It was going to be cooler today with a high of only 88 and lows in the 60’s. That’s more like it! We had some phone calls to make this morning before heading out for the day. Auggie enjoyed his morning outside. We found him sleeping under the tree when we were ready to leave. That dog does love to be outside.
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In making our calls this morning, we found out that we won’t be able to see the Blue Angels practice on Tuesday or Wednesday because they’re off in the wild blue yonder somewhere and won’t be back until October 12. Bummer! Our plan for the day was to visit Destin. We left our campsite around 11:00 to take the scenic drive on Highway 98 along the coast. We took the short 12-mile drive to Destin’s Harborwalk Village.
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This magnificent structure consisting of luxury condos sits on the hill towering above the harbor. You can see it for miles!
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The Harborwalk Village is a collection of shops and restaurants at the harbor sharing the space with Destin’s famous fleet of charter fishing boats. We were first greeted by this 170 year old, once 4-story, magnolia tree. It has been since memorialized into this beautiful coastal life monument.
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Our first inclination was to head straight for the waterfront and walk along the boardwalk there at the Harborwalk Marina.
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From there, we got a beautiful view of the white sand dunes and calm waters just off of the shore.
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I had to have my picture taken at this “tourist photo spot” to remember our visit here.
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From this second story vantage point, we could see down the waterfront to the charter boats and fishing fleet.
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In the other direction, we could see the Destin Bridge that takes you to Fort Walton Beach.
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The Destin Inlet and East Pass were calm looking out to the Gulf, although storms were brewing offshore.
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We walked back along the Harborwalk past the colorful shops and bars.
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I stopped to check out this lighthouse atop the Harry T Bar.
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Bob noticed their sign for Happy Hour from 11-7, so we went inside to check it out. All their drinks were 1/2 price, so we ordered 2 Bloody Marys. They came with an assortment of veggies–pickled whole green beans, whole okra, green olives, celery, and peppers. Add some “bar” popcorn and you’ve got lunch! Our bartender, Red, was very informative in suggesting places to visit and eat in Pensacola. After our stop at Harry T’s,(the bill was only $9!!) we continued in the other direction along the Harborwalk and through the Margaritaville “tunnel”.
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We walked all the way to the end of Harborwalk and farther along the huge fleet of fishing boats. We ended our visit to Destin by driving along Gulf Shore Dr. to the end of a spit of land at the East Jetty. From there, we could look across the Destin Harbor at the Harborwalk Waterfront.
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We enjoyed our visit to Destin and would love to come back again sometime. We got back to the trailer around 2:00 and relaxed outside with Auggie. He tried his hardest to climb a tree in search of a gecko or squirrel. He jumped a foot or so off the ground in one of his attempts.
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We enjoyed the quiet of the campground in the afternoon when people are away from the park partaking in their daily activities. Around 4:00, we heard rumblings of thunder in the distance. The skies clouded over as the rumbling got louder. Eventually, a light rain started to fall and the temperature cooled off with a breeze as the storm moved in. It rained lightly as Bob cooked chicken on the grill. It continued to rain through dinner, but stopped for a bit so we could walk Auggie. It is getting dark earlier now, so by the time we went, we needed to take a flashlight with us. We got back to the trailer as the rain started to fall harder. We ended our evening by watching a little TV.