Destin, Florida and Vicinity

We had one final day in Destin, so we decided it should be a shopping day. We needed staples like bread and milk and there is a Sam's Club there so off we went. In Destin, they have a store called Alvin's. They sell beach stuff like swim suits, sand boards, boogie boards etc. For you California readers, Alvin's is to Destin like Starbucks is to California...one on every other corner! Anyway, we loaded up on some goodies from Alvin's and headed over to Sam's. I took pictures along the way....

Well, we drove thru a campground called the Gulf. Nice campground with spaces on the sand. Debi said she wasn't going to clean sand out of the coach every day. I said I wasn't going to pay $110/day for the space! They had a speed limit of 4 1/2 mph but we couldn't get the radar to display that....

Just more pictures of clouds over the Gulf waters. A beautiful day with only medium humidity.

 As we crossed over a second bridge we could see the town of Fort Walton Beach in the distance. 

Fort Walton Beach is a year round fishing and beach resort community. Besides summer, it's also a destination for thousands during Spring Break. Of interest, there never was a "fort" at this beach.

 

We did a circle tour of Choctawhatchee Bay. Taking a shortcut across the bay using the mid bay bridge connection.  You can see the northshore communities across the bay.

This bridge was built to assist in hurricane evacuations. It is a toll road and originally charged $1.50 each way. However, because of massive traffic tie ups on the south shore, the toll was changed to $3.00 southbound only. There is no toll northbound.

The city of NiceVille is on the northshore of Choctawhatchee Bay. A very pretty and clean city of about 12,000. It borders the Elgin Air Force base. Originally called Valpariso, it's name was changed to attract more tourists.

This is the Okaloosa County area of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It was a day use area with facilities, a fishing area and a swimming beach.

Ever wonder what the locals do on a warm September afternoon? These houseboats are moored on a huge sand bar in the middle of the bay. They pull their boats out onto the sandbar and go wading, drinking, partying and other "stuff" to keep cool. The sand bar is identified by the different coloring in the water. 

 

Here we are completing our circle tour and coming back into Destin.

If you remember my posting from Macon Georgia, I posted a picture of a Hot Dog pouring ketchup on it's head. Here is it's kin resting on a surfboard. I had seen the "Hot Dog on a Stick" and now I've seen the "Hot Dog on a Thing"! Pretty cool...