Trip to Destin June/July 2013 (Rob, me, Laurel and Mom)

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Trip to Destin June/July 2013

Day 1 (June 29th)

We left the house at 0730 and drove a very LONG 12 hours to get there, due to traffic. We went and checked out our condo, which was really nice, then did some grocery shopping. When we got back, Rob and I took Laurel to the beach, her first time to see any ocean. She loved it. Then we came back to the condo to swim. We went to bed around midnight.

Day 2 (June 30th)

I woke up around 0530, showered and went down to the beach. I walked the beach and took pictures. After Mom got ready, mom and I went to Wal-Mart while Rob and Laurel went to the beach. I joined them when I got back and we swam in the ocean until lunchtime. After lunch we went into the town of Destin to price activities and walk the Harbor Walk.

We came back to the condo and I planned out the week while mom and Laurel went to the pool. Then we all went to Golden Corral for dinner. After dinner, me, Rob an Laurel went back to the beach to play in the ocean. We stayed until after sunset before heading back to the condo to relax for the evening.

Day 3 (July 1st)

Rob and I left at 0840 to go to Emerald Coast Scuba for a dive. It was really rough out on the water and Rob got seasick. We went on one dive, but vis was not very good and we both had a bit of trouble adjusting in the water, so we did not spend much time on the bottom. We passed on the second dive, though we both did get in the water to swim a little while the others dove. We saw dolphins jumping in our wake on the way there and at the dive site and that was awesome.

We came back and rested a little, then went to Capt. Dave's to eat. It was delicious and the view was amazing.

A little about the condo: Very nice with tile floors throughout. It was right next to the pool and laundry and just a short walk to the beach. I would like to remember Chateau La Mer for future reference. Condo number 11A.

After dinner, Rob and Laurel went down to the beach while mom and I relaxed in the condo. Rob and Laurel found stingray in the surf and Laurel was a bit bothered by that. It was a nice day, though.

Day 4 (July 2nd)

We got up early to head to the Harbor Walk for parasailing. Mom stayed home to wash clothes and relax. Rob and Laurel parasailed while I filmed and photographed them from below. It was pretty cool.

After parasailing, we went out toward Gulfarium and ate lunch next door at the Angler. Then we headed over to the Gulfarium and had fun going through it and watching the shows. After the Gulfarium we went back to the Angler to try out the s'mores they had over there for dessert. It came with a little open flame to roast the marshmallows over, it was fun and so good.

After we got back to the condo, we swam in the pool until we were prunes. We ate dinner, then went for a walk on the beach. It was so pretty and just amazing, with the beautiful sunset, the white sand and Laurel and Rob's company. We stayed until it got dark and we watched people walking along the beach with flashlights and some others setting off fireworks. We even got to watch a luminary being released into the sky. It was awesome.

Day 5 (July 3rd)

We woke up to rain, so no morning beach trip. Instead we took our time getting around and then made reservations to see The Lone Ranger at a cool dinner theater. We sat in the comfort of leather seats and were were waited on at our seats by waitresses. It was a cool experience worth fighting the terrible rainy day Destin traffic and huge crowds at the shopping complex.

After the movie, we decided to avoid the mass of traffic to go to Fuddruckers on the Island and instead ate a little place along the way back to the condo. It was called Kenny D's. Each table had crayons and you were encouraged to write on the walls, table or wherever you could find space to write. It was fun, and the food was good. When we returned to the condo, there was a break in the rain, so we went to the beach. The surf was rough, but we had a blast swimming in the ocean anyway.

When the rain started again, we headed back to the condo and decided to rinse off by swimming in the pool. We were enjoying the swim, when Laurel suddenly said, "Look at that rainbow!" There was a sunny place in the sky even though it was rainy over us and the sunshine there created an amazing rainbow. It was so bright with rich colors and eventually it became a double rainbow. It was really awesome. We took pictures, but they did not do it justice at all.

Day 6 (July 4th)

When we woke up this morning it was rainy again and really windy, so we obviously decided not to go on the dive we had planned. Instead, we hung out around the condo for a little while, then decided to go grocery shopping. We ate lunch at home then went out to Okaloosa Island to Fat Daddy's to play video games, etc. We hung around the condo afterwards until dinner. Mom was sick, so she stayed at the condo, while Rob, Laurel and I went to Osaki Japanese Grill. I was really pricey and fancy, but fun.

After dinner, I decided to try to do s'mores at the condo, so I headed out to get all the fixings. I tried a nearby Circle K first. No s'mores stuff there, but I bought a bag of kitty food for some girls who were trying to help a stray cat. She had clearly just had kittens and was just trying to eat for her sake as well as theirs. I couldn't resist helping. The girls took the food and fed her. She was very hungry and very grateful.

I ended up having to go to the Win-Dixie for the supplies, but found them and we had s'mores on our patio. Yum! We then walked down to the beach. The surf was windy and wild, but as it was getting dark, people were still setting off fireworks. The beach was filled with people setting fireworks off, and then the city show started down the beach in the distance. Very pretty.

We just relaxed in the condo after we got back for the rest of the evening.

Day 7 (July 5th)

The day did not begin well at all. We got up to go on a snorkeling trip, but Emerald Coast Scuba called to cancel it. Turned out to be for the best, because Mom had gotten much worse and I had to take her into the ER. She developed pneumonia as it turned out. Luckily, it was in the early stages and with some fluids and antibiotics they let her come back to the condo that day. We were at the ER from 10am until 2pm. Rob and Laurel stayed at the condo until we got home.

I got Mom the meds she needed and got her settled in at the condo with what I thought she might need nearby, then Rob and I took Laurel to the Destin Commons. We let Laurel do a Build-A-Bear and then walked around some of the shops, trying to dodge the rain. We ate at Johnny Rockets and then had Marble Slab ice cream.

We came back around 7pm. We checked in on mom, then tried to swim in our pool. With all the rain, the water was just too cold, so we just hung around the condo.

Day 8 (July 6th)

I can't say that we had a good ride home. The drive home took 12 and half hours due to all the traffic and the heavy rain. Mom was still not doing to well, so we had to make several stops along the way for her as well. We did not get home until 10:30 pm. We were exhausted.

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