The Tragic Loss of an Inlet Beach Icon

Just over a mile from our home is Camp Helen State Park where in the early 1950’s a fishing pier (referred to as the Inlet Beach Pier) was constructed. Families gathered to fish, swim, collect shells and find shade from the brutal Florida sun.

In 1975, the pier took a hit from Hurricane Eloise, a CAT 4 storm that punished it with 120 mph winds. Most of the pier was lost but what remained became an icon for the Inlet Beach area.

Locals and tourists staying in Inlet Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seacrest, Alys Beach, and towns further down Scenic 30a made it a habit to walk to the pier along the crystal emerald shores. The pier was a great turnaround point where people could hang out, swim, or just rest before returning home.

When heading west from Panama City Beach, each time I crossed the Lake Powell bridge of Phillips Inlet, I would look south to spot the decaying pier. It was visible just in the distance and it became a habit to glance that way. A few weeks ago I glanced over and no longer saw the pier. I thought my eyes were deceiving me but later learned that it had been taken down.

Sadly, here is how it looks today. Other than a few pilings barely visible under the water, it’s completely gone.

In 2014, a sailboat washed ashore adjacent to the pier. It was loaded with all kinds of goodies (a kid’s bike, solar panels, sonar and more). We figured the owner would have it towed soon.

The sailboat sat there for 5 months until the county removed it. By the time they did, it had been swept from the original location to the back of the pier and was submerged in the sand.

Here are a few more pictures I’ve taken over the years. RIP Inlet Beach Pier!

If you want to learn more about Inlet Beach and the Inlet Beach Pier, MarineMax put together a phenomenal video:

Want to Connect?

Follow me: Twitter  |  Facebook  |  LinkedIn 

You can subscribe to this blog by placing your email in the top right area of the page.

Looking for a condo next to beautiful Rosemary Beach, Florida?

We are in the process of building a beach house in Inlet Beach, just next to Rosemary Beach, Florida. Now that we are nearing the completion of the architectural plans for our house, so we are listing our condo for sale.

Our condo is ideally located in Seacrest Beach, a 2 minute walk from Rosemary Beach on scenic 30-a. We have deeded beach access where a 2 minute tram ride will take you to the beautiful emerald coast shores. If you prefer to walk, it’s about a 5 minute walk to the beach.

The condo is a spacious 1,453 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It has 12 foot ceilings with travertine floors, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. We have really enjoyed the condo and I am sure you will too.

If you are interested, visit the MLS listing here: http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?1534m083v5cg,16,1. If you are interested in the condo, contact Robin Morrow at 850-570-7290. We have it listed for $379,000.

 

2014 In the Rear View Mirror

I can’t believe that I retired over 2 years ago. When this August 1st came along, I didn’t even realize that it was my retirement anniversary until I remembered it a week or so later. As I did last year, I wanted to share a review of 2014.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy whatever-holiday-tradition-you-follow!

Early 2014

We brought in the New Year in Fort Collins with our boys (Cameron and Ryan). We got to learn more about Fort Collins and spent some quality time with the boys. Cameron and I skied Breckenridge and had a great time.

Horsetooth Reservoir

Cameron skiing

In February, we returned to Florida with much warmer weather than we had experienced in Colorado. We took some day trips a couple hours away to visit Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, and Cape San Blas. I spent my time fishing and golfing on warm days.

Cape San Blas

Sunset on Scenic 30A

Spring 2014

For Spring Break, we returned to Fort Collins.  Now that it was warming up a bit, we were able to hike and cycle the numerous scenic trails.

Cycling the Poudre Trail

Hiking Fort Collins

We also got out and explored the Fort Collins breweries. While visiting the local brew houses, we met some new friends (Doug and Julie) — they are also into craft breweries.

Pateros Creek Brewery

Tour of Funkwerks

Summer 2014

Our youngest son, Ryan, decided that he wanted to take the summer off and transfer from Colorado State University to the University of Florida. Since he was taking the summer off, we decided to travel to Europe for the summer. Our oldest son, Cameron, was working during the summer, so he stayed in Ft. Collins. This was the first time we had traveled with Ryan since we retired, it was a great way to spend the summer.

Paris, France

We spent 2 weeks in Paris, renting a small apartment just down the street from the Arch de Triomphe. We explored all that the city had to offer, visiting all of the major attractions and taking excursions to the French country side, visiting wineries and chateaus.

Chateau De Chenonceau

Chateau

Eiffel Tower

Spain

After leaving Paris, we flew to Barcelona, Spain.  We stayed in Spain for about a month and was able to visit Montserrat and Costa Brava.

Costa Brava

Montserrat

Park Guell in Barcelona Spain

Barcelona Beach

Our Spain trip was scheduled around the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, where we had front row seats from a balcony overlooking the festival. It was incredibly fun.

Ryan all dressed up

Running of the Bulls

We capped off our visit to Spain by visiting Valencia, Madrid, Laguardia, and Bilbao.

Valencia Spain

Flamenco Dancing in Madrid

Laguardia Spain

Incredible castle view – Laguardia Spain

Italy

After leaving Spain, we headed to Italy. We started our travels in northern Italy, visiting Milan and Lake Como.

Duomo in Milan

Lake Como

Lake Como

From here, we headed to the Italian Riviera which was probably our favorite area of Italy.

Vernazza

Monterosso

Italian Riviera – Monterosso

After leaving the Italian Riviera, we headed south to Rome, Tuscany, Pompeii and Capri. The blue grotto in Capri was stunning.

Rome

Tuscany

Pompeii

Capri

Blue Grotto

Portugal

Our final stop in Europe was in Portugal. We did not stay here very long but in hindsight, we should have stayed a few more days to take it all in.

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Fall 2014

After Europe, we spent about a month in Fort Collins then headed back to Florida. Ryan came back with us so that he could take a Physics class as he awaited his acceptance to the University of Florida.

Ryan and I decided to challenge ourselves to cycle 50 miles on the bicycle (I did the challenge in 2013 but he wanted to try it as well). He and I trained hard and completed a 45 mile and 50 mile ride a week apart. We finished the 50 miles in just 3 hours, 45 minutes quicker than when I did it by myself in 2013.

With the great weather we’ve had in Florida since our return, we’ve been boating, swimming, fishing, and spending lots of time outside. It has been fun having Ryan with us for a few months. He starts at the University of Florida in January so we will miss him.

Huge Jelly Fish

Gliders on the beach

End of 2014

We are spending December in Florida. Cameron and Ryan will be here for Christmas so we will get to spend some great family time together.

In the Fall, we purchased a piece of land pretty close to the beach in Inlet Beach (about a mile from where we live today). We are planning to build a home on the lot, hopefully beginning in the Spring or early Summer.

We haven’t planned our next travel adventure yet, but we will definitely take a trip somewhere in 2015. Maybe Greece, Malta, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, or Finland? Not sure, but they all sound great!

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