Florida Bound

Friday morning we woke up bright and early and were on the road by 6:05am.  We were driving the whole twelve or so hours so we wanted to get a good bit of it out of the way by midday.  We made a few coffee stops, had a late lunch at this strange, utopian town called HomePlace where their motto is "Work, Play, Shop," and were at the bridge by quarter to seven.

We were staying at a hotel in Sandestin that night so it was fun to drive through Destin and see our old favorites, although the pizza place, Jordano's, that we made sure to get every year, was boarded up for good.

Since pizza was a no longer an option, we decided to walk to a Mexican place in the little shopping center our hotel was in.  It was pretty good, and by the time we got back we were all so tired that we went right to bed.

The next day we had a leisurely morning; sleeping in and getting coffee at the Starbucks down the street.  One of their espresso machines was broken so it took a good thirty or forty minutes to get a drink, but I didn't mind waiting.  Some customers, however, were not as patient and started snapping at the girl on bar who was just trying to keep up.  Having been in this position before at my own store, I could feel her pain.

Later on we drove back into Destin for a late lunch at one of our favs, Pompano Joe's.  It's right on the beach and features a nice variety of fried seafood dishes.

After some crab cakes and a local beer, we headed about thirty minutes down 30a towards our condo.  We still had enough time before we could check-in to stop at Publix for some groceries, and it was the craziest, most claustrophobia-inducing grocery run I've ever been on.  It seemed that everybody had the same idea!  But, we made it out alive with enough food items to last for a few days and continued the last bit of the journey.

What a view!  No matter how many times we come down here, I will never tire of seeing the great majestic ocean right outside the window.

Next, I ventured down the elevator, through the lobby, along the pool deck, and out the boardwalk to check out the water.  It was refreshingly cool and clearer than it has been in years: not one speck of seaweed!

I then went back up to the room where Dad had made cocktails and we spotted a group of dolphins out by the second sandbar.  They were jumping and flipping around, and I even saw one jump out far enough that you could see his tail fins!

All of this led to a beautiful sunset after a long day.  Our building faces slightly angled to the East so we don't have a complete sunset view, but the hallway balcony out the front door was a pretty good alternative.  Next day, beach day!!

(photos by e.hunt)