Destin, Florida

We braved the 12 hour drive to Destin, Florida because we heard so many fabulous things about it. The beach certainly didn’t disappoint. The sand was power soft and white. The ocean was emerald and crystal clear. The first three days we were there the water was so smooth that people were laying on raffs in it. The tropical storm that hit Louisiana made the waves rough for our last three days.
The first three days we spent on the beach and in the pool. We would take a small break during the day when the sun was the most intense to go back to the condo we were renting and watch animal planet and the discovery channel. A lot of people put up shade covers and after a few day of being with the same people we made friends and were invited to use the shade. A shade cover will be on our list of things to bring next year. The shade made the beach so much more enjoyable and the kids played so well while we were there. Carter hated the water because of the salt, so we didn’t even worry too much about him. Renée and Gavin did plenty of swimming because the water was so calm. We snorkeled while we were there and saw a lot of fish, sting rays, a few jelly fish, and Sam even saw a sea turtle. Renée and Carter took turns going out with me while I snorkeled. They would float in a tube and hold onto one of my hands. While laying on the beach on Tuesday I thought, this is the best vacation ever.
On Wednesday morning Sam woke up with a fever. After so much cellulitis, the first thing I did was check his legs and sure enough he had a spot on the back of his leg that he has had all the other cellulitis. The kids and I took him to the ER and waited with him until he was admitted to the hospital. He needed IV antibiotics and couldn’t leave. I tried to make the most of the rest of our vacation with the kids but it wasn’t the same. The water was really rough and while I was washing sunscreen out of Carter’s eyes I lost Gavin. He was on a boogie board and I couldn’t find him. I ran, literally, up the beach the way the surf would have taken him. After about a ½ mile of not finding him I came back and he still wasn’t there. At this point he was gone for at least 20 minutes. I called 911 while two of the men that we had been on the beach with took off in opposite directions looking for him. It was hard to explain to the 911 dispatcher what was going on without crying because my mind immediately thought the worst, that he was drowned in the ocean. By the time the lifeguard pulled up on his ATV one of the men looking for him found Gavin. The surf had taken Gavin west and after a while he got out of the water and walked east to get back to us. He didn’t see us when he passed us and was lost to the east. I searched west, which is why I didn’t find him. Gavin was a little embarrassed by all the commotion, but he was not even concerned that he was lost. I was emotionally exhausted.
That afternoon I took the kids to Fudpucker’s to see their live alligators. We had appetizers at the restaurant and then paid $3 to feed the alligators. The alligator feeder consisted of a stick with a rope tied to it. At the end of the rope there was a bobby pin which you stick a piece of alligator food (which looked like dog food to me.) The kids loved seeing all the alligators and they even had an albino one. We visited Sam, which meant the kids got to play on a hospital bed. Renée was hanging upside down from the handle that you can use to pull yourself up to use a bedpan. It was over the bed, so I wasn’t too concerned. My kids can only last about an hour in a hospital room before they start to drive you crazy, so we left Sam with a book and a cinnamon roll.
We visited the harbor shopping area that night. They had live entertainment. One act was tap dancers who were all at least 50 or older. The kids insisted on watching all 30 minutes of it. After walking around a bit we sat on the dock to wait for fireworks. We were right across the water from where they were shooting them off.
On Friday we took a morning walk on the beach. It started to rain so we headed to the pool. The rain on the beach was painful because of the wind, but back at the pool, the kids loved swimming in the rain. That evening we were able to pick up Sam. He was put on oral antibiotics and instructed see his infectious disease specialist on Monday. We ate at Harry T’s which is right on the water in the harbor. The view was beautiful and the kids’ meals came on a Frisbee. The evening we sat on the beach, while the kids played in the sand.
We left Saturday morning and had a flat tire in Louisiana. Our spare is full sized so we just drove home. A kind man gave us a piece of rope so we could tie our tire on the roof of our car. The van was packed with all our beach gear. We made it home without any other issues but I wouldn’t say it was our best trip ever. I would like to go back because the beach was fantastic.

There was some rain over the ocean that made the sky beautiful.

Carter spent most of the vacation with his butt showing.  Good thing it is so cute.

Renée trying to catch fish.

Renée and Carter loving playing in the sand together.

Seeing what they could find on the beach.

I am really not sure what she is doing, but I had to include the photo.

mm mm watermelon

Another lovely view of Carter.

Loving playing in the sand.

I loved these bird chasing photos so much I couldn't decide which was better.

Checking out the alligators.

Gavin feeding them.

Renée and her fancy alligator feeding equipment.

The albino alligator.

Destin sets off fireworks every Thursday night.

So happy to be getting Sam out of the hospital.

Harry T's

Eating next to the water.

View from the 2nd story of the restaurant.

Last night at the beach.  I have my camera on on HI ISO.