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Destin, FL
Travel Article
08/11/2004 - Part 2
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Part 2
 The first full night is the night we check out happy hours and seek local
advice. We began with the beach restaurants we had found earlier.
Pompano Jo's has a beach bar below the restaurant. There we found a
delicious rum drink and an entertaining bartender named
"Austin/Patrick". It turns out he does not like his own name on a
nametag, having to hear it repeatedly, so rather than wear Patrick, he
wears anyone else's nametag, today he was Austin. Somehow I didn't
follow because you still hear someone's name repeatedly but it seemed
to make sense. We had read about tubing down a fresh-water river about
an hour north. Austin/Patrick said he was going to do just that this
Monday on his day off but he was going to do the canoe trip. We decided
to weigh our options. He also told us about the Harbor marinas and
suggested renting pontoon boats to tie up on Crab Island with all the
locals. We discussed local restaurants and astrology and needed to
move on to the next place.
The next beach restaurant was Capt. Dave's. My husband wanted to take pictures
so I went inside to get a seat. The "holding bar" as they called the
areas where people waited for tables was downstairs. The restaurant
looked beautiful with full glass views of the ocean. Downstairs was a
bit dark and uninviting, I would have to admit, but that's what we were
there to find out. When my husband finally got to the bar we found out
that they did not serve appetizers downstairs and we could not get the
BBQ shrimp we wanted without waiting for a table. We had a lot more to
do that night and didn't want to spend a couple of hours on dinner so
we decided to move on after our drinks. While we were at the bar we met
a wonderful family from Alabama and exchanged advice on visiting each
of our hometowns. We also noticed beautiful glass etchings of fish
behind the bar mostly hidden by the cash register and Island Oasis
frozen drink machine. These were beautifully done in 1986 and with the
right lighting and emphasis could be a centerpiece for the restaurant.
My husband said he wanted to show me his weird experience entering the
restaurant and proceeded to take me through a dark, slightly scary and
poorly maintained tunnel out of the restaurant under the road. That
was really weird and Capt Dave's was kind of written off our list -
however; take note it did have a fabulous restaurant view and it was
very popular for dinner.
 By then, if you have been paying attention, we had a couple of drinks and no
food since breakfast. We pulled up to the Crab Trap which was packed
with a long wait so we decided to head to Baytowne Wharf at the
Sandestin Resort. Baytowne Wharf, is another little town of shops and
restaurants. We decided to head to Hammerhead Restaurant and Grill
which offered a spectacular harbor view and sunset. It was an open-air
deck with two bars and live entertainment. We had a fabulous char
grilled lobster for an excellent price and Todd the bartender was a
doll. We fortuitously met a man from Nashville at the bar while
eating. He ordered lobster on our advice and we chatted about
Nashville, which we plan to visit in September. We finished the
evening watching the sunset from a long dock in the harbor right
outside the restaurant. It was a spectacular evening as most first
nights in most towns are.
 The next morning we were a bit tired and decided to go to the beach and pool
first. We had already made lunch plans with a friend, John Sheppard who
- get this - lives in Niceville. He is the Director of Housekeeping at
Seaside about 15 miles east. We hoped to make it there this trip but
could not fit it in. We decided to meet at a place we had read about in
our research that seemed really different, Fudpucker's Beachside Bar
and Grill, a very eclectic restaurant. This restaurant is well known
for great food, a casual atmosphere, a teen dance weekly and unusual
T-shirts and drinks. Try Fish Bone Beer or Fish Breath Water with your
Fudburger. I had the squashed crab soup and it was marvelous. A
mixture of yellow squash, onions and lump blue crap, it was an
excellent concoction I would have never thought of. Fudpucker's is
also home to over 40 alligators including a rare yellow species. The
walls are covered with graffiti, unique decorations and pelican tracks
to find your way to the restrooms. Kids are offered fishing poles to
feed the alligators (without hooks), an alligator show and a small
playground surrounding the front of the building. It's a must see,
even if just for a short visit - the kids will love it.
 We left
Fudpucker's after a pleasant lunch with our friend John and headed to
the harbor. Traveling west on Rt. 98 led us to the harbor town
district filled with marinas, restaurants and fun little spots. The
marinas offer all kinds of water activities from charter fishing and
sailing, to renting pontoon boats to take to the East Pass where the
waters meet. There you will find a large sandbar called Crab Island.
There were hundreds of boats circling a boathouse floating café.
People were waist deep in the water having a great Sunday afternoon. A
seaplane flew in to join the fun as well. We crossed the Destin Bridge
that led to the Coast Guard Station, National Seashore, and Air Force
Base. There are protected dunes here and some walkways for the
public. One of the neatest things we found here were families and
groups under the bridge swimming, fishing, crabbing and just hanging
out. I have to admit it was a bit cooler down there and the water very
inviting.
 The area
offers all kinds of windsurfing, parasailing, jet skis, etc., but our
goal today was to check out McGuire's Irish Pub where a sign over the
door reads; "Feasting, Imbibery and Debauchery". They claim to be "A
Turn of the Century New York Irish Saloon." What fun we had. They brew
their own Irish Ale and offer a sampler tray of six ales all brewed on
premise. "The difference between lager and ale is the type of yeast
used. This is a brewery, not a beer factory". They won a Bronze medal
in San Diego for their Irish Cream Stout and a Gold for their Russian
Imperial Stout. The sixth selection in the sampler is a seasonal ale,
which at this time of year was a Belgium White unfiltered with a citrus
flavor. Chris, our incredibly friendly bartender, told us that some of
the seasonal beers include their Millennium Ale that
 won a Gold Medal
at the World Beer Championship and their Christmas Ale that has become
a local tradition. He gave us a seventh sample the Russian Imperial
Stout and it was truly excellent. There are a couple quirky things
about this pub, but what else would you expect from us. There are bras
hanging off the bar ceiling and the sign says they must be taken off at
the bar to be selected to be hung on the wall and the beer taps
protrude from the breasts of old ship figureheads. The restrooms were
the ultimate hoot!! The sign on the doors had the traditional big
lettering Men/Ladies BUT - above that they almost clearly stated,
"Don't Go In Here -- (Men) -- This is the ladies room. More than a few
including my husband fell for this ultimate use of debauchery. We
ordered a bread pudding with an Irish whiskey sauce, headed up to check
out the rooftop deck, which on Sundays offers all you can eat shrimp
boil, and then reluctantly headed on.
We had one
more destination to check out before calling it a day and that was the
Hog's Breath Saloon. We had been to the Hog's Breath in Key West and
enjoyed it immensely so we just had to check out this location. It was
a little quiet and not as memorable as Key West, but it was worth the
visit. Located next to the bar are the Hog's Breath BBQ and Ribs and a
little gift store. Cute stuff and great BBQ. Believe it or not we were
tired and decided to head back to the condo, soak in the Jacuzzi and
feast on salamis, cheese, bread and olives, with some of the olives in
the martinis of course. Tomorrow is another day.
 On Monday,
our last full day, we headed back to the beach. We baked and roasted
and decided to cool off in the pool today before lunch. We headed back
to our earlier find, the Henderson Park Inn, for lunch at the Veranda.
It was a lovely dining experience. The Veranda, so named for its al
fresco porch dining, was as beautifully appointed for lunch, as it had
been the day we checked it out for research. Our waitress, Debbie, was
so hospitable and the food was first rate. We enjoyed French Onion
Soup followed by a Caesar Salad for my husband and a Citrus Chicken
Salad for me. The presentation by Chef Mike Brown was spectacular and
I truly enjoyed the blend of fresh citrus, almonds, fresh greens and
veggies along with the grilled chicken. For dessert Head Chef Gil
Treadway outdid himself on the Key Lime Pie. It was garnished with
fresh lemon and lime zest that was so aromatic it captured the palate
before the first taste. I didn't have room for dessert, but just had
to take home a Tiramisu in a take out box. It was a splendid lunch.
On the way
back to the Fairfield Majestic Sun, we decided to try our other
favorite traveling activity, wine tasting. We stopped at the Emerald
Coast Wine Cellars where Melissa gave us quite a tour of Florida
Wines. Muscadine is the popular grape of the south and is due to a
local pest that infests other varieties, is the only grape they can
grow. I personally do not care for the sweetness of the grape but it is
their most popular wine and they ship large quantities to other
vineyards. They also offered Chardonnay, White Zinfandel, Merlot,
Blueberry, and Blackberry wines. They also produce a wonderful sherry
and port. The Muscadine grape resembles the Concord grape to me.
Melissa didn't agree and snuck in a taste of the Sunset Red that is
produced from the Concord grape to see if I'd notice. The shop was
adorable and we bought a few things including their own artichoke
salsa.
 We spent
another hour or so on the beach and then the rains came. We headed
back to the Jacuzzi and for a light dinner of bread and olive oil. It
was a great escape and we were both tired and refreshed at the same
time. Tomorrow we would leave early and head for home. Torrential
downpours greeted us the next morning, which always makes the departure
easier. We filled our three full days with lots of fun and memories and
we took the time to share them with you. We now know why Destin ranks
so highly on the travel destination charts. Its small town and big town
fun all rolled into one.
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