Stay-Cation in Destin

This was a wild and crazy week in Destin. It started with a monsoon. Last Monday it rained in Destin. I mean it REALLY rained…like 12-14 inches of rain in about a ten hour span. It had been pretty dry around here but that was ended quickly. We received some rain in the early hours of Monday morning but it was mostly dry as I drove to work. Then about 10 am it started to rain. Heavy rain would be followed by monsoon rain then back to heavy rain. By the time I left for home from work there were reports of flooding all around. The normal areas that flood were once again under water like in front of the new Holiday Inn on the island. But then I saw places like the parking lot for the Gulfarium under water and ponds overflowing I knew it was bad.

Driving across the island was an adventure. At times I could not see more than a few feet in front of me the rain was coming down and blowing so hard. I stayed on Hwy. 98 all the way to Airport Road figuring it would be better than getting on some of the back roads. It was a great strategy until I had to turn left onto Airport Road. The intersection was flooded but I was committed and made it through.

From the Destin Log

The next problem I knew was going to be my sub division. We flooded out two years ago and I figured it to be bad this time. I made it home but the streets were underwater. At least it was not onto the sidewalks yet. About a half hour after I got home the water was rising. It got about half way up our driveway before the rain stopped about 9 pm. If I had been coming home that half hour later I would have had to park at the office complex and walk in the water and rain home. Glad I didn’t have to do that!

I also saw some pictures posted on line about 8 pm showing the Airport Road intersection completely flooded out and cars stuck. It was a rough time but Destin survived! When I left for work Tuesday morning it was actually dry on the road in our neighborhood. Wow!

I did see the funniest thing on my way home during the storm. I was sitting on the downslope of Brooks Bridge stopped for the light when a big blow up shark came blowing across the road. It blew away from Alvins Island but it looked real as it was dodging cars and just kind of “swimming” along! Lol It must have ended up at High Tide.

This past weekend was the annual Destin Seafood Festival. This festival has grown into one of the largest in the area. Over 70,000 people visit the festival during the three days. The entire area along the harbor from Crab Island Cantina to the Yacht Club is crowded with vendors and musical acts. Our friends the Southern Drawl Band was the Saturday night headliners for the festival. But the band also had other shows in town.

Friday night they were at KC’s Sandbar in Fort Walton Beach. The weather was cold (okay, cold for us Floridians) with temps in the 60’s and the wind blowing hard. But we still had a fun time. The show they did on Saturday at the festival was off the hook. They played for two hours and that time flew by. The guys made a lot of new fans that night. Then on Sunday they were at Crab Island Cantina for a show. The festival was winding down as they did another fun show. Check them out when you can…Southern Drawl Band.

Our mini Stay-Cation actually started on Thursday evening. Sunshine Cindy and I went to World of Beer for a benefit for Alaqua animal rescue shelter. Rob Roman’s was playing for the benefit. Two dollars from each beer sold with a dog in the name went to Alaqua. This was our first time getting to hear Rob and we really enjoyed his music. We had some good beer, good food and was able to help raise some money. That made it a nice evening.

One of Destin’s great attractions is the Legendary Marina building at the foot of the Mid-Bay bridge with the whales painted on the building. This was painted by world famous artist Robert Wyland. There are only 100 of these large scale marine life murals that Wyland has done around the world and Destin has one. Wyland is back in Destin refreshing the five acre mural and adding to it. A little known fact is Wyland painted a giant American Flag on the top of the marina so the pilots from Eglin AFB can see it every time they go out for training missions. That’s way cool.

In the small world department, a friend of Wyland’s who came up to Destin with him from Punta Gorda is also a fan of the Southern Drawl Band. She was at the show at KC’s on Friday and at the seafood festival on Saturday. Yep, a small world indeed.

Over in Fort Walton Beach the city has bought the building that housed the Brooks Bridge BBQ. The city is always looking to add parking to the downtown area and bought this property when the owners decided it was time to retire. They will raze the building and add more parking in the next few months.

In Destin at the Commons they have announced a new hotel will be built. They didn’t say who was going to operate it but construction is to start soon.

Don’t forget we still have our Crab Island Mambo tee’s and tanks on sale. Get your own slice of Destin before they are gone! http://crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!