Officially Summer arrived last week but really we have been in “Summer Mode” in Destin for many weeks now. This past week we had awesome weather. I guess that is because our friends Alan and Jackie were in town. LOL It was hot, humid and sunny all week. Our pool went from 82 degrees to 89 in just a few days. I love it!
It was a fun weekend for Sunshine Cindy and I. Friday night the Parrot Heads had our monthly Phlocking at Hooters of Destin. We had about 80 of us show up. Bo Adams played music and we raised money for our charity. We were on the outside deck and there was a worry that it would be too hot to have a good time but we got lucky as a nice gulf breeze was blowing keeping us comfortable.
Saturday morning I took Chaos for her walk. With the high temps and humidity, I have shortened the walks for both her health and mine. When I got home I went to work on doing some weeding. It didn’t take long for me to be soaking wet from sweat. It was time for a dip in the pool to cool off. After cleaning up Sunshine Cindy and I decided to head to the harbor.
We went to Tailfins. Surprisingly they were not charging to park…at least not yet. We sat at our usual location on the lower level. Victoria was behind the bar. The place was very busy. A group was watching the World Cup soccer game that was on. Victoria told us for the Mexico game that started at 8 am, the place was packed with people watching it. Good for them. We had a few drinks and some food. Our friend Tony was walking by on the harbor and saw us. I was surprised to see him. He is the captain of the Caddywampus catamaran. He had an unusual day off. It was good catching up with him.
When we left the harbor, we decided to stop in at Hogs Breath. The outside bar was open with five people there. We knew them all! Miss Norma was there. We didn’t know she is working at Hogs in the tee shirt building. It is always great to see her. She is a Destin legend. The others at the bar are folks we know from around town…The postal worker, Capt Bill, Bob and Rickki behind the bar. We had a couple of brews and then headed home to spend the rest of the evening in the pool.
Sunday we were lazy. I washed the car and did some watering but that was it. The rest of the day was spent around the pool.
One thing I have noticed this season…The traffic in the mornings is getting heavier than I have seen in previous Summer seasons. I leave for work about 6 am. Most of the year there is not a lot of traffic. Mainly folks who work on the bases. But this summer season has changed. More and more folks are on the road. I believe it is a combination of people coming and going from Destin and people going on the charter boats. Add all the new businesses that have employees on the road and you have more folks on the road earlier.
No plans for this week other than a Fourth of July party at a friend’s house. Time to go with the flow! Have a great week. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
Monday, June 25, 2018
Monday, June 18, 2018
Parking problems in Destin
This past week saw us break in our “Chaos Oasis,” have enough rain to almost overflow our pool and see tourist season get into full swing but the biggest news in Destin was about parking.
Between the City of Destin and Harborwalk Village, they are in a race to see who is the biggest a-hole. The City went and put up no-parking signs on a side street behind McGuire’s. The problem is the signs went up at 3 pm and there were cars from McGuire’s employees already parked there. You guessed it, they came by and ticketed those cars that parked legally when they got there but became illegal after the signs went up. McGuire’s management paid the fines but that was about as low as you can get by the City.
Then last Friday, Harborwalk started charging $10 a car to park in their lot and parking garage. There was no warning to the public. At least the local businesses were aware this was going to happen but it sounds like many of their employees were not notified and were surprised to have to pay. I have heard that Harry T’s is going to discount folks if they show their receipt for parking so some of the shops are getting proactive.
Parking is a big problem in that area. I fully understand charging to park as many of the private lots already do that. But at least let people know ahead of time. And what the City did was ridiculous. So I guess they get the award for biggest a-hole. What all this is doing is run off more of the locals that want to come to the harbor.
Rain, rain and more rain fell last week in Destin. I feel bad for folks that were here on vacation. We had over an inch of rain one day, a half inch a couple of days with lower amounts all the other days. I am glad to say we are finally starting to dry out.
This past weekend we had our musician friend Brent Burns come over from Alabama to play a couple of days at the Chaos Oasis. Luckily the rain stopped in time. The pool temp was down to about 82 degrees due to all the rain but we still got in the water…for a short dip or two! LOL It appeared everyone had a great time as we showed off our remodeled Casa and partied to Brent’s original music!
Sunday was Father’s Day. Sunshine Cindy’s Mom and Dad came over and I grilled filet mignon steaks for each of us. We actually bought them at Destin Ice Seafood house. They carry Buckhead Beef and it is some of the best beef around. It was a great day celebrating with her Dad.
One of the cool things about living here on the coast is all the wildlife we get to see. Over the last few months there have been several Osprey nest show up on the top of power poles along the open stretch of highway between Fort Walton Beach and Destin on the island. In one of the nest I have been able to see small heads pop up but now those heads are getting bigger. It looks like they are close to leaving the nest. Just this morning I saw 3 or 4 other Osprey’s just hanging out in some of the other nest. Pretty cool.
I see the old Panini Pete’s next to the Waffle House is going to become an Executive Car Wash. This is like the third one in a few months to be built around here. Do we really have that many dirty cars in Destin?
This Friday the Emerald Coast Parrot Head club will be meeting at Hooters in Destin. The phun starts at 5:30. Come out and Party with a Purpose with the Parrot Heads. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
Between the City of Destin and Harborwalk Village, they are in a race to see who is the biggest a-hole. The City went and put up no-parking signs on a side street behind McGuire’s. The problem is the signs went up at 3 pm and there were cars from McGuire’s employees already parked there. You guessed it, they came by and ticketed those cars that parked legally when they got there but became illegal after the signs went up. McGuire’s management paid the fines but that was about as low as you can get by the City.
Then last Friday, Harborwalk started charging $10 a car to park in their lot and parking garage. There was no warning to the public. At least the local businesses were aware this was going to happen but it sounds like many of their employees were not notified and were surprised to have to pay. I have heard that Harry T’s is going to discount folks if they show their receipt for parking so some of the shops are getting proactive.
Parking is a big problem in that area. I fully understand charging to park as many of the private lots already do that. But at least let people know ahead of time. And what the City did was ridiculous. So I guess they get the award for biggest a-hole. What all this is doing is run off more of the locals that want to come to the harbor.
Rain, rain and more rain fell last week in Destin. I feel bad for folks that were here on vacation. We had over an inch of rain one day, a half inch a couple of days with lower amounts all the other days. I am glad to say we are finally starting to dry out.
This past weekend we had our musician friend Brent Burns come over from Alabama to play a couple of days at the Chaos Oasis. Luckily the rain stopped in time. The pool temp was down to about 82 degrees due to all the rain but we still got in the water…for a short dip or two! LOL It appeared everyone had a great time as we showed off our remodeled Casa and partied to Brent’s original music!
Sunday was Father’s Day. Sunshine Cindy’s Mom and Dad came over and I grilled filet mignon steaks for each of us. We actually bought them at Destin Ice Seafood house. They carry Buckhead Beef and it is some of the best beef around. It was a great day celebrating with her Dad.
One of the cool things about living here on the coast is all the wildlife we get to see. Over the last few months there have been several Osprey nest show up on the top of power poles along the open stretch of highway between Fort Walton Beach and Destin on the island. In one of the nest I have been able to see small heads pop up but now those heads are getting bigger. It looks like they are close to leaving the nest. Just this morning I saw 3 or 4 other Osprey’s just hanging out in some of the other nest. Pretty cool.
I see the old Panini Pete’s next to the Waffle House is going to become an Executive Car Wash. This is like the third one in a few months to be built around here. Do we really have that many dirty cars in Destin?
This Friday the Emerald Coast Parrot Head club will be meeting at Hooters in Destin. The phun starts at 5:30. Come out and Party with a Purpose with the Parrot Heads. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
Monday, June 11, 2018
Rainy Season in Destin
Summer time in Destin means from now till September we will have a 50% chance of rain every day. Hot, humid and afternoon thunderstorms are the norm. Like this past Sunday, we had a hellacious storm hit about 4:30. Lightning was hitting all around us and we probably got almost an inch of rain in about 30 minutes. Just another typical Destin afternoon.
It was a busy week for Sunshine Cindy and I. Wednesday evening we hosted a parrot head board meeting at our house. It was a chance for us to show off all the hard work we have done to the house while we got some parrot head business done. We had a fun and productive meeting.
Friday evening was our monthly parrot head meeting at Landshark Pizza. Dean Sadowski provided the music and everyone had a fun time. The club also made a check presentation to, “Take Stock in Children.” This is an excellent local charity that helps under privileged kids earn college scholarships. Our club continues to Party with a Purpose.
Saturday the club had our first beach cleanup of the year on the island. I didn’t make it as I had some things I needed to do but once again the club left the beach in better shape than when they got there. Later in the day we met up with our friends Dottie and Steve to help them celebrate their wedding.
Sunday morning Sunshine Cindy and I made a Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond run. After we were done we stopped in at World of Beer for brunch. We enjoy stopping there and getting there early on Sunday was perfect as not many tourist were out yet. After brunch we went home and worked on the outside bathroom getting it all fixed up and ready for guest. We got done with a little time to spare before the thunderstorm hit.
Something I had not seen before in Destin was a truck driving down our street spraying for mosquito’s. It was Tuesday evening when they went by. I thought that was only something that was done in the Keys.
Around town the new FUBAR on the island is not getting good reviews. I heard from a friend who has been there and said the service is slow and the people working there are not friendly. That’s not good for a place trying to change the image from the old Helen Back days.
Speaking of Helen Back…Their old location in Niceville is being taken over by Props. The craft beer guys from Props are really growing.
Also in Niceville Ernie’s Dockside Café and Oyster Bar is closing. This seems to be Ernie’s MO. Stay open in a place for a couple years then shut it down and open somewhere else. The location is nice so I bet someone else will take over the building.
My poor Cleveland Cavaliers took it on the chin in the finals. They gave away game one with a JR Smith mental blunder despite LeBron having the game of his life. Oh well, maybe next year.
And speaking of LeBron…Last week I saw a post on Facebook where people were ripping him for stating his views on the state of the country saying he is only a BB player and no one cares about what he has to say. Whether I agree with LeBron or not he has the right to voice his opinion just like anyone else. Our country is turning into a, “I only want to hear what you have to say if you agree with me” country and that is sad. :-(
Our Southern Illinois friends Alan and Jackie come to town this weekend with their family for a visit. It will be great to see them all again!
Have a fantastic week. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
It was a busy week for Sunshine Cindy and I. Wednesday evening we hosted a parrot head board meeting at our house. It was a chance for us to show off all the hard work we have done to the house while we got some parrot head business done. We had a fun and productive meeting.
Friday evening was our monthly parrot head meeting at Landshark Pizza. Dean Sadowski provided the music and everyone had a fun time. The club also made a check presentation to, “Take Stock in Children.” This is an excellent local charity that helps under privileged kids earn college scholarships. Our club continues to Party with a Purpose.
Saturday the club had our first beach cleanup of the year on the island. I didn’t make it as I had some things I needed to do but once again the club left the beach in better shape than when they got there. Later in the day we met up with our friends Dottie and Steve to help them celebrate their wedding.
Sunday morning Sunshine Cindy and I made a Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond run. After we were done we stopped in at World of Beer for brunch. We enjoy stopping there and getting there early on Sunday was perfect as not many tourist were out yet. After brunch we went home and worked on the outside bathroom getting it all fixed up and ready for guest. We got done with a little time to spare before the thunderstorm hit.
Something I had not seen before in Destin was a truck driving down our street spraying for mosquito’s. It was Tuesday evening when they went by. I thought that was only something that was done in the Keys.
Around town the new FUBAR on the island is not getting good reviews. I heard from a friend who has been there and said the service is slow and the people working there are not friendly. That’s not good for a place trying to change the image from the old Helen Back days.
Speaking of Helen Back…Their old location in Niceville is being taken over by Props. The craft beer guys from Props are really growing.
Also in Niceville Ernie’s Dockside Café and Oyster Bar is closing. This seems to be Ernie’s MO. Stay open in a place for a couple years then shut it down and open somewhere else. The location is nice so I bet someone else will take over the building.
My poor Cleveland Cavaliers took it on the chin in the finals. They gave away game one with a JR Smith mental blunder despite LeBron having the game of his life. Oh well, maybe next year.
And speaking of LeBron…Last week I saw a post on Facebook where people were ripping him for stating his views on the state of the country saying he is only a BB player and no one cares about what he has to say. Whether I agree with LeBron or not he has the right to voice his opinion just like anyone else. Our country is turning into a, “I only want to hear what you have to say if you agree with me” country and that is sad. :-(
Our Southern Illinois friends Alan and Jackie come to town this weekend with their family for a visit. It will be great to see them all again!
Have a fantastic week. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
Monday, June 4, 2018
“The Season” has started in Destin
The next two months will be traffic, people, hot and humid weather, thunderstorms, tourist…in short it is the summer season in Destin!
It began this past weekend. The normal Saturday influx of tourist had traffic on the Mid-Bay bridge connector backed up to Hwy 20. It was much worse in Ft. Walton Beach because of the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival. It was gridlock trying to get over the Brooks Bridge. I’m sure folks that were trying to get to their condo on Okaloosa Island were very frustrated. But like I always say, most of these tourist are from towns like Atlanta where a little traffic is a normal everyday occurrence.
I can almost hear BT Turner singing, “What Happens in Destin Leaves on Saturday!”
Sunshine Cindy and I spent the entire weekend finishing up projects around the outside of the house. Temps were around 90 each day with heat index over 100 degrees. We are so glad we have the pool to jump in and we did many times to cool off.
The only time I got out was on Friday when I stopped in at Landshark Pizza to get a pizza. Cindy decided to stay home and relax. Paige was working the bar. Right after I sat down Tom came in and joined me. I have not seen Tom since he bought out Melissa to become the sole owner of Fishheads. Tom has a great sense of humor. He had Paige and I cracking up. My pizza was fantastic as always. I have not had a Landshark Pizza since we got back from Costa Rica so I was having withdrawals. LOL
Other than that, I cranked up the grill on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We were able to wind down after working in the heat and humidity. BTW…The yard and decorations are all looking awesome.
The big news in Destin this past week was the start of Red Snapper season on Friday. Nothing fills up the charter boats with anglers like Red Snapper season. Paige said it looked like every boat in the fleet was gone on Friday. Destin has the largest charter fleet in the state so that is a lot of boats out fishing. I have seen some pictures and there are some huge fish coming in. Red Snapper is one of the best eating fish and everyone wants to catch them. The season is usually very short so the captains plan as many trips as possible.
Last week I mentioned the Ramada Inn on the island is now called, “The Island.” I heard from our friend Alan that the lobby bar has been expanded during the extensive remodeling they recently completed. Sunshine Cindy and I have spent many an evening at the old lobby bar with Alan and Jackie so we will be interested in seeing how much fun the new bar is.
Here is something off topic but since when did the “Dark Web” become a thing? You can’t watch TV anymore without a commercial imploring us to buy some type of software to make sure your personal info is not on the Dark Web. A year or so ago you never heard of this nebulous place. Now it is something to keep us up at night worrying about bad actors getting ahold of our most sensitive data. Personally I think the Dark Web is just another great marking campaign concocted by some nerd in an office in Silicon Valley. But that could just be my disbelieving self of all things you see. Now if this software was promoted on Facebook I would have to believe it because as you know, everything on Facebook is real!!! LOL
This week we have a Parrot Head meeting at Landshark Pizza on Friday evening. Saturday morning is our beach cleanup on the island so we have a full weekend coming up. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
It began this past weekend. The normal Saturday influx of tourist had traffic on the Mid-Bay bridge connector backed up to Hwy 20. It was much worse in Ft. Walton Beach because of the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival. It was gridlock trying to get over the Brooks Bridge. I’m sure folks that were trying to get to their condo on Okaloosa Island were very frustrated. But like I always say, most of these tourist are from towns like Atlanta where a little traffic is a normal everyday occurrence.
I can almost hear BT Turner singing, “What Happens in Destin Leaves on Saturday!”
Sunshine Cindy and I spent the entire weekend finishing up projects around the outside of the house. Temps were around 90 each day with heat index over 100 degrees. We are so glad we have the pool to jump in and we did many times to cool off.
The only time I got out was on Friday when I stopped in at Landshark Pizza to get a pizza. Cindy decided to stay home and relax. Paige was working the bar. Right after I sat down Tom came in and joined me. I have not seen Tom since he bought out Melissa to become the sole owner of Fishheads. Tom has a great sense of humor. He had Paige and I cracking up. My pizza was fantastic as always. I have not had a Landshark Pizza since we got back from Costa Rica so I was having withdrawals. LOL
Other than that, I cranked up the grill on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We were able to wind down after working in the heat and humidity. BTW…The yard and decorations are all looking awesome.
The big news in Destin this past week was the start of Red Snapper season on Friday. Nothing fills up the charter boats with anglers like Red Snapper season. Paige said it looked like every boat in the fleet was gone on Friday. Destin has the largest charter fleet in the state so that is a lot of boats out fishing. I have seen some pictures and there are some huge fish coming in. Red Snapper is one of the best eating fish and everyone wants to catch them. The season is usually very short so the captains plan as many trips as possible.
Last week I mentioned the Ramada Inn on the island is now called, “The Island.” I heard from our friend Alan that the lobby bar has been expanded during the extensive remodeling they recently completed. Sunshine Cindy and I have spent many an evening at the old lobby bar with Alan and Jackie so we will be interested in seeing how much fun the new bar is.
Here is something off topic but since when did the “Dark Web” become a thing? You can’t watch TV anymore without a commercial imploring us to buy some type of software to make sure your personal info is not on the Dark Web. A year or so ago you never heard of this nebulous place. Now it is something to keep us up at night worrying about bad actors getting ahold of our most sensitive data. Personally I think the Dark Web is just another great marking campaign concocted by some nerd in an office in Silicon Valley. But that could just be my disbelieving self of all things you see. Now if this software was promoted on Facebook I would have to believe it because as you know, everything on Facebook is real!!! LOL
This week we have a Parrot Head meeting at Landshark Pizza on Friday evening. Saturday morning is our beach cleanup on the island so we have a full weekend coming up. See ya next Monday!
Destin Steve
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