Monday, May 16, 2016

Another accolade for Destin

So, what cities do you think are the top 10 vacation spots in the world according to the 2016 Summer Vacation Value Report just released by TripAdvisor? Of course Vegas, Paris, New York City, Cancun, London are on the list. Guess who else made the list? Yep, little ol’ Destin. Miami didn’t make it but Destin did. Wow! Here is the list:

1. Las Vegas
2. Cancun, Mexico
3. Orlando
4. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
6. New York City
7. London
8. Destin
9. Paris
10. Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Destin is not that little sleepy fishing village any more. Another example of that is the announcement that a third tower at the Emerald Grande is ready to come out of the ground. As it has been dubbed, “The Baby Grande” since it will be only 9 stories high, the plans show a parking deck, hotel/condo units and retail space. The new building will be placed on a 9 acre lot at the Southeastern corner of Harbor Blvd. and Stahlman Ave. where a parking lot and Coyote Ugly currently stand.

I don’t know how people will get to this addition as it’s almost impossible to move in that area in the summer as it is. Plus they are removing a big parking lot. The parking garage will most likely be for the Baby Grande only in the summer like the current parking deck is for the original Grande. Somewhere along the way they will kill the golden goose with over development I am sorry to say.

But until that day comes Sunshine Cindy and I will continue to enjoy all that Destin has to offer. Wednesday evening we took Chaos for a car ride as we rode around some of the neighborhoods of Destin while loving the beautiful evening. Chaos loves her car rides and she was in her glory.

Thursday evening we went to Landshark Pizza to listen to BT play. Jason took care of us. Courtney and Paige were also there and stopped by to say hello to us. There was a good crowd including about 20 service members celebrating the birth of a baby to one of the guys. They had a good time as BT got them involved. Something I had never seen before in Destin happened. As BT finished a song I heard someone from the back tell BT how much she enjoyed his music. It was a female sheriff’s deputy who was having dinner in the bar side of the restaurant. She then told everyone to be careful as she didn’t want to see any of us later…meaning on the street. That was actually a nice thing as it showed even cops are human.

Friday night was our monthly Parrot Head meeting at Landshark. Sunshine Cindy didn’t make it as she was waiting at home for her daughter to get in from Atlanta. She is spending a few weeks with us before her next semester starts. It was a fun time at Landshark. It was a 60’s, 70’s and 80’s throwback party. There were some great costumes too. The club continues to do a good job raising money for local charities. We “party with a purpose.”


On Saturday was one of those days that can only happen in a beach town and why I love living here. Saturday was the first Crab Island Mambo/ECPHC beach cleanup of the year. This is like my 10th or 11th year heading this up. When you get a great day weather wise like we had it makes it so much better. We started about 9:30 am and by 10 we had cleaned up the beach. It is really the cleanest beach I have ever seen I am glad to say. Then after the cleanup the real party begins.

We had a fun beach party with over 30 people there. Folks bring their beverages, food to share, drinks to share…Kenny brings a kayak and we have a fun time. Local musician BT came out too. He played for a while with Kenny backing him on his harmonica. Other people on the beach were even enjoying his music. Mike cooked some hotdogs to add to the party. At one point a lifeguard rode by, stopped and remarked about our party. We gave him a hot dog and a cold soda. He was appreciative. Our lifeguards are some of the best in the world as they seem to always win national and international competitions.


The party broke up about 4. I headed home to get a shower and meet Sunshine Cindy and Tiffany on the boardwalk. They had been doing mother/daughter things. As I was getting ready to leave I saw on FB Fishheads on the boardwalk was having a “Dogs Night Out” party. It was a fund raiser for the Destin Dog Park. So I loaded up Chaos and we went there so she could party with the other dogs. It was a lot of fun as there were about 30 or so other dogs hanging out with their humans.

Actually Sunshine Cindy and Tiffany went shopping early in the day then stopped at The Other End and Boshamps before meeting up with me. They enjoyed both stops. When they came walking up to Fishheads Chaos went crazy when she saw them. It was a nice end to a fun day.

We were moving slow on Sunday and didn’t do too much. I washed BadAss3. Sunshine Cindy did some things around the house but we mostly relaxed. In the afternoon I wanted to get out for a while but Sunshine Cindy didn’t so I went to Landshark for a pizza and to watch some sports. Paige was working the bar. Tony was there hanging out. Traffic was backed up on 98. Tony said there was a fire in an area off 98 where AJ’s stores things. I’m not sure how bad it was but there was some smoke over the bay for a while. When I got home Sunshine Cindy and I sat on the back porch relaxing talking about the snow our friends up in Ohio had earlier in the day. Yes, snow on May 15th. And people wonder why I moved. lol

We have about one more week before the Summer crush starts. As it gets closer to Memorial Day we see the traffic start to build. Then it is crazy for about 10 weeks. It looks like it is going to be another record breaking season as all advance reservations are pointing to a busy time. Time for patience…

Another fun week is in store along the Emerald Coast. I will have a full report next Monday!

Destin Steve

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