Our niece’s husband, Kyle, is in the U.S. Air Force. We are very proud of him and he has made it his career. The Air Force has moved them around a good bit. They have recently been transferred to Eglin Air Force Base in the panhandle area of Florida. They have had 4 children since they were married, 2 boys and 2 girls. While awaiting base housing, they are currently living in a condo in Destin, FL. I can’t take the heat too much and I’ve been to Florida in the summer and I remember it was too hot to breath. So we decided to try and go see them in the Spring and we rented a condo just across the street from them for the week of April 17-24th.
Another thing I can’t do well is long drives and this one is 8 hrs. I suffer from extreme pain and stiffness when I sit that long and have a problem with mental exacerbations after a couple of hours. Stan and I tried to think of a way to get me to and from Florida in the least amount of pain and mental stress. We came up with an air mattress in the back of our largest SUV. My sister provided me with a memory foam mattress cover to go on top of that. Adding my pillows and my tablet so I could watch videos and read. That left the hardest part as getting in and out of the SUV. Removing all 4 seats was too hard for Stan to do on his own as one of the middle seats is a double seat and too heavy. He managed to remove the back seats so we could put in the mattress. But we just folded up the middle seats but this made it next to impossible for me to crawl in and out. I could have used the back hatch but we had added a tray on the back to hold the luggage. Next time, we will think ahead and have our nephew help us remove ALL the seats and then I should be able to get in and out using the doors. But, once in, I was comfortable and able to make the trip. Thank You Jesus!
We got to Destin, FL about 6pm their time (7pm our time) and got unloaded. Then Jenny, Kyle and the kids came over and we walked to a restaurant behind our condo called The Back Porch. We had a great meal and the kids were so excited to see us. It made us feel so welcome and happy.
On Sunday, we got up and took our morning to relax as Jenny, Kyle and the kids tried to get going. They had the week off for Spring Break. But getting 4 kids ready and moving in the same direction is always a feat so Stan and I had time to relax in our condo and have our coffee. I did my Bible study and listened to Christian Youtube videos while enjoying my coffee on the balcony overlooking the pool area. About lunch time, we got our picnic and beach stuff together and we went to the Boardwalk. Stan had rented a pontoon for the day so we could go out to Crab Island. It’s a sand bar with water about waist high. I have to say that it cost us $20/car to park at the Boardwalk. Then we had a terrible time finding the company Stan had rented the pontoon from. We ended dragging 4 children, and all our beach and picnic stuff, all over that stupid place until we finally found it (it literally took us at least 40 mins if not more). But, we did finally find it (the GPS was worthless because of it being on the Boardwalk, just not WHERE on the Boardwalk). We headed out to Crab Island. It was a cloudy day but that worked for me as I can’t take the heat. We had sandwiches, snacks and drinks on the pontoon once we got there. The boat came with a bluetooth speaker and a paddle board. Everyone made it into the water but Natalie (the youngest). It was cold water, I’m not lying! But I did make it in. I walked around in it to get some exercise and try to limber up after the previous day’s drive and the walk to the pontoon carrying stuff. But it was probably a bad idea for me. The cold water makes my muscles stiffen. Once back on the boat, keeping your balance uses muscles you don’t always use. This, and the stiffness, made me a little unsteady and I ended up bumping my leg on one of the seats causing a tremendous bruise. But the kids were having a good time and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! Brett, Jenny, Kyle and Stan managed the paddle boat. Stan kept it to using his knees but he balanced on it so I was really proud of him. Brett, Jenny and Kyle learned how to balance on their feet! Amazing! Stan took Brooke out on it and she sat on the front. There are usually a lot of people out at Crab Island and there are those who take advantage of the crowd to bring you ice cream, drinks, rent floats, etc. The kids got ice cream. Stan then let Brett, Ryan and Brooke drive the pontoon.
We got back in to the Boardwalk dock, back to the condos and got our showers. My legs were really hurting so we stayed in that night and Stan went back to The Back Porch and got us another good dinner which we ate in the condo.
On Monday, Kyle had to go back to work but we took our time through the morning, relaxing. Then we went to their condo because they have a great pool area. There is a large pool, a toddler pool, a small heated pool and a jacuzzi. So we all went to their pool area to spend the afternoon. The large pool and toddler pool were too cold for everyone so the small heated pool and jacuzzi were crowded. I did get in the jacuzzi for a little while but it was lukewarm so it didn’t really help my aches and pains. But I did enjoy the lounge chairs and watching the children. About mid-afternoon, Stan took the two boys to ride go-karts and bumper cars. Brooke isn’t old enough to go so the girls all stayed out by the pool. I read a good bit. We went back to our condos, got our showers and then, after Kyle got home, we went to MacGuire’s Pub for dinner. Since it was a Monday the wait wasn’t too bad. Evidently, since it’s a resort area, all the good restaurants are expensive and crowded all the time. But we got in and had a delicious meal there. Stan got the pork chops and I think they were the best pork chops we have ever had. Two very thick ones. After appetizers, he couldn’t finish but one of them so we took it home and I ate it for lunch and dinner on Tuesday! Still good! I stuck to seafood and it was great! The fish and shrimp were coated in a light ale breading and fried and it was delish! Kyle got the lambchops and he was very satisfied and had one to take home. Jenny got an appetizer combo (all their appetizers) and it was huge. She ate what she could and took some home. Brett got steak and enjoyed it. Ryan just got a huge pretzel. Best pretzel ever and he was full even sharing it with the rest of us.
On Tuesday, we took our time through the morning, relaxing and enjoying the balcony and our coffee. I kept up with my Bible study throughout the week. Anyway, we went to our condo and beach for the afternoon with Jenny and the children. I was a little surprised to find that the fee we were charged for access to the pool and beach did NOT include beach chairs and umbrella. It was an additional $60/day to rent 2 chairs and an umbrella on their private area of beach! Per DAY! So needless to say, we didn’t rent the chairs. That meant laying on the sugar sands behind the row of chairs kept at the water’s edge since we couldn’t lug chairs and our beach stuff out there. Jenny brought a couple of beach chairs. I managed to lay on the beach for a couple of hours but it killed my back. Eventually I went to the pool and used the pool chairs. The kids got in the pool and played at the beach. That night, because my back hurt so bad, we stayed in the condo to rest. I didn’t get in the pool or the surf as the water was too cool.
On Wednesday, Jenny took us to the Navarre Beach pier. You pay just $1 to walk on the pier but to fish, you have to rent the poles, buy the bait and pay $12/person to fish. No chairs allowed. So it was pretty pricey for Stan, Jenny and 3 of the 4 kids to fish. I took my own chair since I wasn’t going to fish (not knowing you weren’t allowed to bring your own chairs, thankfully no one said anything or I would have had to go sit in the car). I had also brought my book. It was a cloudless day and gorgeous! The kids had a ball trying to fish but nobody caught anything. In fact, it didn’t look like anyone caught much just a couple of little fish. The next week, there was an article Jenny shared where a man caught a pretty large shark on that pier. Anyway, it was a great time on the pier.
We got ready Wednesday evening and Stan took me to Louisiana Lagniappe for dinner. Pricey and hard to find, and hard to park. They do have valet parking but Stan managed to get a parking spot without having to pay valet parking. The food was wonderful and it was a quieter restaurant compared to The Back Porch and MacGuire’s Pub. We really enjoyed our meal.
Thursday, I wasn’t feeling well. We took our time relaxing in the morning but by lunch I could tell I was getting a UTI (one of my regular ailments). I had brought some antibiotics from prior UTI’s and I took one. Within the hour, the pain was still increasing so I took a different one. Meanwhile we met Jenny and the kids and took them for a round of carpet golf at a local amusement park (where Stan had taken the boys go-karting and bumper cars). It was fairly warm and a nice day for it. But by the time we got through, I was hurting pretty bad. I decided I should go to a local Urgent Care. Jenny found us one and gave us directions. We got in and out of the Urgent Care pretty quickly (I’m so thankful) but it was time for everyone to get off work and the traffic was unbelievable. It took us nearly 20 mins to get ACROSS the street to the pharmacy and there was only ONE person working the pharmacy at this critical rush hour so it took an hour to get my RXs. By that time I was miserable!! We just went back to the condo and Stan got us a great pizza from Merlin’s (I recommend!) and we stayed in.
Friday I was feeling better so we took our time throughout the morning. Stan took me to an interesting place called Smith’s Antique Mall. I knew it would have nicer things and the kids would have kept Jenny from enjoying it. It had some lovely things but too pricey for me. We met Jenny and the kids at Burrito del Sol for fish and shrimp tacos for lunch. Tiny little place but good food. Then we did some shopping at local thrift stores and some shops. I still didn’t find anything but enjoyed being with them. Stan and Jenny shopped and put together a great shrimp boil meal. So we went to their condo and had a wonderful meal of boiled shrimp, salad, corn on the cob and roast potatoes with key lime pie. Then we got around their table and played Monopoly with a game we had picked up at one of the thrift stores. Kyle and Natalie played together in the den and the rest of us played Monopoly and had a great time for a couple of hours. Then the kids began to get rowdy and we knew it was time to say our goodbyes. Stan and I would be leaving early the next morning to go home so we had to say our last goodbyes. I always get teary but I kept it in until we got in the elevator. They are all so precious to us. Saturday we got packed up, gassed up and on the road before heavy rains hit. We had a good trip back and I spent most of the time in my nest in the back.
Here are the digital scrapbook pages I did of our trip. I will add all of them as I complete them.
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