Spring has Sprung

Battered by Winter?

The Northeast USA has been battered by old man winter, it seems like an endless barrage of snowy days and freezing temps. Colorado hasn’t fared much better, every time we talk to our boys in Fort Collins they tell us it is 12 degrees and snowing.

I think it’s time for a little celebration of Florida weather.  We’ve  been enjoying seasonal weather — in the high 60’s and low 70’s for the past month. We’ve had a few cold and rainy days, but overall it has been nice.

Rosemary Beach

Sandestin Gumbo Festival

A few weeks ago, Sandestin had their Annual Gumbo Festival. For the price of entry, you could sample gumbo from 15 different restaurants. It was a tasty affair.

Sandestin

Sandestin

We have been visiting Destin for well over 20 years but believe it or not, this was the first time we had been to Sandestin Resort. It is a cool village, like a little Disney World. It has lots of activities for kids and plenty of restaurants, watering holes and biking paths for adults.

Sandestin

Sandestin

Sandestin

Sandestin

Kid Friendly Sandestin

Cape San Blas

Last week, we ventured over to Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, and St. George Island. These are all cool places to visit, but on our way back, we stumbled onto Cape San Blas. It is a barrier island just off the coast of Florida that spans about 14 miles.

Cape San Blas

Cape San Blas

It is as if we found a little known gem. Cape San Blas has pristine beaches, Nantucket style houses, and miles of paved biking trails. Very cool — we will visit more often.

Cape San Blas

Destin

Today, we decided to spend time in Destin. For over 20 years, Destin was our vacation spot. But since moving to Florida, we’ve spent most of our time on scenic 30A and Rosemary Beach, and have not been to the Destin beaches since the move. We started our day by eating at Pompano Joe’s, a beachside grill with incredible views of the ocean.

Pompano Joes

We were struck by how wide the beaches are and had forgotten that the sandbars go on forever. And the water was just stunning.  After hanging out here, we drove over to the Destin Harbor Walk.

Harbor Walk

Water bicycle anyone?

Lots of kids activities in Harbor Walk

Water Jet Pack

The coolest thing we saw today was the Water Jet Pack. I remember seeing Jenna Wolfe do this on the Today show. You can now rent time on the Water Jet Pack — this is something I plan to do in April or May — it looks like a lot of fun!

Water Jet Pack

Scenic 30A

I will leave you with a final picture of just one of the many sunsets we get to take in each week. Chin up Northeast — nice weather is around the corner!

Sunset on Scenic 30A