We’re Back!

Sunshine Cindy and I are back from our trip to the Keys. We had a great time spending a few days in Key Largo then a week in Key West. We got back to Destin late Tuesday evening and I was back at work and reality on Wednesday morning. While we were gone the episode of Red Tide that was hitting Destin dissipated. It was nasty in Destin when we left with a lot of dead fish and some issues breathing. Glad to say it’s back to normal now.

Destin also got hit with a lot of rain while we were gone. There was some flooding but nothing too serious. I am glad to say since we got back it has been beautiful with warm temps during the day and not too cold at night. I have even had the top down on BadAss3 a few nights coming home from work.

Around town Gilligan’s has closed for the season. They are one of the few restaurants that still close for the winter season. When I first moved to Destin almost 17 years ago just about everyone closed but we are now more of a year round destination so almost no one closes.

Down on the east end of the harbor we have some changes taking place. Landshark Pizza will be moving into their new location next to the Red Door Saloon this week. They will have a soft opening with a grand opening in a week or two. This will be a big place with plenty of TV’s to watch the games while enjoying good pizza, wings and good drinks. They will even have liquor now too.

We have not been to The Boathouse since we got home but I hear they will be closing for some remodeling soon. I will have to get down there to get the scoop. I also understand they have opened the old Dockside Bar with a new remodeled interior but the same good food from The Boathouse. I will have to check this out too.

The old KJ’s building just across from The Boathouse is either open or about to open as Duck Duck (I think that’s the name of it.) Chris from Helen Back is opening this concept. When I first heard about this in the spring he was going to have a food truck outside with drinks inside. I don’t know if that’s still the plan or not. It took them a lot longer to get permits for this location. They tore down the building that was there and built new from the ground up. Someplace else we have to check out. Geeze, we were only gone for 11 days and all kinds of things have changed.

In downtown Fort Walton Beach new owners have taken over the old Luxe Sports Bar. It is now called Buffalo Chips Sports Bar. Their hook is real Buffalo burgers on the menu. I have never had Buffalo and will need to try it.

Back in Destin at the corner of Restaurant Row and Hwy 98 the new extended stay hotel is starting to come out of the ground. It looks like they are not wasting any time and it might be open by the spring judging from the progress they have made.

Sunshine Cindy and I did get out a little this weekend once we got our bearings straight from our trip. Friday night was a parrot head meeting at LuLu’s. We have a full slate of candidates for the parrot head board for next year I am glad to say. The meeting was fun as we relived our trip to MOTM with our friends. We were one of the last ones to leave continuing our tradition of last man standing. LOL 

Saturday we had Sunshine Cindy’s parents over to the house. We had a nice visit with them. We were able to try some Code Rum we brought back from Key Largo. We know the owner of the company who makes this rum and it is really good. I hope we can get it stocked here in Destin at one of our local liquor stores. I have talked to Bill from Beach Liquor and he going to see what he can do. I hope he can get it here in Destin.

Sunday we went to Tailfins to watch some football. We got our usual spot and our friends Ed, Ken, Becky and Don came and joined us. The Browns sucked but we still had a good time. We went to Landshark Pizza after the game and had a chance to talk with Brian about the upcoming move. He is excited but also nervous as this is a big undertaking. Just after we got there Alan and Jackie came in. They are our snowbird friends from Illinois. They got into town the day we left for the Keys so this was our first chance to see them. They are good friends and we are glad they are back!

That’s about it for now. Enjoy your week. See ya next Monday!

Destin Happenings

Sunshine Cindy and I had a quiet few days in Destin. We did get out a little though. Friday afternoon we headed to The Back Porch restaurant for lunch. Julie joined us as we sat outside overlooking the water. It was a gorgeous day with the aqua blue water contrasting with the blue sky. The food was excellent as usual. We were surprised how crowded the place was for a late afternoon. There are still a lot of tourist in town I guess.

When we left we decided to stop in at the bar at the Palms to see what was going on there before heading home. There was one guy sipping on a beer at the bar but it started to fill up as residents were getting off work. Tommy came in and we talked to him. He told us Daniel and his girlfriend JoJo were back in town. Daniel is the percussionist for the Zac Brown Band and we had met him a few weeks earlier. They did come to the bar and greeted us like long lost friends. Daniel just finished a leg of the ZBB tour and he was now spending a week in Destin. It was great seeing them again.

Shannon came in. We asked her if the Sand Bar on the beach was still open as she manages it. She told us this weekend was the last weekend they would be open. We almost stopped in too.

There was a couple from New Orleans at the bar that we talked with. They own a few units at The Palms and were enjoying a weekend in Destin. They were nice folks.

Speaking of folks from Louisiana…A major brew-ha-ha erupted during the week about some LSU fans not being seated at Harry T’s for the Florida game the previous week. It had something to do with Harry T’s being the home to a Florida alumni association and those people not wanting LSU fans in their area. Anyway, this blew up into a major PR disaster for Harry T’s when someone in management went on Facebook and blasted LSU fans. That was not a smart thing to do. Harry T’s tried to minimize the damage but it was too late. People from Louisiana come to Destin in droves and right now Harry T’s is on their “stay away” list! Textbook case of how not to run a business.

Saturday Sunshine Cindy and I didn’t do too much. She went to get her nails done we did breakfast at the Waffle House but other than that, I spent most of the day doing some computer work and watching sports. Ohio State looked as good as they finally played up to their potential with J.T. at quarterback. The Tampa Bay Lightning had a tough overtime loss to Chicago. We just can’t seem to beat those guys.

Sunday I went to Landshark Pizza to watch the Browns game. I should have saved my time and money…they sucked. But Brian had the smoker going and smoked a bunch of wings. They were fantastic too. Sunshine Cindy stayed home getting ready for our trip to the Keys. We head south next weekend. Can’t wait…

I talked to Sue about when the new Landshark Pizza will open. She said it looks like sometime in the middle of November. They have extended their current lease for one month so they should be good to go with the move. Sue is excited as she is meeting her sisters in New Orleans next weekend for Halloween. They will have a blast for sure.

This is the last week of the fishing rodeo and soon the snowbirds will start to come to town. Our friends Alan and Jackie get here next week. We are looking forward to seeing them when we get back from the Keys!

I will most likely not publish a blog next week but will be back on track the following week with a full update on our trip. See ya then!

Cooler temps invade Destin

I know some parts of the country had some snow over the weekend so I won’t make a big deal out of it but we had some low temps in the 50’s Saturday and Sunday mornings. Yes, I am complaining. I don’t like cold weather. I want Summer to come back!

There was a lot going on in the area this past weekend with the Mullet Festival in Niceville, Southern Drawl Band in the area and a craft beer fest at Baytowne Wharf in San Destin. Sunshine Cindy and I took it easy though. Friday evening we stayed in hanging out on our back porch listening to Trop Rock music while having a few beers. Our neighbors came over for a while too. It was a gorgeous night and very relaxing. 

On Saturday afternoon we headed to the harbor and The Red Door Saloon. We wanted to get out for a while. A big crowd of locals had the bar full. College football was on and the beer was cold. We had some food and enjoyed the atmosphere at the bar. When we left we went back home and ended up watching some football and hockey on the TV. Both Tampa in hockey and Ohio State in football won their games.

On Sunday we finally got to see our friends with Southern Drawl Band perform. They had been playing in Pensacola and Navarre but on Sunday they were back at Crab Island Cantina. Opening for Southern Drawl Band was Kitty Steadman and Melanie Howe. Kitty is an up and coming country music star. Melanie is one of the most versatile percussion players in the business and they did a great show. Folks were stopping and staying at the Cantina to listen to them.

Then Southern Drawl Band did another one of their fantastic shows. These guys are so much fun and fantastic performers. We had a good crowd there to party with us. Folks were up and dancing from the first song to their last song. The band is heading south this week with shows in Tampa, Punta Gorda and then to Key West for almost a month of shows. Be sure to check them out!

Speaking of Crab Island Cantina…They will be closed for about two weeks starting November 1st. Above their kitchen is The Veranda. This space is being turned into several condo units. The construction will impact the kitchen as new piping will need to be run so the Cantina will be temporarily closed a couple weeks.

We also noticed the Harbor Shack is closed. Harbor Shack is next to the Boathouse. Sunshine Cindy and I stopped in there on several occasions this past year. It had been fixed up nice, they had the Big Red Truck selling food in the parking lot and it was a great people watching spot. I don’t know if they are closed for good or just for the season. It sure looks like it is closed for good though.

It was nice seeing Barry this weekend. Barry is a longtime friend of Wayne’s from Cincinnati who came down to Destin for a visit. We have not seen Barry in about 3 years. I think one of these days he might move to Destin. He loves it here.

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

Tourist still in Destin

Destin had another busy week with plenty of tourist still in town. It must have been Fall Break in some areas as there were a lot of families with kids here. As an example I stopped in at The Crust Pizzeria to talk to Charlie. There were two big groups of families in there eating pizza and pasta. You can tell they were tourist as they were talking about going to play putt putt and walk along the beach. Destin is becoming a more year round destination now.

Speaking of Charlie and The Crust, he has opened another location in Mary Ester next to the mall. He said they are doing well as that location caters to local residents in the area. With his satellite location outside AJ’s and this new place, Charlie is starting to put together a pizza empire!

Friday night the ECPHC held its monthly meeting at LuLu’s in Destin. A big turnout of almost 100 parrot heads partied with a purpose. We packed out the inside bar area but the rest of LuLu’s was also full. They seem to be doing very well since they opened.

On Saturday I wanted to go watch the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game. They had a day game that started at noon. I went to Landshark Pizza to watch the game and Sunshine Cindy joined me a while later. Glen was being trained as a new cook. Both Brian’s were there and Austin came in about the time the game ended. The Lightning won too! Plenty of college football games were also on. Having so many sports to choose from is a guy’s dream! LOL

We hung around Landshark for a while sitting outside. Brian sat with us and we talked about the new Landshark. They are about a week behind schedule on the build out but that’s not too bad. They should be opening in their new location around the end of this month. It’s an exciting time for Landshark as they are hiring new cooks and servers as they prepare to make the move to this bigger place. They will have a full bar too so they are also hiring bartenders. It will be cool to have them on the harbor.

On Sunday Sunshine Cindy and I decided to go to Tailfins to watch the Browns game. We have some friends who are Ravens fans and that was the team the Browns were playing. We knew they would be there and we would have a fun time rooting back and forth. They did show up and we all had a fun time. The Browns actually won so I had bragging rights. I don’t get to gloat too often. We also saw a bunch of friends there. Cheryl was our server, Wayne, Tommy, Kerby, Rhett and others were there watching games. The view is perfect at Tailfins and it’s a fun place to watch the games when you have a nice day.

Don’t forget we still have our Crab Island Mambo tee’s and tanks on sale. Get your own slice of Destin before they are gone! http://crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

Stay-Cation in Destin

This was a wild and crazy week in Destin. It started with a monsoon. Last Monday it rained in Destin. I mean it REALLY rained…like 12-14 inches of rain in about a ten hour span. It had been pretty dry around here but that was ended quickly. We received some rain in the early hours of Monday morning but it was mostly dry as I drove to work. Then about 10 am it started to rain. Heavy rain would be followed by monsoon rain then back to heavy rain. By the time I left for home from work there were reports of flooding all around. The normal areas that flood were once again under water like in front of the new Holiday Inn on the island. But then I saw places like the parking lot for the Gulfarium under water and ponds overflowing I knew it was bad.

Driving across the island was an adventure. At times I could not see more than a few feet in front of me the rain was coming down and blowing so hard. I stayed on Hwy. 98 all the way to Airport Road figuring it would be better than getting on some of the back roads. It was a great strategy until I had to turn left onto Airport Road. The intersection was flooded but I was committed and made it through.

From the Destin Log

The next problem I knew was going to be my sub division. We flooded out two years ago and I figured it to be bad this time. I made it home but the streets were underwater. At least it was not onto the sidewalks yet. About a half hour after I got home the water was rising. It got about half way up our driveway before the rain stopped about 9 pm. If I had been coming home that half hour later I would have had to park at the office complex and walk in the water and rain home. Glad I didn’t have to do that!

I also saw some pictures posted on line about 8 pm showing the Airport Road intersection completely flooded out and cars stuck. It was a rough time but Destin survived! When I left for work Tuesday morning it was actually dry on the road in our neighborhood. Wow!

I did see the funniest thing on my way home during the storm. I was sitting on the downslope of Brooks Bridge stopped for the light when a big blow up shark came blowing across the road. It blew away from Alvins Island but it looked real as it was dodging cars and just kind of “swimming” along! Lol It must have ended up at High Tide.

This past weekend was the annual Destin Seafood Festival. This festival has grown into one of the largest in the area. Over 70,000 people visit the festival during the three days. The entire area along the harbor from Crab Island Cantina to the Yacht Club is crowded with vendors and musical acts. Our friends the Southern Drawl Band was the Saturday night headliners for the festival. But the band also had other shows in town.

Friday night they were at KC’s Sandbar in Fort Walton Beach. The weather was cold (okay, cold for us Floridians) with temps in the 60’s and the wind blowing hard. But we still had a fun time. The show they did on Saturday at the festival was off the hook. They played for two hours and that time flew by. The guys made a lot of new fans that night. Then on Sunday they were at Crab Island Cantina for a show. The festival was winding down as they did another fun show. Check them out when you can…Southern Drawl Band.

Our mini Stay-Cation actually started on Thursday evening. Sunshine Cindy and I went to World of Beer for a benefit for Alaqua animal rescue shelter. Rob Roman’s was playing for the benefit. Two dollars from each beer sold with a dog in the name went to Alaqua. This was our first time getting to hear Rob and we really enjoyed his music. We had some good beer, good food and was able to help raise some money. That made it a nice evening.

One of Destin’s great attractions is the Legendary Marina building at the foot of the Mid-Bay bridge with the whales painted on the building. This was painted by world famous artist Robert Wyland. There are only 100 of these large scale marine life murals that Wyland has done around the world and Destin has one. Wyland is back in Destin refreshing the five acre mural and adding to it. A little known fact is Wyland painted a giant American Flag on the top of the marina so the pilots from Eglin AFB can see it every time they go out for training missions. That’s way cool.

In the small world department, a friend of Wyland’s who came up to Destin with him from Punta Gorda is also a fan of the Southern Drawl Band. She was at the show at KC’s on Friday and at the seafood festival on Saturday. Yep, a small world indeed.

Over in Fort Walton Beach the city has bought the building that housed the Brooks Bridge BBQ. The city is always looking to add parking to the downtown area and bought this property when the owners decided it was time to retire. They will raze the building and add more parking in the next few months.

In Destin at the Commons they have announced a new hotel will be built. They didn’t say who was going to operate it but construction is to start soon.

Don’t forget we still have our Crab Island Mambo tee’s and tanks on sale. Get your own slice of Destin before they are gone! http://crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

No Super Moon over Destin

The entire country was excited to see the Super Moon on Sunday evening but it was not to be in Destin. We had scattered clouds all day but by the time the moon was rising (no, it was not a bad moon rising either) the clouds were thick. We had about a five minute period where the moon was visible but that was all. It was impressive for that five minutes though.

Sunshine Cindy and I had a laid back kind of weekend. Friday evening we went to KC’s Sandbar in Fort Walton Beach for the parrot head phlocking. Jan was playing for us and we had a good time. It was good seeing Matt and Tia behind the bar keeping everyone stocked up on drinks. Steve, Dottie, Mark, Stephanie, Ann, Cajun Mike, Terry, the Linda’s…and a cast of dozens more were there having a good time.

The KC’s complex is adding a new establishment. TASTE Tapas & Wine Bar is going into the old Fokkers location. Fokkers has moved across Hwy. 98 so that opened the location for Mike and Bev to take it over. TASTE will be doing a soft opening this week. Mike let us tour the new place and it’s awesome. This will not be a highbrow kind of wine bar but more like your living room. When added to the Sandbar, the sports bar and Tapworks for craft beer the KC’s family of establishments has all the bases covered for your eating and drinking fun.

I started out Saturday with a relaxing bike ride. The beach was beautiful and the water was calm. What a great way to start a day. In the afternoon Sunshine Cindy and I went to Landshark Pizza. I needed to get my pizza fix taken care of. We watched the Ohio State game while others were watching various other games. Pop and Jenny were there. Glen came in and sat with us. Jason, Brian, Ryan, Hailey and Jeanette were all working. The place stayed busy.

We had a tourist lady from Mississippi come in and sit next to us. She was asking about the LSU game (they won) and enjoying a weekend away in Destin. She left and a couple of tourist from Atlanta took over those seats. This time of the year everyone talks college football and they were no different. It’s a fun time of the year.

Sunday we went to Sunshine Cindy’s parent’s house to watch the Browns game. We should not have wasted our time. They didn’t play good at all. Oh well, there is always next week.

We had a bunch of our friends go to Panama City Beach this weekend for Chasin’ the Sun music festival. Saturday night Alan Jackson was the headliner. Our friends all had a great time. They did remark how Margaritaville was closed by 10 pm when the concert was letting out. No wonder the Margaritaville chain is having problems.

Our friend Charley is opening a second Crust Pizza location. This one will be in Fort Walton Beach next to the mall by McDonalds on Page Bacon Road. Sunshine Cindy and I love going to the Crust location in Destin. They have great pizza and pasta dishes. I know the new Crust will be just as good. I will check it out and give a full report soon!

Down on the Destin harbor the old Electric Cowboy (and Capt. Dave’s before that) two story brick building will be re-opening this week. Harbor House Destin is a restaurant / bar / nightclub / live music venue that will feature New Orleans style cuisine and cocktails. They will have a soft opening this Thursday with Robert Wayne playing then Friday Ron Adams will be on stage. It will be interesting to see how another big club does in this town.

This weekend is the big Destin Seafood Festival. The entire harbor area will become the place to be with over 70,000 people converging there to eat, shop and listen to music. Our good friends, the Southern Drawl Band will be playing the main festival stage on Saturday night starting at 8 pm. Get there early for a good spot to watch SDB rock the festival.

Southern Drawl Band will also be playing at KC’s Sandbar on Friday night starting at 9 pm and at Crab Island Cantina on Sunday starting at 5 pm. Check these guys out. They are great!

We still have plenty of Crab Island Mambo tee’s and tank tops plus the three long sleeve shirts still on sale. “Embrace the Chaos” with your own Crab Island Mambo shirts!!! http://crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya next Monday with a full recap of the good times.

Destin Florida - Living and Playing Blog

Wow, what a great week Sunshine Cindy and I had. It started out last Monday evening at Crab Island Cantina’s new bar, Charley’s BBB. (Beer, Burgers and Bourbon!) You can add sports to that too as they have tons of TV’s and the sports packages. They were having a soft opening and we got invited to attend. Julie joined us for a fun evening. We tried some burgers that were great as well some of the other appetizers they have. With many different types of bourbons and craft beers, this place is going to be a big hit. Charley’s is the inside bar at the Cantina. Go check them out.

Friday night we went across the bay to visit Sunshine Cindy’s parents. They had returned from a trip to Minnesota. They had a good time visiting family and friends but they were glad to be back home in paradise. It was a nice visit we had and they had some fresh apples for us too.

Saturday was a typical Destin day down on the harbor. Sunshine Cindy and I started out at the Red Door Saloon. They have upgraded their menu at the Red Door. They used to only have hot dogs but now have a full range of bar food. It’s good and the beer is still some of the cheapest in town. Kyle was behind the bar taking care of us. We got to talking about football. Kyle is originally from Cincinnati so we had fun with me bring a Browns fan.

Wayne joined us. He had been in Cincinnati a few weeks before and promised to bring us a can of Skyline Chili. Everyone in Cincy loves Skyline Chili. Well, he had the can with him so I had to show Kyle what we got. He joked we better not turn our back or he would take the can…he loves that chili that much. LOL  While at the Red Door we saw some biker friends we have not seen in many months. We also talked to Bruce who is the weighmaster for the fishing rodeo. The rodeo runs the entire month of October and Bruce is there every day. He is ready!

Now this is where the typical harbor crawl part begins. We decided to walk down to Charley’s. On the way we talked to Jonelle who was working a charter booth. Then we ran into Missy who was also hanging out. At Charley’s we got “our” table and enjoyed some food and drinks. Carlos came out to see us and he made us some Enamine. It was really good. I will have it again. We watched some football and enjoyed being in air conditioning as it was pretty warm out.

As we left Charley’s Renee was having dinner at the Cantina. Her husband is now the chef for the Cantina. Good for them. As we walked back down the harbor we noticed Shark Shack and Hooks were both closed. Turns out they didn’t have any water. What a tough day to be closed as there was a lot of people walking the harbor. We went on and stopped at the outside bar at Tailfins. A lot of people were inside watching college football but we pulled up a couple of chairs to enjoy the fresh air.

As we sat there Bobby walked by. Bobby is a Cajun who was celebrating the LSU victory. Not too much later Skip and Brenda also walked by and talked to us. Wayne joked that is seemed like we knew almost everyone that was out on the harbor. And that’s what makes it a typical Destin harbor stroll day.

From there Wayne headed home and so did Sunshine and I. But we decided to make one final stop at The Palms to see what the bar situation was like now that Brink and Spoon was closed down. The inside bar was not open but the outside back bar was. A big crowd of regulars were there. Tommy, Shannon and others we knew by sight but not name were all there having a good time. Now we know we can still get a drink there if we want to.

Sunday was a little more subdued but not by much. I wanted to once again watch the Browns game. We went back to Tailfins to watch the game and had the same table as we had the previous week. The view of the harbor makes watching the game from Tailfins so cool. You have the water and boats on the harbor and the football game at the same time. You can’t beat that. And the Browns won too! That was icing on the cake. As the game was winding down Ken and his lady came to watch the Ravens game that was coming on next. We stayed for a while with them then headed home so I could be ready for the upcoming work week. All in all we had another great week in Destin.

I did hear some news about a new chain store that is coming to Destin. The shopping center that has Bealls and Bealls Outlet will soon have a Dick’s Sporting Goods store. This is supposed to be a 50000 sq ft store. The shopping center will undergo a major rebuild to accommodate Dick’s. Several of the retail outlets that are currently there will either move or be bought out of their lease. The Vietnamese restaurant will be closing. I don’t know what is going to happen to Wendy’s Kitchen. They seemed to be doing well. There is also a car rental and gulf cart place that I don’t know about either. The dentist is being relocated by Dollar Tree. Yep, more changes for Destin.

Don't forget we have our Crab Island Mambo tee's, tank's and long sleeve shirts on sale. Here's all the details and how you can order your own piece of Destin! http://www.crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!