Destin holiday season

It was a busy Thanksgiving weekend in Destin. We get a lot of folks come to the beach from places like Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham and many other towns that are a day’s drive away. Traffic was heavy from Wednesday till Sunday when the tourist headed home. This is a far cry from when I first came to Destin in the mid-90’s. I was in town on a Thanksgiving day and could not find any place to eat. The town was deserted. It’s not like that today.

Sunshine Cindy and I spent Thanksgiving at her parent’s house. We had a nice visit as her daughter Tiffany came from Atlanta for the day. The weather was perfect as it was the entire holiday weekend. Mid to upper 70’s during the day with lows at night about 60. Now if it would just stay this way till it warms up again in the spring.

Our big adventure over the holiday happened on Friday. We went to Alaqua to pick up our new puppy. “Chaos” is the latest edition to our family. She was frightened at first but it did not take her long to warm up to us. Feeding and petting her won her over! Lol   Alaqua is a rescue facility and we highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a new pet for the family. They do a fantastic job saving animals that are unwanted or neglected. Donate to them if you get the chance!

With Chaos becoming a member of the family, a trip to Petsmart happened. I think there is still some merchandize left in the store but not much. We spent a fortune but Chaos is worth it.

We pretty much stayed home the rest of the weekend except for Saturday afternoon. I made a trip down to the harbor. My first stop was at Charlie’s BBB Bar inside Crab Island Cantina. Carlos was there and we had a chance to talk some crap about the Ohio State/Michigan game. Carlos is a Michigan guy and I am OSU. I stayed till halftime and left with the Bucks winning. Charlies is a comfortable bar that will be great when it gets a little colder out.

From there I went to Landshark Pizza to watch the rest of the game. Paige was behind the bar and a good crowd was in the bar area. I ended up talking to a couple of Cajun’s who were in town for the holiday. They are big fans of Landshark and LSU football. It was fun talking to them. The rest of our time was spent with Chaos but we did visit with our neighbors as all the neighborhood dogs were there. We can now fit in. lol

I saw where AJ’s is now serving sushi. I have not heard of anyone who has tried it but it does not surprise me that they are now doing it. Funny but a few years back I remarked to Sunshine Cindy that there was no place on the harbor to get sushi. That seemed strange to me considering we are a fishing village. Not long after that it seemed like one sushi place after another has popped up. Now there are plenty of options for sushi on the harbor.

Whole Foods is on track to open at the Destin Commons next June. They will be in direct competition with Fresh Market just a mile or so away. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as Fresh Market has that niche market to itself right now.

The Donut Hole in Destin is closed for a few weeks. They usually shut down right after Thanksgiving for a few weeks and they are doing it again this year.

Time for a reminder about our Crab Island Mambo Tank Tops and Tee Shirts that we have on sale. You can “Embrace the Chaos” with our American Made shirts for only $15 each. Bring a little bit of Destin to your home to warm up the cold winter days! They make great Christmas gifts too!!! Click here for all the details: http://crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

Getting a new member of the family…

Sunshine Cindy and I are adding to our household. We are getting a puppy. It has been about a year and a half since we had to put down our old pooch and we feel the time is right to now take on a new fur baby. Last Friday we went to Alaqua in Freeport. This is an animal rescue facility and a first class operation. Alaqua is run by mostly volunteers. They take in unwanted, neglected or stray animals. They bring them back to good health and then adopt them out to worthy folks. For us to get a puppy they did a background check on us and even contacted the prior vets we used. If you are ever in the giving mode, please consider donating to Alaqua to help them continue to provide this much needed service.

Thursday evening Sunshine Cindy and I went to O’Quigley’s for some dinner and to watch some hockey. While there we started discussing names for our new puppy. It became comical when I suggested we use a friends last name (Asbell) for the name of the dog. I was not serious and Sunshine Cindy would not do it anyway but I got a good Facebook discussion going about it including the namesake piping in agreement on the name. We will officially unveil the name next week after we pick up our pup.

Brian at the new Landshark Pizza

Friday before we went to Alaqua we stopped in at Hurricane Wings for some lunch. They have good food and Niceville prices. That’s a good combination. After we left Alaqua we stopped to start to buy puppy stuff like a bed and toys. Then we went to check out the new Landshark Pizza on the harbor. They were having a soft opening in a couple of hours but we got a pre-tour from Sue. We said we would be back.

We went down to the Boathouse. We talked to John the manager and found out there is not any remodeling going on at the Boathouse but they are working on the old Dockside next door. It will be opening soon as The Boathouse Upper Deck. It will be a craft beer/sports bar. He said it will be a little nicer and more comfortable than the Boathouse. He is not sure when it will open though.

The Helen Back crew has opened Duck Duck where the old KJ’s used to be. We didn’t stop in yet but it looks interesting. We will stop there next time.

Wayne joined us and we went back to Landshark Pizza. The place was almost full with others checking it out like us. The staff was trying to figure out where everything was at but they were able to get pizza and wings made and drinks served. Just about everyone who ever went to the old Landshark was there. The place is great with a big horseshoe bar in the middle of one room. The pizza ovens are off to the side. Doors take you into more of a dining room. TV’s are everywhere. Big TV’s hang over the bar. They plan to put in a small game room off the main dining area. They have done a fine job with the place. A grand opening should be announced soon.

Jackie and Alan

We actually made one more stop before we headed home. We went to the Legion. While there Kenny came in. That was a surprise. We saw more friends there too.

Saturday was more laid back. I did go back to Landshark. I wanted to see how they were doing on their second day and a football day at that. The place was pretty crowded. Paige was working the bar and keeping everyone in drinks and food. I had a pizza to take home and it was as good as previous ones. From there Sunshine Cindy and I spent the evening at home where I watched the Lightning finally play a good game as they beat the Ducks. Sunday we stayed home to get to-do’s done around the house. Every so often you need a day like that.

When we were in Key Largo a few weeks ago we bought some Code Rum. We know the guy who owns the company that bottles this rum. It’s Made in American and it’s really good. I talked to my friend Bill at Beach Liquor and asked if he could see about getting it. I am glad to say they did. Head to the Destin Beach Liquor at Airport Road and get your bottles. You will be supporting American Made rum!

The Destin Diner is closed for the season. They will be reopening in February. So far it’s only the Diner and Gilligan’s that has closed for the season.

I saw construction equipment next to the new ABC liquor and next to Eglin Federal Credit Union working on some new projects. I have not heard what’s going in either location yet. Pretty soon their won’t be any open land in Destin.

We just had our first cold snap of the season. It got down into the low 40’s last night in Destin. I am ready for summer to come back!

Have a great Thanksgiving holiday. See ya next Monday!

We’re Back!

Sunshine Cindy and I are back from our trip to the Keys. We had a great time spending a few days in Key Largo then a week in Key West. We got back to Destin late Tuesday evening and I was back at work and reality on Wednesday morning. While we were gone the episode of Red Tide that was hitting Destin dissipated. It was nasty in Destin when we left with a lot of dead fish and some issues breathing. Glad to say it’s back to normal now.

Destin also got hit with a lot of rain while we were gone. There was some flooding but nothing too serious. I am glad to say since we got back it has been beautiful with warm temps during the day and not too cold at night. I have even had the top down on BadAss3 a few nights coming home from work.

Around town Gilligan’s has closed for the season. They are one of the few restaurants that still close for the winter season. When I first moved to Destin almost 17 years ago just about everyone closed but we are now more of a year round destination so almost no one closes.

Down on the east end of the harbor we have some changes taking place. Landshark Pizza will be moving into their new location next to the Red Door Saloon this week. They will have a soft opening with a grand opening in a week or two. This will be a big place with plenty of TV’s to watch the games while enjoying good pizza, wings and good drinks. They will even have liquor now too.

We have not been to The Boathouse since we got home but I hear they will be closing for some remodeling soon. I will have to get down there to get the scoop. I also understand they have opened the old Dockside Bar with a new remodeled interior but the same good food from The Boathouse. I will have to check this out too.

The old KJ’s building just across from The Boathouse is either open or about to open as Duck Duck (I think that’s the name of it.) Chris from Helen Back is opening this concept. When I first heard about this in the spring he was going to have a food truck outside with drinks inside. I don’t know if that’s still the plan or not. It took them a lot longer to get permits for this location. They tore down the building that was there and built new from the ground up. Someplace else we have to check out. Geeze, we were only gone for 11 days and all kinds of things have changed.

In downtown Fort Walton Beach new owners have taken over the old Luxe Sports Bar. It is now called Buffalo Chips Sports Bar. Their hook is real Buffalo burgers on the menu. I have never had Buffalo and will need to try it.

Back in Destin at the corner of Restaurant Row and Hwy 98 the new extended stay hotel is starting to come out of the ground. It looks like they are not wasting any time and it might be open by the spring judging from the progress they have made.

Sunshine Cindy and I did get out a little this weekend once we got our bearings straight from our trip. Friday night was a parrot head meeting at LuLu’s. We have a full slate of candidates for the parrot head board for next year I am glad to say. The meeting was fun as we relived our trip to MOTM with our friends. We were one of the last ones to leave continuing our tradition of last man standing. LOL 

Saturday we had Sunshine Cindy’s parents over to the house. We had a nice visit with them. We were able to try some Code Rum we brought back from Key Largo. We know the owner of the company who makes this rum and it is really good. I hope we can get it stocked here in Destin at one of our local liquor stores. I have talked to Bill from Beach Liquor and he going to see what he can do. I hope he can get it here in Destin.

Sunday we went to Tailfins to watch some football. We got our usual spot and our friends Ed, Ken, Becky and Don came and joined us. The Browns sucked but we still had a good time. We went to Landshark Pizza after the game and had a chance to talk with Brian about the upcoming move. He is excited but also nervous as this is a big undertaking. Just after we got there Alan and Jackie came in. They are our snowbird friends from Illinois. They got into town the day we left for the Keys so this was our first chance to see them. They are good friends and we are glad they are back!

That’s about it for now. Enjoy your week. See ya next Monday!