From June 7-12, I was in Destin with my my sister, dad, stepmom, and eventually two others that dropped in. This trip had been planned before the year had started, so I still decided to go even after the loss I experienced two weeks prior. It did good to get out of my head. It was actually quite difficult to stay in my head for any depressing amount of time, between my sister keeping me moving and ending the night so tired I went to bed before everyone else!

The journey started the day before our 8 hour road trip, when I drove 3 hours down to Little Rock and spent time with my sister.

Annistyn and I are always outside in our “hideout” when I come over, a sorry excuse for a clubhouse, but it houses a lot of memories and my brother and I made it into the best that we could while we were kids. I may do another post on it and the “Mystery House” we frequent, which is an abandoned shack in the woods that is closer to collapsing in more on itself every time we visit.

Road Trip

We played both outside and in, and I was exhausted by the end of the day. I slept soundly and woke up before 5:30 am without any alarms and helped pack stuff into the car. It was a tight squeeze with my travel backpack, pillow, and blanket but I made it work.

My sister and I colored for a bit, played on my 3DS and her Switch, and after I spent most of the ride listening to music and learning the ins and outs of “Baywatch”. It is like Slug Bug, but you yell out the token word at any yellow vehicle. Has anyone else played this? It was my first time hearing of it.

Buc-ees

When we had about an hour or two left of the drive, we came across the Disney World of gas stations: Buc-ees! This was the Beach Express one in Alabama, and since it was in the afternoon, it was packed. They had traffic cones and directors out there and the inside was just as insane. I don’t even remember if I got a drink or anything, but my sister picked out this little keychain for me.

First Night

We got to our condo in Destin, Florida right at check-in time- 4pm. The building was very nice, we were the last building before you get to Norreigo Point Beach. The living room and my sister and I’s bedroom had a full wall of mirror, and I admit I scared myself one morning peeking out and seeing my stepmom right behind me in the hallway through my reflection.

That first day we just settled in, we walked to the beach to check it out and the water was very pretty. Norreigo Point is a snorkel beach just off the harbor, so there are man made coves for swimming and I can see how it is a lot more family friendly and safer.

I was not expecting to eat oysters on the first night in Destin, but I was pleasantly surprised that we were going out to eat. We ended up at AJ’s, which turned out to be probably my favorite restaurant we went to on vacation.

I do not eat meat, but I will eat oysters once a year or every other year when the opportunity presents itself. One, because on vacation it is about the only thing I can eat, and two, because they are delicious. I spread the cocktail sauce and a little horseradish on a saltine cracker, slide on the oyster, squeeze some lemon, and I am in heaven. I prefer raw oysters to fried, and you can see the before and after of the damage I did to my platter.

First Full Day

I had fallen into the habit of waking up at a crisp 5am before leaving on this trip, and it served me well. Taking these few hours for myself really helped me have a grounding moment, and I sat out on the patio every morning in this spot, watching the sun come up.

We spent a full day on the beach, I mean, what other option is there? I loved just relaxing. Nowhere to be, nothing to do, just swimming and watching the boats pass. We set up at around 9:30 am and stayed until around 3pm, then we loaded up and lugged everything back to the condo and got ready to eat dinner. This was the main theme for most of the days we spent in Destin.

Second Day

While I was spending time in the sun, Tori got her full summer outfit. This is her rolling up to Dylan’s for pupsitting in her bucket hat. The brim had to be flipped up so she could see lol.

My stepmom’s little sister, Caroline, and her boyfriend drove through the night to join us and Annistyn was in heaven with both me and her aunt on vacation with her.

It was another beach day, and we spent most of the day out on the sand again even, though it was overcast. There wasn’t any rain, fortunately, but the clouds made the water not as clear. The cool part about this beach is the abundance of little fish, take away the clarity of the water and I was a little suspicious of what was swimming under me where I couldn’t see!

Third Day

This was our last full beach day, and we got to the beach earlier and the water was crystal clear and super blue. It was beautiful! The weather was nice too, and I ended up taking my second nap laying down on my towel.

I think that’s how I know I’m getting older. I used to spend hours and hours swimming and getting beat up by the waves, but now I will swim a bit, then lounge, then swim, then lounge, and then I take a nap! I have never taken a nap at the beach, and this trip I took two. I don’t even think I meant to fall asleep, but those naps were amazing.

After I woke up, dad and I sifted through the sand and found a bunch of pretty and small shells. I found some larger cone ones, but didn’t get a picture.

The beach we visited was close to Crab Island, a big party area, and there was a lot of water traffic past the rock buffers. It was cool to see the themed ships and parasailers going out and coming back in. A pirate ship would set off a mock cannon that we came to expect every couple of hours or so, but it wasn’t loud.

That night we all went out to eat at LuLu’s. The view was so pretty, but the wait and the kids playing out in this sandy area behind the main restaurant were not. No parents in sight, and these little boys were swearing and little girls throwing sand at people. Eek! My stepmom and I shared a strawberry daiquiri and a banana daiquiri and hers got sand thrown in it. Thankfully she was able to get a new one, and not long after that we were called to our table.

Fourth Day

This was our last full day in Florida, and dad was beached out so in the early hours that I woke up, I went on a beach walk. Again the water was super clear and light.

In the photo below you can see the condo we stayed at right beside the beach. Even though it is so close, lugging a bunch of chairs and a canopy, coolers etc was a full workout!

I sat on the buffer rocks and watched little sea turtles bob their heads up and swim up and down the length of the rocks. I tried to get a picture or video but they were sneaky and their heads blended in with the waves on my camera. I would give up and just watch and one would poke their head up right in front of me! They were so cute.

I still had time before anyone was moving around so I walked to the closest gas station and got myself a much needed energy drink. This monster is my favorite flavor, the Ultra Paradise. I walked 4 miles in my flip flops, let’s just say I made them into a modified sandal before I got back, ow.

The sun had also started warming everything up by the time I got to the gas station, so I was drenched in sweat by the time I got back. It was still before 9am so I had plenty of time to shower and get ready before we drove around the tourist shops.

They had a bunch of cool postcards, and while I got some to send back home, I was also tempted by this keychain that had my dog’s name on it haha. I wasn’t expecting to see it, since Tori is more of a human name.

Dad really wanted to try The Back Porch. We had attempted to come earlier in the week, but it was packed. We came right before lunch hours and got in with a minimal wait, and we were seated along the porch. I had no idea this restaurant also faced the water, so that was fun.

My sister and I walked out and took some pictures while we waited to be seated.

Of course I got more oysters. I do not care to be cautious, I will eat a surplus amount of these because it is such a rare treat, and it’s the only thing I will really eat at seafood places.

I always take before and after photos for my mom and boyfriend to gag at, haha!

That night, we walked to the beach and had the best view of the firework show they have for the Harbor Walk.

All of the party boats came up right on time to watch as well.

This show was amazing, it went on for so long, and the fireworks kept getting bigger and more elaborate.

My favorite fireworks are always the ones that rain down and look like a weeping willow tree made out of stardust.

After the firework show, we walked the beach looking for crabs. We used to do this when I was a kid, and this was Annistyn’s first time so it was sweet.

Just when we thought we weren’t going to find any, we spotted a little baby crab!

Searching for crabs is fun, but I always have a fear in the back of my mind that I will step on one on accident. It is actually a big fear, but I just kept on trekking lol.

We found a few more, and every time we found another, it was bigger than the last!

This was a big guy, no way I could have accidentally stepped on him. They are fast too! I only had about a minute to whip out my phone and try to catch a shot of them before they scurried away from the flash light.

Road Trip Back

The morning we left the condo, there was the most beautiful sunrise of the trip. Like come on, look at all of those colors and the orange on the big puffy clouds. The palm trees are an added bonus, too.

Of course we stopped at Buc-ee’s one last time and I got some more honey roasted pecans.

June 13

I stayed one more night in Little Rock after we got back, and I went with dad and Annistyn the next morning to a car show. Dad won second in his class so that made enduring the heat worth it haha.

After that, I drove back home to see Tori, who took like 3 weeks to forgive me for leaving her.

Overall, it was a great trip. I am thankful that I was able to go and I had a lot of fun 🌊. Do you have any summer trips or activities planned? Let me know and I will see you all soon!