have descended upon Destin for the winter. They are here in full force. We make jokes about them stealing all the sweet and low from the restaurants but they do bring in a lot of money to the local economy this time of the year. Sunshine Cindy and I have met many fine Snowbirds. We are glad they are back. But I can make fun of them. Here is a Brent Burns joke:

“This time of the year if a car with Michigan plates passes you….It’s stolen!”

Brent Burns

Sunshine Cindy and I got out a little this weekend. Friday night was a Parrot Head meeting at Harry T’s. It was a fun time. Flash Flood duo played. Tim and Rusty did a good job having the crowd up and dancing. This was Sunshine Cindy’s first meeting since getting out of the hospital. Everyone was glad to see her.

We then went to the Legion for some Karaoke. There was a big crowd at the Legion. That surprised us as all other places around town were dead. We hung out for a good while talking to Steve, Dottie, Capt John and Julie. As the music was winding down we headed home so I could get my beauty sleep. LOL

Football Sunday at Landshark Pizza

Saturday we went to Julies for a party. We were celebrating her birthday which is in a few days. It was a good time with everyone bringing some food and we played “Left, Right, Center” game. Sunshine Cindy actually won one of the games. It was a fun night with good friends.

Sunday we went to Brick and Spoon where we met up with Larry and Brodie. The place was packed with mostly Snowbirds. The kitchen was way behind. We had some drinks and had a chance to catch up with Larry and Brodie. We decided against ordering any food due to the wait. If they keep getting that many folks for brunch they will need to ramp up the help.

We left and decided to go to Landshark Pizza to catch the second half of the Packers/Cowboys football game. With Landshark being Packer headquarters in Destin we knew the place would be packed and it was. We found a place to stand next to Glen. We had a bunch of friends in watching the game. John, Deb, Mike, Cindy, Blake, Rusty, Jim, Barb….you get the idea. It was a good game that swung on a controversial call that went the Packers way. The Packer fans love it. When the Packers won one guy went outside, picked up the big Packer flag and ran around the parking lot. It was a fun atmosphere.

Fun times at Landshark

When that game was done we were able to get a table to watch the second game. Alan, Jackie and Julie all came and joined us. Mike and Cindy stayed for the game as Cindy is a big Bronco’s fan. We ordered some pizza’s and drank a few beers. The game was good even though the Bronco’s lost making Cindy sad. We went home after the game to get ready for the upcoming week.

Have a great week. See ya Thursday!

Brrrrr

It was 23 degrees in Destin this morning. The wind was blowing. At least the sun is out and it warmed into the mid 40’s today. I am over winter. Bring back the heat and humidity of summer!

The big news around town this week is the city council thinking about closing the bars at midnight. Currently bars can stay open till 4 am. The city manager quoted some statistics about the number of calls for police assistance increases from 2-4 am and it mostly represents locals and not tourist. The report said the harbor district is where most of the calls come from.

On the harbor watching the Sea Blaster go by

So let’s see…we have a district with bars and clubs in a growing city and they are surprised that the number of calls have increased. Maybe if there was some patrols in the harbor this might change. Sunshine Cindy and I are frequently on the harbor and we have NEVER seen cops down there unless there was a disturbance then they come and go quickly. The harbor district is now a small city. This is different from just two years ago. With more people and yes, alcohol drinking taking place you will get more calls. That is just a fact of life.

If they close down the bars at midnight you might as well kiss the revitalization of the harbor goodbye. Let the bums have it like they used to. You will be taking money from the people who work there and from the establishments who have invested in that area. Is the harbor perfect now? No. Can there be improvements in the area. Of course but this is a tourist town and you don’t start to limit the activities of the tourist or locals. This will be interesting to see what happens but they need to leave the hours alone. Okay, I am off my soap box. LOL

Harbor fun

Sunshine Cindy and I have been taking it easy this week. We went to her parents house for dinner Tuesday night. Tiffany went back to Atlanta after spending the holidays with us. The house is quiet again. That has been about it.

Enjoy your weekend. We will be with the ECPHC at Harry T’s. And yes, it’s on the harbor! See ya Monday!

Back to reality…

The holidays are over and it is back to work time. But before we hit the grindstone on Monday we had some good times in Destin over the last few days.

On New Year’s Day, Sunshine Cindy and I went to Chip’s to watch some football. We had Julie, Russ, Suzanne and Tiffany join us. We watched the FSU/Oregon game then the first half of Ohio State and Alabama. Being an Ohio State fan I was happy that the Bucks beat Bama. That was probably the best game of the day. Oregon destroyed FSU. Nothing to see here…  We had a good time. The place stayed pretty full.

The beer is ready!

Friday morning was spent working on the Crab Island Mambo Mullet Wrapper for January. In the afternoon Sunshine Cindy could see I was ready to get out of the house. She was doing things around the house so I took her up on her offer to go get a drink. I went to Landshark Pizza. Wayne joined me. Brian was mixing up another batch of hot sauce. This was made with the Scorpion pepper. It is supposed to be hotter than the Ghost pepper. I put a dot of the sauce on my fingertip and tasted it. OMG, it almost burned a hole in my mouth. I don’t know how anyone can eat more than a drop or two of that stuff.

About the time I headed home Landshark was getting filled up. They did a great business all during the holidays. One day last week there was a couple from Germany in there having some pizza. The guy got a pizza combination I had never heard of before. He got a BBQ and salami pizza. He seemed to love it! LOL

On Saturday Sunshine Cindy and Tiffany went shopping returning some things and looking for good deals. They got home in the afternoon. Sunshine Cindy and I then headed to the Ramada to join Alan and Jackie and watch some more of the NFL playoffs. They just got back from New Orleans and we wanted to hear all about their trip too. Of course NOLA was packed for NYE but they had a good time.

We are ready to head to NOLA

There was a couple sitting at the bar. It turns out they were originally from Ohio. We talked about Put in Bay. It turns out they know one of the musicians we will have playing for us during next June’s Phlocking of the Phaithful Trop Rock party. We might have some Phlocking Virgins as they are thinking about coming. If you want to join us, here’s the details: http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-presents-Phlocking-of-the-Phaithful.html

Put in Bay, Ohio

And on Sunday we rested. Sunshine Cindy was a little under the weather due to some of her meds so I made a run to Waffle House to get some of her favorite hash browns and an omelet. That made her smile! LOL  Other than that I watched more football and hockey on the tube. The reality of knowing I had to go back to work on Monday made for a lazy day.

It is supposed to get cold around here again. We had been wearing shorts the last few days but winter will remind us it is still here. Have a great week. See ya Thursday!

Ready or Not…Here comes 2015!

Did you have a good New Year’s Eve celebration? Sunshine Cindy and I took it easy. We went to Outback for dinner. We got there a little before 5 pm and the place was already crowded but we were able to get a table. We had a nice dinner. When we left, there was a line out the door as folks were waiting to get a table. I hope they all were able to eat before midnight! LOL

When we left Outback we stopped in at Chip’s for a few drinks and to watch some football. A decent crowd was around the bar. Tommy was there and he was thrilled to see Sunshine Cindy. Chip (yes, the owner) was there and we got a chance to talk to him for a while about advertising on Crab Island Mambo. Chip is also opening a bar in New Orleans. We wished him good luck on the new venture. We did find out the Parrot Head phlocking for January will be held at Chip’s. That’s cool. We left Chip’s and went home in time to see the east coast ball drop.

Happy New Year!!!

At midnight we could hear the fireworks from the Destin harbor. There were big crowds down along the docks for the party.

Earlier in the week I took Sunshine Cindy back to the doctor for a follow up. I am glad to say she is doing great and everything she is feeling is normal.

Tuesday night I was able to get Sunshine Cindy out too. We went to Landshark Pizza. She has not been there for a while and everyone missed her. The place was packed. I had their Philly Cheese sandwich. It was fantastic. They do a great job with all their food. It was fun hanging out there. On the way home we stopped at Chip’s. Becky was working the bar. They had a nice size crowd too. You can tell the town is alive over the holiday’s with tourist and snowbirds here.

Good luck to each of you in 2015. I will continue to keep all the Destin news and parties coming your way. Have a great weekend. See ya Monday!