This past weekend Sunshine Cindy and I traveled to Atlanta to visit with her daughter. Tiffany lives and works in Midtown. We had a great time. Here are a few observations about this area.
It has a ton of bars and restaurants in addition to apartments and office buildings. The area caters to a young professional crowd. We didn’t see any kids. We didn’t see anyone smoking and almost no one vaping. If you want Bud Light or Mich Ultra you are out of luck. This is craft beer heaven. It is very safe as we walked everywhere we went and never felt like we had to look over our shoulder like in New Orleans on Bourbon Street.
On Sunday I had got tickets to the Hawks basketball game. We had seats in Row A right on the floor. We had a blast. We even went up onto the roof of our hotel. The Georgian Terrace has a roof top pool and great views of the city. You could even see Stone Mountain. Very cool. We had a fun time and will go back again sometime.
Last week was spent getting ready for the trip so we only got out once to Pepito’s for dinner. I did stop at AJ’s Oyster Shack on Thursday on the way home from work as Char was in town staying with Steph and Mark. It was good seeing her again.
The only news from around town I have is Mary’s Kitchen has opened in the old Destin Diner location. We will have to go check it out.
See ya next week!
Destin Steve
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
First day of Spring!
It’s Spring…Finally! Even though we have had a pretty nice Winter I am ready for it to really start to warm up. Spring is a great time of the year in Destin.
Spring Break is in full swing now. This past week the town was packed. Friday when I came home from work I could see a lot of boats at Crab Island and parked on The Pointe. The water is way too cold for us locals to get in but I’m sure the tourist from up north don’t care.
With the Breakers comes some troublemakers. Police pulled a guy over in Crestview for speeding. He handed the cops a visibly altered driver’s license. It turns out he was only 19 and had seven 30 packs of Natural Light beer in addition to some pot. He was on his way to Destin from Alabama.
Another day the police were on the water and could smell pot from a boat at The Pointe. Four underage teenagers were there with alcohol and a bunch of drugs to sell. They had scales and everything. Thankfully the cops got to them before they could start to sell their drugs. It makes you wonder how many are not caught.
This past week Sunshine Cindy and I decided to stay in on Friday night instead of going out to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day on the harbor. It had been a long week and we wanted to relax. Saturday we did go to the harbor and hang out at Tailfins for a while. It was very windy so we sat inside where we usually sit to watch football games. We could still people watch from there! After we had some food we left the harbor and fought the traffic to go to Hogs Breath. Rikki was behind the bar. Bob was there with Robert and his wife. It was a locals kind of day there as we saw Kathy when we were leaving. It’s always fun at Hogs.
Sunday morning I had to go into work for a few hours. But in the afternoon Sunshine Cindy and I decided to head to LuLu’s. It was a beautiful day to sit at their outside bar on the water. We had some dinner and a few brews while soaking up some vitamin D. Austin and Loren were taking good care of us and the others around the bar. As the sun went down we headed home and sat on our back porch listening to music. A nice relaxing end to the week.
Around town I have heard the folks with the Big Red Truck are taking over the old “Hooks on the Harbor” location next to AJ’s. I guess this will be a regular fixed site restaurant. Hooks was a great locals spot. It will be interesting to see what the new owners come up with.
The beach on the southwest side of the Destin bridge is known as White Trash Beach or Redneck Beach. This land is owned by the Air Force. They are now going to require permits for anyone using the beach. The permits are free but you have to watch a five minute video explaining the fragile nature of our dunes and beaches. Hopefully this will help to educate folks on protecting our natural resources.
What seems like months ago, Airport Road at Hwy 98 was reduced to one lane so they could do some utility work. And it is still down to one lane. I see people working there all the time but nothing seems to be getting done. I wonder what’s taking so long?
The weather is supposed to be great this week. Enjoy it and I will check back in next Monday!
Destin Steve
Spring Break is in full swing now. This past week the town was packed. Friday when I came home from work I could see a lot of boats at Crab Island and parked on The Pointe. The water is way too cold for us locals to get in but I’m sure the tourist from up north don’t care.
With the Breakers comes some troublemakers. Police pulled a guy over in Crestview for speeding. He handed the cops a visibly altered driver’s license. It turns out he was only 19 and had seven 30 packs of Natural Light beer in addition to some pot. He was on his way to Destin from Alabama.
Another day the police were on the water and could smell pot from a boat at The Pointe. Four underage teenagers were there with alcohol and a bunch of drugs to sell. They had scales and everything. Thankfully the cops got to them before they could start to sell their drugs. It makes you wonder how many are not caught.
This past week Sunshine Cindy and I decided to stay in on Friday night instead of going out to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day on the harbor. It had been a long week and we wanted to relax. Saturday we did go to the harbor and hang out at Tailfins for a while. It was very windy so we sat inside where we usually sit to watch football games. We could still people watch from there! After we had some food we left the harbor and fought the traffic to go to Hogs Breath. Rikki was behind the bar. Bob was there with Robert and his wife. It was a locals kind of day there as we saw Kathy when we were leaving. It’s always fun at Hogs.
Sunday morning I had to go into work for a few hours. But in the afternoon Sunshine Cindy and I decided to head to LuLu’s. It was a beautiful day to sit at their outside bar on the water. We had some dinner and a few brews while soaking up some vitamin D. Austin and Loren were taking good care of us and the others around the bar. As the sun went down we headed home and sat on our back porch listening to music. A nice relaxing end to the week.
Around town I have heard the folks with the Big Red Truck are taking over the old “Hooks on the Harbor” location next to AJ’s. I guess this will be a regular fixed site restaurant. Hooks was a great locals spot. It will be interesting to see what the new owners come up with.
The beach on the southwest side of the Destin bridge is known as White Trash Beach or Redneck Beach. This land is owned by the Air Force. They are now going to require permits for anyone using the beach. The permits are free but you have to watch a five minute video explaining the fragile nature of our dunes and beaches. Hopefully this will help to educate folks on protecting our natural resources.
What seems like months ago, Airport Road at Hwy 98 was reduced to one lane so they could do some utility work. And it is still down to one lane. I see people working there all the time but nothing seems to be getting done. I wonder what’s taking so long?
The weather is supposed to be great this week. Enjoy it and I will check back in next Monday!
Destin Steve
Monday, March 13, 2017
It’s officially Spring Break in Destin
Last week was the first big influx of Spring Breakers in Destin. Sunshine Cindy and I had a chance to see some up close and in person! LOL Thursday afternoon, Sunshine Cindy and Mike had a meeting with the folks from Children in Crisis. They are our charity for our May “Tailgates Down…Phriends All Around” charity musical event. After the meeting they went to AJ’s Oyster Shanty on the island. I got there about 5:15 pm after I got off work. BT was setting up to play and our friends from Oklahoma, Steve & Becky were there.
Sitting at the bar were 4 young folks, 2 girls and 2 guys. One of the guys was obviously drunk as he was loud and not too steady on his feet. We all debated if the girls and guys were together for Spring Break or just hooking up for the day. Our guess was a hook up. When loud guy fell off his bar stool, no one was surprised. He was not hurt. Drunk people tend to bounce. lol Just another day in Destin with the Breakers.
We had a fun time listening to BT. A group of ladies from Kentucky came in and immediately they were the stars of the night. One of them joked that they even wore shoes and put in their teeth. They were having a good time. Kenny showed up ready to play his harp with BT. We were tired and headed home and just missed Ron who lives next to AJ’s. Oh well, next time.
Friday night we had a Parrot Head meeting at Landshark Pizza. It was a special karaoke night and early St. Pat’s day celebration. We presented Alaqua with a check for $1000. Folks sang, drank and had a good time. After the party a bunch of us went to The Boathouse. The place was packed with locals and Spring Breakers. We saw our football buddy Bob who was there having a good time. We also saw an old bartender friend, Glenn. He is back at The Boathouse. It was good to see him.
Saturday at Harborwalk Village was the big Taco and Tequila Festival. This festival is the brainchild of Carlos of Crab Island Cantina. It started out as a small festival at his restaurant. It has now grown where they sold 3000 tickets and people came from all over the southeast to partake. All proceeds go to the Boys and Girls club too. It is now a contest to see who has the best taco’s in Destin. And yes, tequila flows like water. Haha
Carlos asked me to be a judge. I got there early to make sure I could find a parking spot. I hung out at Harry T’s for a while with Lynda and Phil. They were having brunch. A group of breakers’ were in there planning their day. Red was staying busy behind the bar. Our judging started about 1 pm. We had 10 different taco’s to try. They were all very good. Some had pulled pork, some had fish, some had beef…there were many different toppings too. It was cool being a judge. I hope I get invited back.
When we got done, I could have gone to the VIP party but there were so many people I decided to head home. I did find out our friends with Landshark Pizza won the prize for the best taco’s. At the end of the judging when we found out where the tacos were from, we knew they would win as everyone raved about them when we tried them. Who’d of thunk a pizza place would win best taco!
While I was judging Sunshine Cindy was shopping. She said traffic was heavy even with thousands of folks down on the harbor. We stayed in for the rest of the evening relaxing. And Sunday was spent around the house although I did go have a pizza at Landshark.
There was not much new around town this week. The rebuilt Waffle House near Airport Road is open again. Time to go see how the new place looks. Lol
This week is supposed to be our busiest week of the Spring Break season. The local schools are out and several of the colleges within a day’s drive are also out this week. It looks like it has been an uneventful Spring Break so far. Each day there are a dozen or so mug shots in the Northwest Florida Daily of underage drinkers who were busted but that’s about it. The word seems to be definitely out it is zero tolerance.
It’s St. Paddy’s Day this Friday. Be safe and don’t drink too much green beer! See ya next Monday.
Destin Steve
Sitting at the bar were 4 young folks, 2 girls and 2 guys. One of the guys was obviously drunk as he was loud and not too steady on his feet. We all debated if the girls and guys were together for Spring Break or just hooking up for the day. Our guess was a hook up. When loud guy fell off his bar stool, no one was surprised. He was not hurt. Drunk people tend to bounce. lol Just another day in Destin with the Breakers.
We had a fun time listening to BT. A group of ladies from Kentucky came in and immediately they were the stars of the night. One of them joked that they even wore shoes and put in their teeth. They were having a good time. Kenny showed up ready to play his harp with BT. We were tired and headed home and just missed Ron who lives next to AJ’s. Oh well, next time.
Friday night we had a Parrot Head meeting at Landshark Pizza. It was a special karaoke night and early St. Pat’s day celebration. We presented Alaqua with a check for $1000. Folks sang, drank and had a good time. After the party a bunch of us went to The Boathouse. The place was packed with locals and Spring Breakers. We saw our football buddy Bob who was there having a good time. We also saw an old bartender friend, Glenn. He is back at The Boathouse. It was good to see him.
Saturday at Harborwalk Village was the big Taco and Tequila Festival. This festival is the brainchild of Carlos of Crab Island Cantina. It started out as a small festival at his restaurant. It has now grown where they sold 3000 tickets and people came from all over the southeast to partake. All proceeds go to the Boys and Girls club too. It is now a contest to see who has the best taco’s in Destin. And yes, tequila flows like water. Haha
Carlos asked me to be a judge. I got there early to make sure I could find a parking spot. I hung out at Harry T’s for a while with Lynda and Phil. They were having brunch. A group of breakers’ were in there planning their day. Red was staying busy behind the bar. Our judging started about 1 pm. We had 10 different taco’s to try. They were all very good. Some had pulled pork, some had fish, some had beef…there were many different toppings too. It was cool being a judge. I hope I get invited back.
When we got done, I could have gone to the VIP party but there were so many people I decided to head home. I did find out our friends with Landshark Pizza won the prize for the best taco’s. At the end of the judging when we found out where the tacos were from, we knew they would win as everyone raved about them when we tried them. Who’d of thunk a pizza place would win best taco!
While I was judging Sunshine Cindy was shopping. She said traffic was heavy even with thousands of folks down on the harbor. We stayed in for the rest of the evening relaxing. And Sunday was spent around the house although I did go have a pizza at Landshark.
There was not much new around town this week. The rebuilt Waffle House near Airport Road is open again. Time to go see how the new place looks. Lol
This week is supposed to be our busiest week of the Spring Break season. The local schools are out and several of the colleges within a day’s drive are also out this week. It looks like it has been an uneventful Spring Break so far. Each day there are a dozen or so mug shots in the Northwest Florida Daily of underage drinkers who were busted but that’s about it. The word seems to be definitely out it is zero tolerance.
It’s St. Paddy’s Day this Friday. Be safe and don’t drink too much green beer! See ya next Monday.
Destin Steve
Monday, March 6, 2017
Always a good time happening in Destin
What a great week Sunshine Cindy and I just had. It was in many ways a typical week in Destin but we did get out more than normal. It started on Tuesday…Fat Tuesday. We went to The Boathouse to listen to BT. It was his first show of the season there. Bob and Carol, snowbirds from Iowa were there and joined us. We have met them at AJ’s Oyster Shanty a few times. They are fun folks. Sunshine Cindy and I had our goofy hats and boa’s on. We looked the part. We had a fun time but with work on Wednesday we could not stay out too late.
Wednesday evening we were invited to a fish fry at a friend’s house. Southern Drawl Band was in town and staying at our friends place. It was a perfect evening weather wise. The fish and food was outstanding. The guys played a few songs. All in all an enjoyable time.
Thursday they were playing at Crab Island Cantina. Over 100 people showed up to listen to the guys play. Corrine took great care of us. The music was fantastic, food and drinks flowed, friends like Steve and Becky came into town from Oklahoma just to hear the band and everyone had a blast. Before the show, Sunshine Cindy and I stopped in at Harry T’s for a few Happy Hour drinks. Steve and Becky saw we were there and they joined us. Red was busy behind the bar as snowbirds filled the place. It was a good way to warm up for the rest of the evening. We love partying with Southern Drawl Band. Check them out!!!
We kept things going on Friday. We got out to do some shopping. We have been wanting a new mattress and Friday was the day we finally got one. It gets delivered Tuesday. We can’t wait as our old mattress was lumpy and not comfortable. After buying the mattress we went to Best Buy to look at TV’s. Well, looking turned into buying. We got a new TV and sound bar to go along with it. After we got it home we went to look at furniture. No, we didn’t buy any more stuff but we got some good ideas.
By now it was close to dinner time. We went to the Commons and La Familia. We had a nice meal and had a chance to relax a little after fighting traffic all day. We saw Steve and Becky were at LuLu’s listening to BT. So after we ate we went there to hang out. Julie and Suzanne were there. Carolyn also showed up. At the table next to us was Steve and Nancy (BT’s parents) and our friends from Iowa, Bob and Carol. It was a fun time but we were tired from being out all day so we headed home a little before BT finished. Chaos was happy to see us!
Saturday morning we went to the new breakfast place next to Publix’s. It was okay but nothing to get too excited about. Asiago Skillet is still my favorite breakfast place in Destin. After a stop at Home Depot we headed home to work on getting the TV and Sound Bar hooked up.
The TV we bought was a Sony. The directions to set it up left a lot to be desired. We figured it out but it took a while. By the time we got the Sound Bar hooked up it was late. We decided to relax the rest of the evening. The Sound Bar has a sub-woofer. The sound from it is excellent. It sounds like there are other people in the house. LOL I watched the Tampa Bay Lightning game. They won and seeing it on the new TV was awesome.
And on Sunday we rested…mostly. I did take Chaos on her morning walk. Sunshine Cindy did some straightening up around the house. I got the Parrot Head event, “Tailgates Down…Phriends All Around” up on Eventbrite. I will have more info on the event in the coming weeks but make plans to join us May 20th at the Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village in Destin for this all day party. It is only $25 per person for a full day of fun and music. Check out the Emerald Coast Parrot Head Facebook page for more details too! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tailgates-downphriends-all-around-tickets-32568153223
All the places around town that were closed for the season are back open including Gilligan’s which is open for the season. One other place we have been too a few times lately is Honey Baked Ham. It is over near Crystal Beach. They have great food. This has become one of our go-to places if we don’t want to cook but bring home something. Yum!
Okay, Spring Break is hitting full swing. Get out and enjoy all Destin has to offer. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
Wednesday evening we were invited to a fish fry at a friend’s house. Southern Drawl Band was in town and staying at our friends place. It was a perfect evening weather wise. The fish and food was outstanding. The guys played a few songs. All in all an enjoyable time.
Thursday they were playing at Crab Island Cantina. Over 100 people showed up to listen to the guys play. Corrine took great care of us. The music was fantastic, food and drinks flowed, friends like Steve and Becky came into town from Oklahoma just to hear the band and everyone had a blast. Before the show, Sunshine Cindy and I stopped in at Harry T’s for a few Happy Hour drinks. Steve and Becky saw we were there and they joined us. Red was busy behind the bar as snowbirds filled the place. It was a good way to warm up for the rest of the evening. We love partying with Southern Drawl Band. Check them out!!!
We kept things going on Friday. We got out to do some shopping. We have been wanting a new mattress and Friday was the day we finally got one. It gets delivered Tuesday. We can’t wait as our old mattress was lumpy and not comfortable. After buying the mattress we went to Best Buy to look at TV’s. Well, looking turned into buying. We got a new TV and sound bar to go along with it. After we got it home we went to look at furniture. No, we didn’t buy any more stuff but we got some good ideas.
By now it was close to dinner time. We went to the Commons and La Familia. We had a nice meal and had a chance to relax a little after fighting traffic all day. We saw Steve and Becky were at LuLu’s listening to BT. So after we ate we went there to hang out. Julie and Suzanne were there. Carolyn also showed up. At the table next to us was Steve and Nancy (BT’s parents) and our friends from Iowa, Bob and Carol. It was a fun time but we were tired from being out all day so we headed home a little before BT finished. Chaos was happy to see us!
Saturday morning we went to the new breakfast place next to Publix’s. It was okay but nothing to get too excited about. Asiago Skillet is still my favorite breakfast place in Destin. After a stop at Home Depot we headed home to work on getting the TV and Sound Bar hooked up.
The TV we bought was a Sony. The directions to set it up left a lot to be desired. We figured it out but it took a while. By the time we got the Sound Bar hooked up it was late. We decided to relax the rest of the evening. The Sound Bar has a sub-woofer. The sound from it is excellent. It sounds like there are other people in the house. LOL I watched the Tampa Bay Lightning game. They won and seeing it on the new TV was awesome.
And on Sunday we rested…mostly. I did take Chaos on her morning walk. Sunshine Cindy did some straightening up around the house. I got the Parrot Head event, “Tailgates Down…Phriends All Around” up on Eventbrite. I will have more info on the event in the coming weeks but make plans to join us May 20th at the Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village in Destin for this all day party. It is only $25 per person for a full day of fun and music. Check out the Emerald Coast Parrot Head Facebook page for more details too! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tailgates-downphriends-all-around-tickets-32568153223
All the places around town that were closed for the season are back open including Gilligan’s which is open for the season. One other place we have been too a few times lately is Honey Baked Ham. It is over near Crystal Beach. They have great food. This has become one of our go-to places if we don’t want to cook but bring home something. Yum!
Okay, Spring Break is hitting full swing. Get out and enjoy all Destin has to offer. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
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