Trip report - 8/4 - 8/11

Well, our annual family vacation has come and gone and I%26#39;m pretty much over the ';man-I%26#39;m-home-and-this-stinks'; part. My wife, two kids (6 and 3) and I met my parents, my sister and brother-in-law at Oceania on Holiday Isle on Saturday 8/4. This was my first year to use the fast route from Montgomery, AL (we%26#39;re coming out of Chattanooga) and it was great! We left home at about 7:00 and rolled into Destin a little after 3:00, settled in and headed on down to the beach. There was some seaweed and a bit of surf but who cares - I%26#39;m in Destin! The rest of the family got in about an hour later and we set to work on our ';Grocery Attack Strategy';. To those of you that have been in Destin%26#39;s Wal-Mart on a Saturday night at this time of year, you will know why this is necessary. We grab some pizza on the way there (don%26#39;t get excited, it was just Pizza Hut :-)) and then hit the store. Three couples, three carts, three goals. One for deli, one for drinks and breakfast stuff and one for pretty much everything else. It worked - no one was maimed or killed!

The toughest part of the ride back to Oceania is having to pass The Track. Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Can we go tonight? Well, you get the picture.

Groceries are put away and the kids begin to crash after the long day. Saturday is over...lights out.

Why do I wake up at 6:30 the next morning? Who cares - I%26#39;m in Destin! I%26#39;m the only one up so I head out to the balcony (the address at the bottom of this post will take you to a panoramic shot I put together that very first morning) and soak in the heat and humidity. That%26#39;s going to be the theme for the week - hot and humid (and no breeze at times). Everyone else eventually makes it out of bed and we lather up with sunscreen, gather up our stuff and head down to enjoy the beach. There%26#39;s still a bit of surf and the seaweed is still there. It%26#39;s starting to gather up in spots and the water seems to be clearing though. The best thing about the clumps of seaweed is that the rays seem to enjoy hiding there. As I was walking/snorkeling out, I happened to notice something that looked like a long, thin fish hiding in a patch and I slowly make my way over to it. Once I%26#39;m closer, the wave action clears out this particular batch of seaweed and I find myself just a couple of feet away from a ray (he was about 3 feet across and I think was a Southern Stingray). This is a first for me and I actually swim along with it for a while and just enjoy watching it move through the water. I did keep my distance while swimming with him though, mostly because I didn%26#39;t want to stress him out but I also didn%26#39;t want to take any chances with his tail. Very cool few minutes though!

Deli sandwiches for lunch and later we head to Tony%26#39;s at the Commons for dinner. Pretty good, I had snapper, but I have a question - was Tony%26#39;s ever in the building that Sportsbook (I think that%26#39;s the name of the place) is in now? If so, they%26#39;ve really changed the feel of the place since moving to Destin Commons.

After that, we walk around and window shop a bit. Does anyone EVER buy anything at The Sharper Image? :-) We load up and head back to Oceania for the night.

Monday, we wake up to find crystal-clear waters and very little surf. It remains that way the rest of the week and actually becomes very pool-like by Wednesday. I swear you could almost hear those $10 body boards crying in the sand. :-) The yellow flag stayed up the entire week. I%26#39;m not sure why because I think the pool had more current. Since I%26#39;m talking beach conditions here, this was our first year to really see more than the occasional jellyfish. Those dudes were everywhere, everyday. I%26#39;m not talking a ';Finding Nemo'; kind of population, but at anytime I could look around and see 3 - 5 drifting along. It certainly didn%26#39;t keep us out of the water, but we did keep an eye out for them. We took the attitude of you might get stung, you might not - either way, just move on. We typically snorkel a few days at the jetties but the tides were not right this year. All high tides were very early morning. Even knowing that, we tried it one day and it was a bummer. Terrible visibility and the jellies were really moving in the current. If you can catch the jetties at high tide, the amount of marine life around them is truly a sight to behold. By the way, having about 2-3 feet of visibility while swimming among thousands of bait fish in 25 feet of water is probably not the brightest thing in the world to do. Big fish gotta eat too! :-) Bottom line: go at high tide.

For dinner, we head over to The Lighthouse. It%26#39;s a nice enough place, kind of has a Shoney%26#39;s vibe to it but the food is much better. Their early bird special is pretty cool - I think most everything is half-price until around 7:00 or so. We eat there because it%26#39;s on our way out to, you guessed it, The Track. I had preordered the tickets (you get a 10% discount if you order them off the website: http://www.destintrack.com/destin/cart_buytixnow.asp) so we walked in prepared. We pretty much do everything except the Sky Swing. I%26#39;m not sure my 6 year old has forgiven me yet for backing out of that one. We%26#39;re there until 11:00 or so and then head back to the condo tired but happy.

Tuesday and Wednesday are basically carbon copies of Monday. Beach in the morning, head back to the condo when the temps hit 140 or so and then head back out later in the day to get a little more sand/water time and gather up our stuff. On Wednesday night, we headed over to the Old Bay Steamer restaurant. My wife and I got the snow crab and shrimp for two. I won%26#39;t even try to describe it because I will fail. I know the crab is imported, but that was the best I%26#39;ve ever had! All crab is not created/cooked equally and you will know this after a trip to Old Bay. Oh, it%26#39;s got a funky little atmosphere too, that was cool. One other note, I%26#39;m not sure of the dressing on their salad, but it%26#39;s definitely in the ';slap your mama'; league.

Thursday morning we rent from Sunshine Pontoon and, on our way there, we stop at Half-Hitch and rent some fishing gear. It%26#39;s $10 per reel and $7 per person for a three day fishing license. We hit the docks just before 9:00am and head out for the day. Chris told me to get there early and we could have our pick of the boats. He was right and we got a nice one (24ft) in great condition that all eight of us could comfortably move around on. What a blast this was! We head over to Crab Island, of course, and do some snorkeling and fishing on the backside of that. We only caught catfish - apparently they have a real taste for squid. It%26#39;s not exactly hauling in a marlin, but try telling my two kids that. They had a great time! Around 11:30, we head over to Dewey Destin%26#39;s and dock. It wasn%26#39;t very crowded at all. I got the fried amberjack and thoroughly enjoyed that. Sitting there with my family, tossing back fish that wasn%26#39;t caught off the coast of South Africa and watching my kids be completely entertained by seagulls and jellyfish instead of Spongebob was one of those small, magical moments that make Destin a truly special place for me.

We finish up and head back out fat and happy. We cruise around the bay for a while and then back to the harbor to finish out our day. To those that might think eight hours is too long, trust me, it%26#39;s over before you know it. On our way back to the condo, we stop by Sexton%26#39;s and pick up some shrimp to boil that night. Another quick stop by Winn-Dixie for corn and potatoes and, well, you probably know how this one ends.

Friday, my wife and I sneak away to Ciao Bella for a quiet lunch together. That was our first time there and we really enjoyed it. I had the spaghetti with Italian sausage and I%26#39;ve honestly forgotten what she ordered. I do know we were both very happy with our choices. The bread and oil were especially impressive. The oil has a small kick to it that%26#39;s really nice.

Later that night, we make one more run at The Track and then head back to the condo for our last night. Time to prepare for the inevitable...

Saturday morning arrives and after much packing, weeping and moaning, we leave Oceania and Destin. We are typically only down there once a year, but I may be able to convince my wife that an October trip (planned around fall break) should become a tradition as well. :-)

You may have to copy and paste this into your address bar:

…photobucket.com/albums/…OceaniaBalcony.jpg

Trip report - 8/4 - 8/11

signalckr, great trip report. Sounds like you guys really enjoyed yourselves. Old Bay Steamer and Dewey Destin%26#39;s are favorites of mine too.

To answer your question about Tony%26#39;s. No it was not in the building that Sportsbook is in. However, there was an Italian restaurant called LaRocco%26#39;s in that building. LaRocco%26#39;s has closed and the owner is opening a restaurant in Atlanta.

Several years ago before Destin Commons opened, Tony%26#39;s was located in Crystal Beach where Camille%26#39;s is now.

Great Photo!!

Trip report - 8/4 - 8/11

Loved the report. It%26#39;s 5:30 am and I can%26#39;t sleep because only 1 more day till I will hear, ';Can we got to the Track tonight PLASE??'; over and over from my two.

What a great trip report! I thoroughly enjoyed your humorus take on everything. Your photo is beautiful too.

Only 22 more days until we hit Destin!

Great trip report! I%26#39;m still suffering from Destin withdrawal and we were there in June!

I loved your report- great detail and funny too. If I think about the ';after shock'; feeling when we get back, I might not go at all (well, not really) but it is a sad day when you leave. Thanks for sharing esp. the picture.

That was a wonderfully entertaining and informative and jam-packed trip report. Thanks, signalckr!

Funny, wonderful report. Realy enjoyed reading it.

Great report! I laughted out loud at your 1st sentence. One can never have too much beach! I agree about the bi-annual trips. See you at the beach!

Hello Signal!! Thanks for this wonderful discription of your visit to Destin!! Your words made me feel as if I was there! THX!! BarB...we go back in 27 days, after being there 10 days this past June! Am I obsessed?? haha

Enjoyed your trip report. Can you explain what is, ';the new fast route from Montgomery, AL';. We drive all the way from Cortland, OH (1,000 miles) and that last leg of the journey is a KILLER !

Thanks!