Crazy week in Destin

The past seven days have been wild in Destin. There was a home invasion, fires, a plane crash and many tourist in town. The home invasion was in the middle of the day but they arrested a guy for it. Not too much news about it so I am sure it was more than a random act.

The big news was a fire at AJ’s on Wednesday night. News spread on social media quickly as the fire was raging. The tiki bar Club Bimini burned. It looked horrible on some amateur video as the flames were shooting way up in the sky. But the good news is the flames were fanned by a strong wind and it was new palm fronds that were burning. They were recently put up on the roof and they had not fire proofed it yet. Everyone thought the entire building was going to be a total lost but they were actually open the next night with only the Club Bimini sustaining damage. There was no damage downstairs, not even water damage. Wow! We went to the AJ’s on Sunday and you would never know they had a fire unless you went upstairs.

Also on Wednesday there was a fire at the Matador Strip Club in Val-P. This was started in the attic by HVAC work. And last but not least at The Palms Resort in Destin a fire broke out on the fourth floor of the west tower. Luckily it was contained and did not spread.

Thursday evening when I got home from work Sunshine Cindy and I sat on our back porch. While we were back there we heard a bunch of sirens coming from the Henderson Beach park road entrance or so we thought. They were going on and off for quite a while. It turns out a small plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Two people lost their lives in the crash. Also on Thursday evening someone riding a bicycle on Commons drive was hit by a car and had to be rushed to the hospital. It was a crazy night.

Friday night Sunshine Cindy and I went to Landshark Pizza for our Parrot Head meeting. We had a blast. B.T. Turner performed for us. BT is a new performer in the Destin area but he used to perform in the Jacksonville area for many years. He said he was ready for change of scenery and moved to the Destin area. BT was great. He had the crowd going the entire night. He performed many oldies as well as many Trop Rock songs. This guy will be in big demand in Destin this summer.

On Saturday Sunshine Cindy and I had some errands to run. We went to the harbor so she could stop by Harry T’s and pick up some paperwork for Tiffany. We had Chaos with us and she was enjoying the harbor as well as the attention from people walking around. It was a nice day and the harbor was busy. With the holiday on Monday Destin was busy with tourist who came in for the weekend. After we had a Bloody Mary and walked around we headed to Fort Walton Beach to see our accountant Tommy.

The traffic in Fort Walton was like a summer day. It was backed up from the Brooks Bridge all the way to City Hall. It was nuts. After we got done with Tommy we headed to Niceville to spend some time with Sunshine Cindy parents. They just had their 55th wedding anniversary. We had a nice visit and Chaos enjoyed going to their dock to see the bay.

Sunday was our hockey watching party at Charlie’s BBB bar inside of Crab Island Cantina. Darla, Bob, Wayne, Alan and Jackie joined Sunshine Cindy and I. Jasmine took good care of us. We had a blast but Tampa lost on a bad call. Carlos was there and we talked to him about BT. We hope they work out some shows. When we left Charlie’s the harbor walk was almost empty. This is when we walked down to AJ’s for a nightcap.

Today we had lunch at Pepito’s. Good food and not too expensive. I went down to Landshark pizza after lunch and it looks like we will have Matt Hoggatt playing there on Saturday April 30th from 4-7 pm. Matt used to open for Jimmy Buffett and is a great story telling musician. It will be fun!

Okay, let’s see if things can calm down around Destin this week. I will have a full update next Monday!

Destin Steve

Living and Playing in Destin

The restaurant carousel continues to spin in and around Destin. McAlister Deli in Destin appears to have closed. They have been in town for many years but the building is now dark and the sign is gone so I would say they are done.

There are a couple of new places that will be opening in the near future. Asiago's Skillet is a breakfast place on the island next to Helen Back. They are getting ready to open a second location Destin. It will be on the harbor in the same building Landshark Pizza is in. They will be a late night place open from mid-night till 11 am or so serving just breakfast especially for the late night drunks on the harbor. LOL  No time frame on when they will open but I expect it will happen in a few months.

Down on the island on north side by the strip clubs there is going to be built a big two-story restaurant right on the bay. The Gulf Okaloosa is a new place from the folks that have The Gulf in Orange Beach, AL. The concept looks like it will be a fun place. This will take some time to build but probably by the end of the year they could be open I would think.

On the down side Mamma Sherry’s pizza and wings is having a hard time getting through the winter. There was a story in the Destin Log highlighting their struggles then the other night WEAR TV did a piece on them too. Wow…someone likes them to get them this much publicity. Sunshine Cindy and I have only been there once and it was okay but nothing special. We will have to try them again as we want to see everyone succeed.

This past Saturday was the big Mardi Gras parade in Harborwalk Village. Thousands of people lined the route while almost 100 floats took part in the parade. I walked with the parrot heads as we always have a big group in the parade. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time.

Before the parade I started the day at Crab Island Cantina with a Bloody Mary that was great. After the parade my first stop was at The Crust Pizzeria. Charley was there and Biker Joe came in at the same time I did. With the parade still going on no one was in the place. We all had a chance to talk and catch up. Charley poured us each a few shots of Fireball too. I like Charley! LOL  From there I went to Harry T’s where some of the parrot heads were partying. Then it was to Hooks on the Harbor. Sitting there I could listen to the music from AJ’s as they had a good Zydeco band.

Wayne joined me at Hooks and we went to the Boathouse. We ran into a bunch of friends there plus Wayne was filling me in on his trip to Belize. He had a great time down there. Last stop of the day was at Landshark Pizza to have a pizza before heading home. Landshark was busy with the evening dinner crowd.

Super Bowl Sunday saw Sunshine Cindy and I go to Charlie’s BBB Bar inside of Crab Island Cantina to watch the game. We had about 20 of our friends join us. Josh, Mike and the staff took great care of us. Julie and Alan were the last two in our Super Bowl Pool with Julie having Denver and Alan with Carolina. Not only did Julie win the pot she also won the big prize in the “squares” contest. She went home about $600 richer. Good for her!!!

Our pup Chaos keeps growing. She is up to 32 pounds now. She is now able to leap on and off the sofa too. We took her to the dog park a couple times this week including on Sunday. She loves the attention she gets from all the people there and she loves to play with the other dogs. The dog park is great as she can run and burn off energy.

This week we have a parrot head meeting at Landshark Pizza on Friday. Then Sunday we are having a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey watching party at Charlie’s BBB Bar. The game starts at 5. Come out and join us!

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

Destin in the Winter

We are in the middle of the winter doldrums in Destin. The snowbirds are out doing snowbird things. The weather is kind of acceptable. It’s either wet and warm or dry and cold. But we did have a great day on Saturday…it was dry AND warm.

With the nice day on Saturday Sunshine Cindy and I decided to take Chaos to the harbor. This would be her first time down there. We want her to get socialized and there is no better place than the harbor to do that. Our first stop was at The Crust Pizzeria for lunch. We sat outside on the patio and it was actually hot sitting out there. I had a baked ziti dish with Italian sausage that is to die for. I could eat that every day! Sunshine Cindy had a salad and chicken. All the food was excellent and with lunch prices very affordable. Chaos sat with us and behaved while we ate.

After lunch we walked the harbor boardwalk. Our first stop was at Fishheads. Melissa was opening for one of the first times this season. She is ready to get the new season started. Chaos was becoming the star of the show. Everyone wanted to pet her and she was loving it. Chaos was good with other dogs too. She does not bark and if they get to rough she just walks away.

We left Fishheads and made our way down to Duck Duck. This is in the old Monkey Bar/KJ’s location. They did a nice job with this place rebuilding it completely. This was our second time stopping in there and the bartenders are friendly with a good mix of locals there. Chaos made several new friends there too.

Next stop was The Boathouse. It was busy and loud but that didn’t bother Chaos. Bree took care of us and even got Chaos a bucket of water. The GM, John stopped and talked with us for a while too. He was excited as The Boathouse had just won the Gumbo cook-off at the fishing history museum. I love their gumbo so it’s not surprising they won. We also saw and talked to Jack for a few minutes. We lamented how close his wife Lynn got to being in the final two of the Super Bowl pool. She had Arizona who got knocked out in the championship game. Oh so close!

Our last stop was up the hill to the Red Door Saloon. We were in the outside area with Chaos. Our friend Ken came in with Lisa and Brad and they all joined us. Ken loves dogs and he immediately took to Chaos as she did to him. He had her running around and biting his beard. They both had a good time. lol

By now Chaos was a tired puppy and we took her home. She fell asleep in Sunshine Cindy’s arms on the ride home. 

We also had a busy day on Friday. I received a phone call from Carlos at Crab Island Cantina. He said they were filming a commercial starting at 2 pm and he wanted us to come down to be part of “the crowd.” We got Alan and Jackie and Larry to also join us. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect as we had to act naturally while having some beers. We can do that! They filmed while we were sitting in the dining area, the bar and the outside dining area overlooking the water. They said the commercial will be on Beach TV starting in April. We can’t wait to see if we are stars!

After the filming we went inside Charlie’s BBB bar for some lunch. Sunshine Cindy and I split one of their burgers. These things are huge and really good. Alan and Jackie split some wings that were also big and looked great. Josh and Jasmine were working the bar but Jasmine went home sick. She didn’t look good so it was better that she left instead of getting everyone sick. Carlos was very appreciative of our support but we love going there so it was not work at all…lol…

The parrot heads were meeting up the village at Harry T’s so off we went. We had a blast with Jeff and the Camaro’s playing for us. He puts on a fun show. The place was packed. When the party was over a group of us went to the American Legion for Karaoke. Kelly and Judie got up and sang. We got a chance to talk with Steve and Becky from Oklahoma who were in town. They are good folks who get to Destin several times a year. It was a fun night.

Sunday we took Chaos to the dog park. Once again she interacted with the other dogs without a problem. Plus she was able to run as much as she wanted. The dog park is really a neat place in Destin. They have a side for smaller dogs like Chaos and a side for bigger dogs. We got Chaos good and worn out.

In the afternoon I made a run to Landshark Pizza to bring home some pizza. While there I sat with Alan and Jackie who were there. Steve, Jane and Jerry also came in and joined us. Austin was working the pizza bar as the place was filling up for dinner. I also got to say hi to Sue. She just got back from 3 weeks in Asia. Her trip was one of those once in a lifetime things. I can’t wait to hear some of her stories.

One bit of news from around town I heard is Alan Laird who owns AJ’s is buying the old Fudpuckers and current Oar House building on the island. I don’t know what he plans to put in there but I am sure it’s another type of restaurant that will also have entertainment.

Super Bowl is this Sunday. Crab Island Mambo will be at Charlie’s BBB bar inside of Crab Island Cantina. Come and party with us! Game time is 5:30 pm in Destin.

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

Slow time of the year in Destin

Other than the snowbirds we have in town, it is real quiet around Destin. It’s nice being able to get around town and not sit in traffic. Sunshine Cindy and I laid pretty low the past week ourselves only getting out to make a few trips to some stores for food for us and Chaos. Otherwise we were bums hanging out and doing things around the house.

The snow storm that roared up the Mid-Atlantic states actually brought a lot of rain and wind to Destin before it headed north. We had wind gusts up to about 40 mph with a gas station having its awning blown apart. It also got cold as we had highs only reach the 50’s and lows in the 30’s. This is totally unacceptable for us. Heck, it was even cold in Key West as they had to break out the long pants and socks. I am ready for summer!!!

With the NFL Championship games on Sunday we know now who is in the Super Bowl and who is still alive in our Crab Island Mambo Super Bowl pool. Julie and Alan are the last two alive in the pool. Bad news for Jan and Lynn as their teams lost. We will be doing a Crab Island Mambo Super Bowl party at a still to be determined location. I will announce where it will be in next week’s blog. 

Driving by the old Wendy’s in Destin I saw a sign saying Panini Pete’s will be moving in soon. This is a restaurant that started in Fairhope, AL and has since opened a location in Mobile. This is their first location in Florida. It will be interesting to see how they do here.

Our pup Chaos is getting big. She is up to almost 30 pounds now. She is so smart and learns quickly. She is good about not chewing on things in the house but then we don’t leave her alone for too long yet. Like any pup she loves to play. She also loves to be outside. Our walks around the neighborhood is more like an aerobic exercise as she wants to almost run the whole way. It’s good exercise for her and me!

If you want something fun to do this Saturday evening head out to Val-P and The Boathouse for a night of music from Rob Romans. The Boathouse in Val-P has good food, excellent drinks and a cool location on the water. Rob always puts on a fun show too.

Then head over to Panama City Beach on Sunday afternoon for a show by Gene Mitchell at Sharkey’s. Gene is a Trop Rock superstar who will have you up and dancing to his original songs.

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!!!

Destin Steve

Fun busy week in Destin

Sunshine Cindy and I were on the go a lot this past week. It started out Wednesday evening. We headed to KC’s Sandbar to listen to Trop Rock musician Don Middlebrook play. Don was going to start at 7 pm inside the big tent on the sand. Ten minutes before he was supposed to start he told us he was cancelling the show because they allowed people to smoke and he is allergic to it. That was a bummer but we still had a good time with our friends who showed up for the music. We all sat around and still had a fun evening.

Thursday was Julies birthday. A group of us celebrated it at McGuires. There were twelve of us around a big table. It was cool as they had a big Lazy Susan in the middle of the table that was used to get drinks and food to those of us on the back side of the table. It’s always fun getting together with our friends like that. 

Friday was a beautiful day. I washed BadAss3 as it had been a while. The sun was out and it was nice and warm. Friday evening was a parrot head meeting at the new Landshark Pizza. Landshark is the clubs new home. Brian and his staff did a great job taking care of us. Jan and Kenny played for our entertainment and they sounded real good in there. We had over 100 people show up to party with a purpose. The new board did a great job on their first night on the job too.

Sunshine Cindy and I headed home after the party at Landshark. It was still a warm evening so we sat out on our back porch. Before long our neighbors joined us. We ended up on the porch till almost 1 am. Even Chaos had enough and went in the house and laid in her bed to sleep.

We pretty much relaxed on Saturday. The parrot heads were marching the Mardi Gras parade on the island but decided to stay home instead. We did some things around the house and on the computer but that was it. I did head out for a while to Landshark to watch some football. I sat at the pizza bar. Austin was working there. I had some wings and a few beers. Steve and Ida came in and sat next to me. Steve is a real character. I enjoy talking with him as you never know what he might say. I left Landshark as the Packers game was starting and the place filled up. I watched that game at home. It was the most exciting game of the weekend.

This must be our week for birthdays. Wayne’s birthday is today but we celebrated it on Sunday at Charlie’s Burger Bar inside Crab Island Cantina. We had a good turnout of friends show up. We ate, drank and watched some more football. A perfect Sunday Funday! Josh and Jasmine were taking of our group. Carlos had warned them we were coming. It ended with Alan and Jackie coming in too. They had just got back from New Orleans.

Speaking of New Orleans…A huge trop rock party, Pardi Gras, was held there this weekend. Over 500 of our friends were there. This is one intense party that starts on Thursday and does not end till Sunday afternoon with only a few hours of sleep each evening slowing everyone down. We hated to miss it this year but we will be there next year for sure!

The snowbirds are back in full force. It’s amazing how a few can give the entire group a reputation of being cheap. Sunshine Cindy and her parents went to Millers Ale House for lunch one day this past week. They had a bad experience there as a sign at the entrance highlighted $2 drafts of Kona beer. She and her dad got that special but when the bill came they were charged regular price. Sunshine Cindy went back out to look at the sign to confirm the price. The waitress was arguing with them the sign did not say that. While she was arguing the hostess went out and erased the special. They got the manager there and showed him you could still see the outline of chalk where it had been erased. Someone should be fired for this.

While talking to the manager they told him they were not snowbirds looking for a free handout. He laughed and told them about a couple that came in earlier in the week. The lady wanted some hot water. She then took the ketchup and poured it into the water. She then took some crackers that were on the table and put them in the water/ketchup mixture. That was her meal. You would think that if folks can afford to come to Destin they can afford to eat while they are here.

Have a great week. See ya next Monday….

No one has been killed by a vending machine yet…

It seems like everyone in the country is obsessed with the Powerball lottery. Everyone had to buy tickets for last Wednesday’s drawing. No one won. They did the same thing for Saturday’s drawing. Again no one has won. The new jackpot is over one billion dollars. I think you can buy a pretty nice car with that. Lol  The problem with Powerball is the odds. You have a better chance of being killed by a vending machine than winning the Powerball jackpot. Personally, I have never heard of anyone being killed by a vending machine. But you have a better chance of that happening then winning this jackpot. I will put my $2 in my pocket and buy a beer instead.

Sunshine Cindy and I got out on Sunday to watch some football. We first stopped at Charlies Burger Bar inside Crab Island Cantina. We watched the Vikes/Seahawks game there. Carlos was there running around. Josh was behind the bar. We sat at the bar and enjoyed the game. There were a bunch of Seahawk fans in there and they left happy as the Hawks won when the Vikings kicker missed a chip shot field goal.

Sunshine Cindy is originally from Minnesota but she has Seattle in the Super Bowl pool so she was a Seattle fan for this game. She hooted and hollered as loud as the Seahawk fans did when the kick was missed.

From there we went to Landshark Pizza to watch the Packers play the Redskins. The place was packed as usual for a Packers game. We found some seats at the pizza bar. Alan and Jackie were there so we joined them. It was a lot of fun watching the Packer fans get all worked up but in the end they won easily. It was fun seeing Alan and Jackie.

Some friends of our went to Tailfins on Friday night. Mustang Sally was playing there. It looked like they had a good time. We were sorry we had plans and could not join them.

It was announced that a couple of big nightclubs in the area closed after the first of the year. Nighttown has been a Destin staple for almost 40 years. It catered to the young crowd from its location a couple blocks off Hwy 98. It was closed permanently. The same group also owns The Swamp on the island. The Swamp also closed but is being remodeled into a restaurant and late night music spot. The Swamp was open for over 15 years. I guess it’s hard to keep big places like those profitable when you are only open a few evenings a week.

At the airport in Destin construction has started on the new Control Tower. This has been several years in the planning stages but it finally happening.

In Fort Walton Beach they tore down the old Brooks Bridge BBQ building this past week. The city bought the place and will put in a parking lot. Across the highway from this new parking lot the Landmark Center is starting to see some activity. They have the construction site fenced off and it looks like they might be really starting it this time. It will include a hotel, condo’s, commercial space for restaurants and a parking garage. This is a major project for Fort Walton Beach.

Speaking of Fort Walton Beach…This Wednesday evening Trop Rock musician Don Middlebrook will be playing at KC’s Sandbar from 7-9 pm. Don is an award winning singer and songwriter. Come out and enjoy Don’s music. You might even get to see the TV guide he stole from Jimmy Buffett’s mailbox years ago in Key West. Lol

Have a great week. We have Don on Wednesday, a party on Thursday, the Parrot Heads meeting on Friday at Landshark Pizza and a Mardi Gras parade on the island on Saturday. Yep, it will be a busy weekend. See ya next Monday!

The first Destin blog of the new year

Welcome to 2016 everyone! Sunshine Cindy and I sent 2015 off with a bang and we welcomed 2016 to Destin in style. I was off the entire last week so it was nice being able to relax a little. Unfortunately we both were fighting a cold the whole time but that only slightly slowed us down but it didn’t stop us!

One of the highlights of the week was getting to the Pointe to spend some time at the beach. We got lucky that only time we saw the sun the whole week was the day we went. Hoov and Russ were there. Dave who lives on a sailboat was there too. Russ had Ginger with him and Sunshine Cindy came and brought Chaos for her first trip to the beach. The temps were in the upper 70’s and we actually got some sun. It was great. Then the clouds came back and within a few hours it was raining again. But it was fun while it lasted.

That was on Tuesday and that evening we went to Landshark Pizza for Music Bingo. It’s a lot of fun as you get to test your knowledge of songs. The place was packed and everyone had fun. We sat with Kenny, Becky and B.  We didn’t win any of the games but it’s a blast playing.

For New Year’s Eve we headed to O’Quigley’s for an early dinner and to watch some football. They had some good specials going on for the college semi-final game. We ate well and enjoyed some cold brews. As the second game with Alabama was getting closer to coming on, the place was filling up with Bama fans. That was our cue to head home! Lol

We got home and partied with our neighbors, the Sue’s. The pups played and we all shared drinks and some stories. It was a nice way to spend the evening away from the crazies. I heard there was a bad wreck on Hwy 98 in front of AJ’s where a car flipped over. The westbound lanes were shut down. What a mess that must have been.

Sunshine Cindy and I were total bums on New Year’s Day. We never left the house…And it felt fantastic! We did make up for it on Saturday though. We started at the Rotten Apple. Tommy and his dad were there. Tommy took the Capt home then came back for a while. Tracy was working the bar. There were some locals in there as it was pretty quiet.

From there we went to Landshark Pizza to meet up with Alan and Jackie. We had not seen them in a few weeks. Julie also came and joined us then Wayne also came. We had a good group sitting at the pizza bar. Austin and Ryan were making pizza’s left and right. Steve and Ida came in then Ken and Lisa also came in. Landshark is becoming the place to be seen!

As everyone was leaving, Wayne, Sunshine Cindy and I headed to the new place on the harbor called Duck Duck. Chris from Helen Back opened this place. It was the Monkey Bar. They completely tore it down and rebuilt. It is a nice place that is a late night spot. We will be back. From there we stopped in at The Boathouse. Gunner was playing and it looked like all the locals were there as it was packed. We saw Kenny, Tommy, Faye, Cajun Mike, Terry and many other friends. Gunner was rocking the place. It was cool out but at least there was no wind blowing. We finally called it a night and headed home to check on Chaos.

Football Sunday we headed to Tailfins. Don, Bobby, Darla and others we have seen there for the games all sat with us. The Browns season came to a merciful end…And of course the team fired everyone meaning they will start over again next year. Ugh…  But we did have fun partying with everyone. There were multiple games being watched so we could cheer for some of our friends teams as they won. After the games we headed home so I could get ready to get back to work today.

I did hear over the weekend the old Mangoes in Fort Walton Beach at the Cinco Bayou bridge is being taken over by Cash Moore and Alan Laird. Yes, the Cash from Cash’s Liquor store fame and Alan from AJ’s. Cash is going to run a liquor store there and they will still have a restaurant and bar that Alan will operate. This place never seems to be able to make a go of it but these two guys just might be able to change that. It is supposed to reopen sometime in the spring. Also in Fort Walton Beach by the mall a new Hampton Inn is being built. This should do well as it is close to the industrial park.

I also want to let everyone know we have extended our special sale on our Crab Island Mambo tee’s and tank top shirts through January!
Special Price…..Only $15 and TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE for any style or size of our favorite Crab Island Mambo shirts. (Yes, $15 gets you two shirts!!!)
CIM shirts make great gifts! Ladies look great in them...hint hint guys! And we will even hand deliver if you are in a 40 mile radius of Destin as we love to take road trips!
Be sure to email us before you order to ensure we have what you want as our stock is limited. info@crabislandmambo.com
Get them before they are gone! http://crabislandmambo.com/Crab-Island-Mambo-Merchandise.html

Have a great week. See ya’ll next Monday!!!