ellen_griswold

Just returned from a wonderful, relaxing spring break in destin, florida. Thanks to everyone for your restaurant ideas! Hope my report helps others.

This was our first visit to the gulf coast / panhandle since most spring breaks were spent at disney world (with a few days on daytona beach, ponce inlet) The major difference was lack of surf on the gulf coast, and we did miss sparring with the ocean waves. However, the pristine powdered sugar sand and clear emerald green water more than compensated.

We found our oceanfront condo on vrbo.com (first time user) and were delighted with the oceanfront location and quality. Especially enjoyed our private balcony for morning coffee, lunch and beach breaks. The condo had two pools, one still heated which was a blessing considering the temps were below average last week.

Shopping is plentiful without an abundance of cheesy souvenir shoppes. There's a huge outlet mall, several plazas and the new upscale Destin Commons is especially lovely. Our 16 y/o dd and her friend joining us were especially delighted with its many specialty shoppes and chains (abercrombie etc) and more - zbuzz was really fun! Also of note is "Books-a-Million". While we're very familiar with Barnes & Noble (one is practically in our backyard at home and destin also has one) this chain is even better, imo. Check it out.

We explored Seaside, the picture-perfect oceanside town where the movie 'The Truman Show' (Jim Carey) was filmed. Bought the dvd there and watched it that night. Beautiful beach town, eclectic shoppes and restaurants. Probably not enough to keep teens entertained, however.

Destin restaurants we enjoyed for dinner:

* Back Porch - oceanfront, ask for a second floor porch window table. DH enjoyed lobster stuffed mahi mahi, i had an incredible bay shrimp spinach salad, with a creamy lobster based dressing w/ a touch of horseradish.

* Pompano Joes was our favorite. Oceanfront - ask for a table by the window. On our first visit we shared an appetizer of seafood nachos which along with the customary cheeses etc., also included black beans and a very generous portion of fish, shrimp and scallops. So good that i made this my entree on our second visit - definitely worth the calories! On our first visit, hubby clark had a scrumptious garlic crusted grouper with lobster basil sauce and he had Tuna Sofrito the second visit, a tuna steak w/ a sauce of tomatos, onion, bacon and more. Their twice baked potatos are very satisfying. Both DD and friend had Grouper Reubens on both visits, surprisingly melt-in-your-mouth tasty! Also of note, the most delectable chocolate fudge layer cake ever, worth every calorie!

* Fudpuckers - touristy, tasty and tons of fun. (not to be confused with fuddruckers!) Dh had the gouper parmesian, the girls chose the Tunapucker (yellowfin) and Shrimppucker sandwiches. I had the Fudspud, a baked potato smoothered in a sauce of shrimp, mushrooms, onions and cheese. Waaay yummy. Also of note, a fun, funky spacious gift shoppe with tons of unique treasures!

* Whale's Tail - oceanfront bar and grille with a fun atmosphere, food and drinks!

* McGuires - cool Irish pub ambiance with great steaks and burgers. But of particular note is their Bread & Butter Pudding. It is exceptionally delicious, even to this chocoholic. Worth a stop for dessert alone.

* Altho not for dinner, we visited the Destin Diner for old fashioned hot fudge sundaes. DD's friend had never been in a diner, and while i don't think this one is original, the ambiance was similar, nostagic and cute.

* Again not for dinner but check out Cold Stone Creamery. If you don't have one of these nearby (luckily we do) you must try it!

For Runners / Joggers: After all this indulgence i was happy to find the running path along Gulf Shore Drive to be smooth and new with occasional slight elevations. Loved running parrallel to the ocean with such magnificent views. Despite its beauty, the beach is too soft for serious running.

On two of my early morning runs, i saw schools of dolphins playing close to shore. And many days The Blue Angels (from nearby Pensacola) went screamin' by. Very moving to see them soaring over the emerald ocean!

Destin is to the florida panhandle what hilton head is to south carolina, imo. There's something for everyone on the gulf coast and we will most likely return!

bluestructure

Thanks for nice report and lots of useful info. Sounds like you had a great time.

cd

Enjoyed reading your report Ellen. Glad you had a good time. We love the Panhandle.

BoulderCO

Florida Panhandle seems a fairly well-kept secret. People rarely think about that area when planning Florida vacations but in my opinion the beaches there are the best in the U.S.

Scarlett

ellen, How great that your had such a nice time!
I will check and see if the Stone Creamery is nearby..always open to recommendations. We are going to the same places night after night, needing direction to avoid baaad cooked grease disguised as food.
The Blue Angels...the airforce base is in Jax and I have been told that in Oct when they have the Air Show-we will see it all from my back yard!!
They go over in the afternoons (jets) and practice (at least I think it is practice) and I get a thrill everytime

ellen_griswold

Thanks for the replies!

Hi BoulderCo - Destin may very well be a well kept secret; we had no problem getting around in terms of traffic. While it was crazy towards pensacola and ft. walton beach, navigating the destin area was no problem.

Hi Scarlett! Lucky you getting to experience The Blue Angels so often! (another benefit of fla that you didn't have in the city, right? )

But i'm curious....we were told by some locals that the Angels we were seeing were from Pensacola....are there two squads? Regardless, they sure are a true thrill to experience!

Scarlett

Hi ellen!
My posting was just a wee bit garbled

The Air Force base is here in Jax.
The jets that fly in the airshows are here. So they fly over and we get to see free shows all the time..not sure if they are Blue Angels or just the regular jets, they all go really fast and look good

Yes, life in Florida is pretty fine~

ellen_griswold

Hi Scarlett! Out of curiosity i did a little research. Check this out for your future road trips:

http://www.naval-air.org/museum/blue-angels.html

Wish i would have found this before we went to destin but it was somewhat of a last minute trip. Anyway, from our place at the beach we still got goosebumps!

BTW, a few weeks ago i a got a fresh reminder why you miss the city so much; dh and i had the pleasure of a very quick but amazing visit to nyc. We stayed with friends in Basking Ridge, NJ and only got to spend a day in the city, but what fun. I never EVER tire of the energy or excitement. Spent most of my time in Bloomies and macy's. It was during macy's flower show so we heard a woman speak on cactus flowers! That was especially cool since we're huge out west fanatics

Also, our friends wanted to show us something different (we've been there several times) so they took us on a two hour harbour cruise at night, The Spirit of NY. It was really pretty cool going under the bridges and past Lady Liberty at night. Got some great pics. The food however was....ummm....well.... we sure did enjoy the cruise!!!

sherryb

I am coming to Ft. Walton Beach (May 2)for the first time from the Boston area. Do you have any insight into how long the drive from the airport (VPS) was or any other information you could pass along? I am finding it difficult to gain much insight into Ft. Walton Beach as everything I come across is about/geared to Destin.

Tandoori_Girl

I have to agree with BoulderCO that the Panhandle has the nicest beaches in Florida. So glad your Florida vacation was a good one! Those Grouper Ruebens seem to be making it onto more and more Florida menus. I recently had a blackened Grouper Rueben which was muy magnificent!

ellen_griswold

Sherryb - i don't know anything about the airport and times etc. since we drove to destin. Sorry. Hopefully someone else can help...anyone?

Tandoori Girl - we too were surprised to see grouper reubens on the menus and even more surprised our dd and her friend tried them! Of course dh and i tried a bite and then we understood why they ordered them a second time - yummy! Any idea where i can get a recipe?

Austin

Ellen - we are thinking of a trip to Destin. Can you provide info on the condo you rented?

Thanks much!

ellen_griswold

Hi Austin, we used vrbo.com to find our condo and were very pleased for being first time users.

Our condo complex was oceanfront but our condo was oceanview with private patio, one BR / one bath but sleeps six, with a pull out queen sofa and bunk beds hidden in the hallway. Very convenient to many good restaurants (within walking distance)and not a cheesy souvenir shoppe in sight! (not that we don't like those on occasion!)

It was also our first time to destin and found it very upscale compared to other beaches nearby. Lots of low-rise condos, private homes, (somewhat similar to Seaside, of The Truman Show movie), and rarely a motel in sight. We missed having the waves to play in but the powdered sugar beach and sparkling emerald gulf was a good trade off.

Let me know if you have any questions. Wish i could go back today!

Scarlett

ellen,
Re: Blue Angels..there was an Air Show in Ft Lauderdale, maybe that is why we saw the jets over here~
Destin is not that far from Jax, is it?

Austin, maybe we will talk, if not
visit

Austin

Thanks Ellen. I have been to vrbo and am overwhelmed by the options! Have a few picked out, but wonder if you can share the vrbo # or the name of the complex?

Thanks in advance!

bjboothman

Destin is over 300 miles from JAX, however Eglin AFB, the largest AF base in the world is in Destin's backyard. Could they have been at Eglin?

Floridafran

Just so you'll all know. The Blue Angels are Navy. If you're seeing planes flying out of an Air Force base they are most likely The Thunderbirds. They're the Air Force equivalent to the Blues. Last time I saw the Thunderbirds they were mostly white with red and blue markings, but that was years ago and they may look different now. The Blues, on the other hand, I can identify at a glance. I watch them perform over Pensacola Beach every year from my house. They are a deep blue with yellow/gold accents. A truly beautiful sight to see.

Scarlett

There is a Navy base in Jax too , so I have no clue who is flying out of where
But I do know that every time I see one of those jets go screaming over, I get a thrill!

Floridafran

I agree with you, Scarlett. I've been watching the Blues fly for as long as I can remember. First in Jax, (where I grew up, so I should have mentioned the planes you saw could have been Navy), then in Corpus Christi, now here in the Pensacola area. I've never grown tired of seeing them and I still get a thrill when they fly overhead.

I have lots of chances to see them since they perform 2 shows a year here and often fly practice out of the base just across the Sound, between other shows. When one of them screams by everyone is looking up, even longtime residents like me. Brings a lump to my throat every time.

Enjoy the air show from your backyard. It sure is easier than having to fight the traffic and you'll get a differnt perspective.

stepmar

I echo Austin's reply, Ellen - vrbo.com's options are overwhelming! Can you give a hint on what you used? If you would rather send me email to keep the response private, please send the info to [email protected] at your convenience.

Either way, thanks for the report!!

stepmar