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I walked out to the beach before sunrise each day. On this morning I was greeted with this spectacular view. I was facing south and the pre-dawn rays of the sun back to the east were lighting up this distant thunderstorm out in the Gulf of Mexico. A black woman was nearby and we could not help but comment on how beautiful it all was. Being surprised by this glorious sight was the highlight of my trip.
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I have not traveled anywhere on vacation since the pandemic started. So, even though I am typically a homebody type person, I was really ready for a trip last week with Jennifer to beautiful Destin, Florida. It was a short visit but we did everything we had planned. We took in morning and evening walks on the beach, enjoyed great lunches at wonderful restaurants, and generally acted like bums. While Jennifer shopped, I spent the afternoons reading and relaxing with a hearty supply of quality beers.
The weather was near-perfect with warm, mostly cloudy days. It was clear and sunny our first evening there, which allowed us to enjoy the only sunset we would see during this stay. The otherwise partly cloudy conditions created some of the best sunrises I've witnessed in recent years.
When in Destin, which is in the central time zone, I like to stay on Georgia time. That means we arrive for lunch at 11AM their time, avoiding the usual crowds. Going so late in September meant that it wasn't very crowded anyway. No waiting for anything, fewer people on the beautiful beach, and less traffic on the roads to get around.
The
meal highlights for me were Pecan-crusted Grouper with new potatoes and
corn on the cob from Dewey Destin's Haborside and the incomparable
(and locally famous) Fried Oyster BLT sandwich with garlic fries and greens from Vin'tij.
It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. The perfect change of scenery I needed after tending to Twin Oaks for well over a year. The gulf water was warm and clear emerald green on the occasions when the sun shone through the clouds. As always, a very picturesque experience.
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Grasses protect Destin's modest dunes. The golden light of the sunset gave them a warm, inviting hue. And they were a fine site next to the water and the nearly empty beach.
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Our first night featured the only sunset we would see on this trip. It turned cloudy in the later afternoon on the following days. This was going to be a trip about sunrises instead.
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First sunrise on the second day.
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The morning of the second day was bright and sunny. We took long walks on the beach each morning. This was taken just after all the umbrellas were opened, which made the beach seem more crowded even though half of them had no one sitting under them. This is the best time of year to come to Destin.
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My obligatory photo of the sky, beach and water color taken from the pavilion of our condo complex after our walk on the first morning.
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This was a weird sight to see one afternoon on the beach.
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The large boat was a moving advertising billboard. An example of the ubiquity of marketing in America. Its pollution is everywhere. But it offered us a public service announcement as it passed our spot on the beach.
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Dawn on the second morning. I took this a few minutes after taking the photo at the very top of this post.
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Surf flags. Use caution (yellow) and there are critters (purple). The gulf had a strong undercurrent and was choppier than usual. We saw several jellyfish during our beach walks.
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Our walk featured a momentary partial rainbow on the second morning.
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A distant thunderstorm. For the most part, these downpours ranged directly west to east and never made landfall.
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This is how clear and emerald the water appears close to shore when the sun is shining down on it. You can see the bottom even when you get far enough out that it is over your head.
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Jennifer on a cloudy afternoon reading on the beach.
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Facing east on the last morning. I am standing in the middle of Old Hwy 98, the beach's paralleling road. There are headlights in the distance. In the height of tourist season this road is bumper-to-bumper with traffic and people trying to cross. (But probably not at this time of day.)
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The same sunrise on the beach.
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Royal terns. I haven't seen these shore birds very many times in my life. They are more likely to be seen at places like Cumberland Island than here.
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Jennifer took this shot of the beach one afternoon. The sun shone occasionally through thick, rolling gray clouds.
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Ahh. Great beer and a great meal at Vin'tij Restaurant. The only time it rained hard was while we were in here enjoying lunch.
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The famous Fried Oyster BLT. Deliciously decadent and satisfying. I didn't have much of an appetite for dinner that evening after being satiated by this tasty lunch.
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We've been enjoying the same condo complex in Destin for over 25 years. It is always a treat to be here together.
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