Road trip to Destin

We are off on another road trip but this trip will be different than our day trip to Cedar Key.  This time we are traveling with our friends Doug and Sue as we make our way to the panhandle of Florida to the city of Destin, Florida.  The city of Destin was founded by fisherman Leonard Destin in 1845 and has become one of the most visited vacation spots on the Gulf Coast.

Emerald Grade at HarborWalk Village

The morning we left, the skies were blue with only a hint of wispy white clouds overhead; just a beautiful day for a long ride. When we finally arrived at our destination, I was a little taken aback at how many people we saw walking around town. It was hard to believe that there was a health emergency gripping our country.

We were really looking forward to this trip as we would be staying for a few days at the Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village in a unit with a balcony overlooking the harbor.  As soon as we approached the reception desk we were informed about the health protocols that were in place during our stay.  Masks were to be worn whenever we were inside the resort, the unit was cleaned before we arrived and would not be cleaned again until we checked-out, if we needed anything we could call the reception desk and they would either hold it there or they would leave a bag outside our unit.  We were pleased to hear that precautions were being taken to insure a safe stay. 

I was happy that the resort had safety protocols in place during our visit but I too had taken some measures to ensure our safety. I added a new travel kit to our luggage that included a UV box to zap items that I used during the day outside the unit, extra masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and a package of alcohol wipes.

Our unit was lovely. We had a three bedroom, three bathroom unit with a large balcony overlooking the harbor.

View of the harbor from our balcony

I was in heaven! We looked around a bit then made our way down to the HarborWalk.  As we walked, we entertained a thought to find a restaurant at the harbor to enjoy a seafood dinner. We walked along and after peering into several restaurant windows that thought faded away. The restaurants were filled to capacity and although we were tempting fate by traveling away from home we were not willing to stretch fate to its limits.

We did not want to get back into the car to find a place to eat so we headed across the street in the direction of McGuire’s Irish Pub.  As we neared the restaurant there was a large crowd of people outside the pub waiting to get inside.  The crowd was enormous!

We continued our walk passed the crowd to a little pizza restaurant just next door called Vinny McGuire’s Pizza Pub.  We struck gold!  The building was empty save one couple at the bar and the restaurant in the rear was empty.  The restaurant seating consisted of booths, the lighting cast a yellow hue in the room and the walls were covered in posters and dollar bills.  “Very interesting”, I thought as I looked around.

We started with an appetizer called Boxtys.  We learned from our server that Boxtys are fried potato balls filled with creamy mashed potatoes, cheese and little bits of parsley with three dipping sauces.  They were yummy! Randy and I ordered a small pepperoni and extra cheese pizza.  Doug and Sue ordered a large three-topping pizza.  Everything was delicious

We returned to our unit and settled in on the balcony enjoying the activity down in the harbor and watching the sun set slowly below the horizon.

View from our balcony. We could really imagine that we were sitting on a cruise ship balcony. Nice!

The next day we woke up to overcast skies and choppy waters; Hurricane Delta was in the Gulf. There had been several storms in the Gulf region over the summer months turning the otherwise emerald greens waters to a mucky brown.

With no plan to stay but out of curiosity, we decided to take the pontoon boat over to the Emerald Grande’s private island. When we returned we took another stroll around the boardwalk and then around the resort.

The Boardwalk is a fun place with retail shops, restaurants, attractions, food trucks and access to many, many fun tour boats. There was a pirate boat that shot off a canon each time it left the harbor, a group of boats filled with tourist singing and having a grand time. But what I found very funny were the floating Tiki bars that plied the waters of the harbor and beyond. After our walk we returned to the unit and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the balcony.

Floating Tiki bars. Very funny!

Like Vinny’s, the lighting in the pub had a yellow cast and the walls and ceiling were covered in dollar bills.

Today was Randy’s birthday so he got to choose where he wanted to go for dinner. He chose McGuire’s Irish Pub. After seeing the crowds the day before, we decided to go early. The restaurant was still busy but no crowds waiting outside and we were seated immediately.

Everything we ordered was delicious! Our meal started with an amazing dark brown bread dripping in melted butter and bowls of wonderful Senate Bean Soup. I love pub food so I ordered the Shepherd’s Pie.

The next two days we spent relaxing on the balcony reading, playing trivia games, playing games on our Ipads, watching all the activity in and around the harbor, taking a ride around the town, enjoying two very nice dinners at Miller’s Ale House and just enjoying each others company. We are very much cruise enthusiasts so sitting on the balcony and looking out at the Gulf and hearing the activity below gave us all a lovely, albeit a fleeting feeling like we were on a cruise. 

By the end of our lovely few days at the Emerald Grande I was so relaxed. Destin is truly a beautiful place to visit and I look forward to returning again sometime in the future.

Enjoy,

Mary