One thing the tourist (and locals for that matter) love to do is fish. With the largest charter fishing fleet in Florida and being only minutes to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico, fishing is a major attraction in Destin. One of the most prized fish to catch is the Red Snapper. Red Snapper is one of the best eating fish there is. The season for Red Snapper opened June 1st. This year it is open for 49 days I think. Many people plan their vacations to Destin around Red Snapper season. Make your reservations for a charter now if you want to get out and catch your limit.
Another thing that comes with the summer tourist season that’s not fun is June Grass. June Grass is a form of algae that clumps up in big green smelly globs. Depending on the tides and wind direction you might have one day where the beach is covered in this stuff and then the next day it is gone. As it dries on the beach it smells bad. Well the June Grass is already coming. Driving home from work last week along the Island I could smell it. And at the harbor on Sunday we had whiffs of it too. We need a change in wind direction to blow it back off shore.
This past week was the famous Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival held in downtown Fort Walton Beach. It is five days of fun, music, fireworks, parades and of course pirates! The Saturday party on the water in the Sound is insane. When I lived on the island I would have a Bowlegs party at my condo that overlooked the Sound. There would be literally a couple thousand types of boats and water crafts descend on this small area. A big police presence is there to try and keep the peace. It sounded like this year’s party was a success.
Sunshine Cindy and I got out a few times this past week. Last Monday, Labor Day we went to Island Wings. It’s been a while since we stopped in there. We talked to the bartender about them needing to be more of a locals place. They have decent food but the prices for drinks is high for not being on the water. They do have a locals discount but you have to ask for it. We love that they are on the north side of Hwy 98 so we will be back. We did enjoy our stop there on Monday.
Friday I made a run to Landshark Pizza. Sue and Paige were working the bar. Scotty came in and we talked for a while. Then B stopped in with a guy who works for him. I can never remember his name. We all solved some of the world’s problems. I headed home before the traffic got real bad. Later in the evening a guy was hit crossing 98. It shut down the westbound lanes till after 2 am. What a mess that must have been.
Saturday afternoon we stopped in at Hogs Breath. Rikki was working. A decent crowd was at the bar watching the traffic on 98. We split a BBQ pork sandwich. It was awesome. When we got home we ended up on the back porch for the evening enjoying a nice night.
Sunday the girls were back in Destin. Melanie and Kitty (Drop Dead Dangerous) were back in town to play at Crab Island Cantina. They are an awesome duo that you will be hearing a lot about in the future. They are talented and good looking…a perfect combination! There was a big crowd at the Cantina to listen to BT then the ladies. It was a fun time as the weather was perfect and a ton of boats in the harbor made for a nice backdrop. They will be in town all week playing at The Boathouse on Wednesday and Landshark Pizza on Friday for the Parrot Heads.
A new restaurant has opened just down Commons Drive from our house. Half Shell Oyster House is the newest addition to the Destin restaurant scene. According to their web site they have a New Orleans theme in their décor and food. They have other locations across the Gulf Coast. We will be trying them out soon.
That’s it for today. Have a great week. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
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