Tag: Destin

Day #3 – Just Chilling

Sunday, October 9, 2022

I can’t remember the last time I had to drive in the dark – especially in an unfamiliar place. A perk of being retired. I like Ubers but from my understanding, Ubers, Lyft, and Taxis are unreliable in Destin. So, I found myself behind the wheel to take Chuck, Beverley, the bridesmaid, and me to Lulu’s.

Unfortunately, I misread the GPS and turned too soon on the way to the restaurant. Took me a while to get it straightened out, so we ended up being the last of the group to arrive. However, we were still there way before our table was actually ready.

The restaurant was large and open, so it was very breezy. I should have brought my sweater. A couple of people in our group had to buy hoodies because of the chill.

When the table was finally ready about 8:30, Chuck and I ordered a seafood platter to split – fried shrimp, fried oysters, and a piece of fish that we ordered blackened. It was all very good. I got a piece of key lime pie to go. We finished dinner at 10:00. The videographer was there the whole time. She said she’s being doing weddings in Destin about 20 years.

Before we left, I bought a Destin Christmas ornament. Then, I drove us back to the condo, and at least I didn’t get us lost coming back.

I’m not surprised that I had a worse night than the one before. Despite taking two antacids before going to sleep, it was no match for all the fried food. I used to have a cast iron stomach. No more. I hope I don’t start having to eat dinner at 4:00. Will not be able to deny that I am officially old.

Got up today before the alarm and watched the sun rise from the balcony while I ate my key lime pie for breakfast (I did save some for Chuck). There were already people on the beach.

Chuck and I went to the pool about 10:00. Water was cold but the sun was very warm. We spent a couple of hours just relaxing and soaking up the sun. After having lunch, I did a load of laundry. Perk of staying at a condo versus a hotel. However, there is nothing like having someone else do it for you while you are relaxing on a cruise ship.

Day #2 – The Big Day

Saturday, October 8, 2022

We spent a while last night over at Nikki and Kevin’s two-bedroom condo. They were only a few doors down from us. They have a much larger balcony also. We ordered pizza from the resort bar and grill. It was definitely not a late night. We were all tired from the travel.

Unfortunately, I had a restless night. The bed was comfortable, but I tossed and turned most of the night. Just got on up at 6:30 to see the sun rise.

After we finished our coffee, we decided to walk on the beach. Kevin and Nikki joined us. The sand was warm, but the ocean was cold. I could also see some small jelly fish in the water too. No swimming for me.

Once we got back, Chuck, Kevin, and Kyler decided to go to the hotel pools. One of them was advertised as heated – Chuck said neither was heated. I stayed in the room and got cleaned up.

At noon, the women met in Nikki’s room for mimosas and primping. I met Nikki’s best friend who was the matron of honor and her two daughters – one who was the bridesmaid and the other was the ring bearer.

The men tried to watch college football in our condo but our TV, which had no cable but only worked on WIFI, kept giving them an error message. They left and went to the groomsman’s room. Kevin would be getting ready over there.

At 3:30, the videographer arrived to start filming Nikki’s final preparations. I came back to our room to finish getting ready. At 4:00, Chuck was able to see Nikki in her gown. He got choked up which got me teary-eyed. Thank goodness for waterproof mascara.

At 4:15, Chuck, Beverly, Kyler, his friend, and I rode to the wedding venue together – Henderson Beach State Park. Kevin, his groomsman, his best man and his wife were already there. The wedding planner and the pastor showed up at 4:45. Nikki and her attendants were there but waiting in the car. The pastor took the wedding party men and the guests to the designated beach area. The wedding planner kept Chuck there and went to get the women.

Soon, it was time to get the groomsmen and best man in position to escort the women down the beach. We could see Nikki and Chuck at the end of the boardwalk. I held my breath that Chuck’s knee and/or ankle would not give out on the steep steps or in the sand. However, they made it fine.

When Kevin turned around to see Nikki for the first time in her dress, he started crying. Caused tears in the rest of us too.

A number of people on the beach stopped what they were doing and watched the ceremony. Everyone was respectful and did not walk through or behind our designated area.

The ceremony was very moving and afterwards the videographer and the wedding planner took many photos. It was a beautiful day. The only fly in the ointment was literally “flies” – small, nasty, black biting flies that attacked our legs almost immediately. We were not warned that they were a possibility. Extremely annoying.

The videographer had some oil that was supposed to repel them – it did not. I had a can of Off back at the condo and was so wishing I had brought it. It was weird that they only seemed to bite our calves and ankles.

By the time we were finished with photos, the moon was just coming out. We were headed back to the condo to change clothes. Our table at Lulu’s was scheduled to be ready at 8:00 pm.

Day #1 – Florida Bound

Friday, October 7, 2022

We were up at 6:00 a.m. to prepare for our road trip to the beach. Weather looked perfect for travel – partly sunny with no rain.

We took a risk and let Pumpkin back outside after his breakfast. I had calculated how late we could leave if he took a while to show back up. Luckily, he came back in at 7:15 to finish up his breakfast. Time to stay in.

When he noticed the suitcases, he went under the couch to sulk. We were able to leave at 8:15.

We immediately ran into construction on I-59 which has been going on for months. We were down to one lane for miles.

We stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-a and gas at North Prattville, Alabama and changed drivers. The Chick-fil-a was busy, but the service was friendly and efficient. The restaurant was very clean.

The GPS routed us off the Interstate soon after getting through Montgomery. The travel was going well until we had to start following a detour because the route that we were on was closed at one point. Once the detour was over, the GPS picked up the route again.

However, soon after we were back on the route, the GPS tried to take us down what looked like a dirt road – Nope, No thank you – I kept going a mile or so and was able to turn onto a well-traveled state road. We did see the other end of the dirt road come out on this road so I guess it was a legitimate short-cut, but it looked too sketchy for me. I could have picked up a nail or worse.

Once we reached the beach area, the traffic became bumper-to-bumper. We finally got to our condo resort at 3:30 central time – Ariel Dunes of SeaScape, Miramar Beach – 8 1/2 hours on the road.

The room wasn’t ready, but we were able to park the car in the lot and went to the on-property bar and grill for a cold beverage. Fifteen minutes later, we got a text that the condo was ready, and we were sent the access code.

As we were unloading our car, we saw Kevin, Nikki, Kyler, and Beverley unloading their cars. They had been in town since 10:00 that morning but had spent the day exploring Destin.

The one-bedroom condo’s cute with a nice view of the beach and on the 10th floor. In addition to the bedroom with a King bed, it has two bunk beds built into the hallway way, one full bathroom, one half bathroom, a full kitchen, a living area, washer and dryer area, and a balcony. Description said that the couch was also a pull-out bed, but we didn’t try it. Perfect for a couple or a small family.