Destin: We Needed This

This was a magnificent moment when the sun broke through the clouds in the distance and brightened the gulf surface miles away.

For the first time since I retired four years ago, I felt I really needed a vacation.  Jennifer was the same way.  Originally, we had planned an art museum trip to New York City.  But she came down with Covid and was pent-up for almost two weeks assisting her elderly mother, who also had the virus.  They both made it through but Jennifer was exhausted for several weeks afterward.  We decided to do an easy vacation instead of tackling the logistics of visiting the Big Apple.  

Destin has been our easy refuge for many years.  We started going there when Avery was a child.  And we went there every summer while she was growing up, into high school.  There are many Destin, Florida entries on this blog.  We love the clear, smooth emerald water, the food, the shopping (Jennifer), the relaxing in the condo reading (Keith), the sleeping, the practically empty beach around sunrise and the sunset.  It's a seven hour drive away of us, counting stops for lunch and gas.

We both just threw a bunch of stuff into our bags and left without thinking things through too much.  We knew the weather would be mostly cloudy but there would be sun on the afternoon we arrived.  It would rain some during our stay.  We overpacked accordingly and had a wonderful time.  Just what we both needed.

A bright blue sky and gorgeous, lake-like Gulf of Mexico greeted us.  It was Columbus Day, fall break for many schools.  There were a lot of families with kids on the beach.  It was no big deal, really, but things were more crowded than we had experienced in a number of years, since Avery got old enough to where we no longer had to go just in the busy summer season.

We spent a long time on the beach without really unpacking much.  Instead, we caught the feel for the special beauty of the place on a bright and sunny late afternoon.  It was not hot at all.  The breeze felt cool wearing our swim suits.  Afterwards, we went to buy beer and groceries, packed everything away and caught the cloudless sunset that evening.  By that time few people inhabited the beach.  It was a perfect moment.  Around sundown is my favorite time to be on any beach.

First pic upon arrival.  It was a bright Monday afternoon.  Perfect for a beach chair and a beer.

The coastal grass atop a dune in the sunset.

I woke early the next morning after sleeping better than I have in weeks.  I went out and caught the crescent moon and Venus in the pre-dawn sky above the beach.  The few clouds were lit in splendid majesty by the coming sun.  Jennifer slept in that morning but she made a point to go out with me to the beach early thereafter.  After taking a walk on the beach in the rising sun we headed out for lunch.  By keeping ourselves on eastern time we always arrived for lunch just as the various restaurants opened at 11AM central.  We agreed that Jennifer got to select where we ate most days but I told her on the first day and the last day I wanted to have lunch at Vin'tij, our favorite place to dine in Destin.

Our first lunch there set the cuisine standard high for this trip.  We both ordered the marvelous Fried Oyster BLT sandwich.  It is almost worth the trip by itself.  I devoured mine, Jennifer saved half of hers and nibbled it away the next day.  Not the best choice health-wise but we weren't trying to be healthy the next few days.  I ate rich foods and didn't hit a lick at a snake as far as exercise or even activity (other than walking on the beach).  This was a badly needed vacation.  We cut ourselves all kinds of slack.

Pre-dawn.  The cloudlight matched the accent lights on a small condo complex,  I am standing along Old 98 with a car in the distance.

The gulf water was serene, barely a ripple.  A big contrast with how it would be in a couple of days.

The Moon and Venus over Destin.

Dinners were usually sandwiches in the condo.  We prefer to hangout near the beach and catch the sunsets.  Not needing to fit in another restaurant trip towards evening makes everything far more relaxed, especially since restaurants were usually packed and noisy at that hour.  We knew it was going to be raining Wednesday so we chose that night to go out for dinner.  She really wanted to go back to Louisiana Lagniappe, a restaurant we had not visited our last few trips down.  It was a more upscale place overlooking the private yacht section of the harbor so we dressed up a bit.

It was fantastic.  I got the Grouper with a “jumbo lump of crab meat” on top.  Jennifer's grouper was topped with an abundance of crab stuffing and baked in parchment paper.  It was heavenly.  Her crab was so delicious I kept stealing bites from her.  The complementary white bowl of hushpuppies were particularly tasty (and addictive) as well.  Key Lime pie was an obvious dessert choice as we chose to completely stuff ourselves.  We shared a generous slice which had a thick crust and the precise balance of flavor, texture, temperature.  Yummy.  We watched the light rain in the harbor as we dined.

It remained cloudy most of the rest of the trip but this kept people off the beaches and offered some beautiful scenery with the play of sunlight through the gray canopy above, reflected in the gulf waters which grew angrier than I had ever seen them before.  The gulf is usually very calm but it was raging for a couple of days in the middle of our trip.

Incredible water.

A dolphin in the distance.

Two Fried Oyster BLTs.

A change of scenery.  The clouds practically emptied the beaches.  There was colorful lightplay in the sky.

My "Rothko Moment" this trip.

Jennifer's incredible grouper topped with crab stuffing and baked in parchment.

The beach Wednesday evening.  Notice the simple surf.

The next morning the gulf was as angry as I have ever seen it.  Quite a transformation and captivating to me.

It was cool to be out there and experiencing all that on the beach.  But we stole away Thursday to a nearby park Jennifer had wanted to visit for years.  Eden State Park was nothing incredible but it was a nice contrast with the raging windy beach.  Inland there was barely a breeze.  We casually walked the grounds for about an hour.  There were a few other people about, mostly locals walking their dogs or getting in their steps.  The two of us were alone with our tour guide as we were taken inside the antebellum house built there in the 1890's.  Lumber was what the original family was into and it made them rich.

The house has a long history, of course, and has been renovated a couple of times.  Today it is filled with incredible antiques that neither Jennifer nor I could fully appreciate though our guide went into great detail and answered our sparse questions.  The guide obviously was proud of the place and she was very friendly too.  Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside.  The ground surrounding the house is a large grassy space with inlet water nearby.  In the middle of all of it stands a 600 year-old live oak known as “the Wedding Tree.”  So named as this is a popular place for weddings, most of which usually occur around this great old tree.

The next stop was a visit to Grayton Beach, our first time there.  Avery had stayed there with Carter earlier and recommended that we check out a local place called The Red Bar.  It was quite an experience.  First of all, Grayton Beach itself is a small semi-bohemian place off the beaten path, as it were.  No high-rises or major condo complexes here.  It features nice, simple residences and B&Bs.  

The Red Bar is one of the few restaurants around.  Its décor is highly eclectic; red lights and memorabilia of everything from old movies to old cigarette ads.  The lunch menu is decent but not particularly noteworthy, except for the smoked tuna dip which is highly satisfying.  The joint quickly grew pretty noisy with all the kids packing the place.  I enjoyed the visit but was ready for the check by the time we finished our meal.  Outside nearby, the beach was practically empty with the same rough surf as at Destin, a mere 15 miles or so to the west.  We returned to our condo.  I read while Jennifer went shopping.  She didn't buy anything and the we both ended up on the beach by late afternoon going back and forth until sunset. 

"The Wedding Tree" is 600 years old.

The old house contains what is apparently an exceptional, eclectic antique collection.  But they won't let you take any photos.

The Red Bar.

More wonderful lightplay.

On Friday, our last day there, the weather became partly sunny in the afternoon.  We spent the whole day at the beach except for our second lunch trip to Vin'tij.  This time we were the mood for something different.  Both of us wanted to try the gumbo and Jennifer praised their Cesar Salad from a previous trip.  The waitress suggested we get both and share for openers.  

It was a great choice.  The gumbo was smoky with four different kinds of meat while the salad was flavorful, crunchy and light.  The two were complete compliments, a yin-yang dining experience.  The main course was a highlight for me.  I ordered salmon baked in a thick glaze of mango and ginger.  What a wonderful combination!  We were both completely satiated with food by this point and left the restaurant totally satisfied with the culinary part of our trip.

Jennifer wanted to do some brief shopping.  We stopped at only a couple of stores for a few minutes and bought nothing.  The beach was near normal that afternoon, which is to say it was fairly crowded in the middle of the day but tapered off by the time the sand had cooled with the setting sun, we shared the space with only a few others then, our last night.

The trip was exactly what we both needed.  It was easy, fulfilling and relaxing.  We stayed a day longer than our usual trips but that was because we both really needed to step out of everything and recharge.  In this case recharging meant doing as little as possible while enjoying as much food and beach as we desired.  All the clouds and wet weather gave this trip a different accent.  The play of light in the sky was often beautiful.  The clouds cast a tone for the trip that allowed us to leave a lot of stuff behind to be carried away with the tide.

The gumbo with a Caesar Salad was a perfect combo. Yes, I am wearing the same Yes t-shirt as above.  I only wore it twice, both times to lunch at this restaurant.

 

Baked salmon encrusted with a mango and ginger glaze.

Jennifer on the beach on Friday afternoon.  Trying to clear up a bit.

Jennifer took this shot of a military transport plane that buzzed the beach a couple of times.  It was huge and low.  She captured several gulls in flight too, which makes it remarkable.

Since 1988.