Summer in Destin

Well let’s see, this past week was hot and humid with a lot of tourist around and some thunderstorms…yep a typical week in Destin in the middle of summer.

I got back home last Tuesday from my trip to Ohio to help move my Mom. Hence there was no blog last week.

Since I got back, Sunshine Cindy and I went out on Saturday for a while. We had some errands to run and then headed to the harbor. We could not make the Parrot Head beach cleanup due to some morning appointments so we decided to get out later. We went to Tailfins. Victoria was working the bar and Bernadette took care of us. One of our local friends Ken was at the bar. We had not seen him in months. Turns out he lost his wife’s mom and dad in a month span and then his own mom passed. He has had a rough few months but it was good talking to him.

Tailfins stayed pretty busy with a lot of folks coming and going from the pontoon rentals. It was probably the hottest day of the year for Destin but we had a nice breeze. Tony was walking the docks and he came and hung out with us for a while. It’s always fun catching up with Tony.

Sunshine Cindy and I decided to go to The Boathouse before heading home. We sat at the outside bar where old friend Cam took care of us. It’s been a few months since we last saw Cam. Rusty was playing inside and a lot of folks were there. Very typical for The Boathouse! We probably headed home about 5 pm.

We found out the next day it was at that time a 18 year old got sweep out of Crab Island by a strong current. A couple of folks tried to rescue him but they almost died trying. Unfortunately this young man drowned and his body was recovered the next morning. This was an unfortunate accident but it’s something I’m surprised does not happen more often. That current when it is going out is very strong. People who don’t know the water can get in trouble fast. Please be careful at Crab Island.

Sunday Sunshine Cindy and I went to Callahan’s for brunch. It was nice and sunny when we got there but within 15 minutes we could see it was pouring down rain. My windows were cracked but we got lucky as the rain was straight down and no water got inside. We had a nice meal then went to check out a new Cajun meat market. Hebert’s recently opened just down from West Marine in the Gulf Shores shopping center. They have a ton of good looking food with boneless chickens being their specialty. It all looked great. We know where we are going for food for our next party.

Speaking of local markets…Sunshine Cindy stopped in at Destin Ice Seafood market on Friday and picked  up a pound of steamed shrimp. It was awesome! I love our local fresh seafood.

I heard a new Italian restaurant is opening up at The Commons. It will be in the old LaFamila location. Several years ago LaFamila burst on the Destin food scene and had a big local following. They were in the spot where Landshark Pizza is at now. They tried to expand by moving to the place above Crab Island Cantina. For a while they had both harbor locations open. Then they closed the original place and opened up at The Commons where Hard Rock used to be. Now all of the places are closed. Too bad because they had great food. I think they overextended themselves.

It was announced a new waterfront restaurant is going to be built and opened in downtown Fort Walton Beach next to The Landing. This is the continuation of the growth of downtown Fort Walton Beach. Our friends Mike and Bev from KC’s Sandbar has had a lot to do with this revitalization.

I saw this week where a familiar face down on the docks has passed away. Jimmy was always helping out on the boats or at some of the bars where he could make some money. You never saw Jimmy panhandling but instead he worked for his money. I don’t know where he lived but you could always find him on the docks. I heard cancer got him. RIP Jimmy…

Okay, one more week of tourist season and then it should start to slow down as schools prepare to reopen. We can do this!!!

The Parrot Heads are meeting this Friday at the new Village Door in Seascape. Come out and Party with a Purpose. See ya next Monday!

Destin Steve