MORE FROM HENDERSON STATE PARK + BEACH AT DESTIN



Nice benches help old geezers who get tired on the trail

One old geezer on the trail

One of many kites at the beach

From park shelter, looking toward the neat Bnb on the beach

One of the many boats out on a nice day

2011 Mon., March 14


This will be the LAST blog entry, since we will be leaving for IL early tomorrow. (I can feel all the sorrow!! Ha!)


After lunch, we went to Crystal beach, set up our camping chairs, and watched the action and read our books. Now there are a lot of people on the beach, especially college age kids, doing lots of things. Bean bag games, football catch, paddle game with a ball batted back and forth, stupid drinking games, kite flying, paddle surfing, groups standing out in the waves while still trying to drink, and lots of sunbathing. Now, boys have swimsuits that are baggy and knee length, and girls have itsy-bitsy teeny bikinis. Mid-afternoon we went to the Commons mall (remember, I said it would be like our Celebration spot) to Starbucks, and we shared an iced latte mocha and a very small donut. Perfect weather again, and we sat and watched the people go by for awhile. Then we went to Books-a-Million, read magazines, and browsed the books. For supper, we went to the Panera Bread at the mall. Did a small amount of organizing, getting ready for packing.


FL WEATHER: High 70, low 61. Warm, hazy clouds morning, sunny afternoon, breeze 5-10 m.p.h. We had a lot of days in the 60’s, but now that we are leaving, the forecast is for 70’s for the next week.


FL NEWS: Overall bed tax revenues down so far
Tourism got off to a slow start in 2011, according to recently released bed tax figures from Okaloosa and Walton counties that show January’s collections were down compared with January 2010. However, in Santa Rosa County, collections were up for the fifth month in a row. The Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council collected $31,754 in bed taxes in January, up 10.2 percent from January 2010. While the county as a whole was up, the executive director of the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council, said collections on Navarre Beach were actually down more than 20 percent - “I was a little surprised. February will be good because February is the best month for snowbirds.” Bed taxes are collected on short-term rentals in Walton, Santa Rosa and southern Okaloosa counties. The funds are used primarily to promote the area to potential tourists. Okaloosa County [which includes Destin] collected $102,709 in bed taxes in January, down 10.21 percent from a year ago. Walton County collected $130,994 in bed taxes in January, a decrease of about 5 percent from last year. Despite the shortfall in January, the Walton County TDC Executive Director is optimistic about a strong spring and summer season - “We’re hearing great signs from our lodging partners that reservations are up. They’re starting to see more calls and interest coming in. We’re very optimistic about spring and the season to follow.”

MORE BEACH AT DESTIN + HENDERSON STATE PARK



Parasailing up high

Not crowded, but more people all the time.

Note the airplane - kite.

Peddling a kayak and trolling for fish.

Two dolphins were near him, but not in this photo.

Set-up for a wedding on the beach.

Henderson State Park

Trail in the park

Prickly pear cactus in the park - like the desert

2011 Sat., Sun. March 12,13

On Sat., we went to Henderson State Park, which is about a mile to the east of us. It’s mostly sand dunes and scrub brush with only a few larger pine trees. We walked one trail loop which took about one hour. Saw a few birds, but nothing special. Then we sat in our camping chairs on the beach and watched the action - several kites, people para-sailing, games of catch, kids trying to catch gulls, kids wading in the shallow pool of water at beach edge, people feeding gulls, big boats going by, man fishing from a kayak that he was peddling, dolphins near the kayak, set-up for a wedding on the beach. Not many people in the gulf, since the water temperature is 64 degrees. We went for supper at Zoe’s Café at the Commons mall - I had a grilled chicken sandwich with soup, and Linda had a steak pita wrap and slaw. Both were good, obviously home cooked style.

On Sun., we went back to the Harbor Walk west of us at the foot of the bridge. Lots more people around this time, and very much more boat traffic in and out of the harbor - like a parade. Boats as little as a very small rowboat and as big as the large double-decked dolphin-tour boat, with all kinds in between, including several pontoon boats. We sat in a shady spot and watched the action for quite awhile. Then we went to Starbucks at the Commons mall for coffee and a scone. The weather is perfect, so we had lots of people to watch sitting at the outside tables and walking by. We also went to Books-a-Million so Linda could get a book to read. Then we went to Joe’s Crab Shack for a lite supper. We both got clam chowder soup and shared a crab-stuffed mushroom appetizer. We’re eating out more because we are leaving soon and don’t want to have a lot of food left over.


FL WEATHER: Both days High 71, low 50. Warm, very sunny, breeze 5-10 m.p.h.


FL NEWS: Student visiting for spring break died after party in Destin
Philip Cameron Christian of Augusta, Ga. was staying with a group of fifteen students from Georgia Southern University at a home at 4643 Destiny Way. Christian and the other students had a party Saturday night, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. The students said Christian went to bed around 1 a.m. Sunday. Friends found Christian in his bed not breathing shortly after 5 a.m., according to the sheriff's office. Christian was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in South Walton County for treatment. He died at the hospital about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. The sheriff's office is investigating the incident.

LOTS OF ACTION ON BEACH AT DESTIN



Guy flying a big kite

It's dragging him across the sand.

Football game in progress

Taken from the boardwalk near the restaurant.

Note the small kite at the right.

Note the boat in the glare. 

You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Wedding pictures being taken. 

Note the boat in the background.

2011 Fri. March 11

Relaxing morning, lunch here, then mid-afternoon we went to the Crab Trap for coffee and key lime pie. (No, not to Starbucks today.) The key lime pie here is very, very good, and we were not the only ones having just pie and a drink. Then we took a long walk on the beach. Lots of action now, with one guy right in front of the restaurant flying one of those big kites with a controller-bar to make it swoop and dive. The wind was only about 10 mph max, but when he let it get low and pull him, it would drag him through the sand. He would lean back, and his feet would make furrows in the sand. Then when it went straight up, it didn’t pull much at all. Fun to watch. Also, a small decorated gazebo was the setting for some wedding pictures. A little further down, a boy-girl football game was taking place. As I said, now lots of action on the beach. The wind is blowing parallel to the beach, so the wave action is small. Several boats went by, as well as some low-flying airplanes. Next we rode down to Majestic Sun resort right on Miromar beach. We plan on staying there next year, so we parked and walked around it a little. Much nicer setting than where we are now, with small fishing lakes and lots of walking paths. It’s part of a larger complex, Seascape, that includes an 18-hole golf course. Home for supper.


FL WEATHER: High 65, low 45. Cool but sunny, breeze 5-10 m.p.h.


FL NEWS: Spring breakers caught 'hunting' Fudpucker's gators
Two spring break students were arrested this week after they were caught trying to steal alligators from Fudpucker’s Restaurant according to their Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports. The men had dropped a rope baited with raw chicken into the gator pond. An employee of the restaurant at heard the two men “yelling outside the gator area” and looked out to see one of them pulling up a rope. The two 20-year-old university students were booked into the Okaloosa County Jail in the early morning hours of March 8. They were charged with burglary to an occupied structure and larceny, both of which are felonies. The men, who are both from Carrollton, Georgia, were here on spring break with a group of friends. One of them called the Northwest Florida Daily News, disappointed that the attempted gator thefts hadn’t made it in the paper. “They had no intention of stealing gators,” said the friend, who didn’t give his name. “They were trying to hunt gators – stupid stuff.” Their fellow spring breaker said that he and others learned a valuable lesson from their friends’ arrests. “I learned that gator-hunting is not taken too kindly around there,” he said.

MORE FROM THE BEACH AT DESTIN

[REMINDER: Click on the picture for a larger view.]



Note the pelican at the left.  Many times they fly just inches above the water.

More kids on the beach, but not in huge crowds.  Note small group in the water, and another group in the distance between the pilings.

2011 Thurs. March 10
Relaxing morning, lite lunch here, then we went for a ride to the north to the shore of the bay on that side. There was a small park there with a short boardwalk over a small wetland. The bay is very wide here. We rode through some neighborhoods looking at homes, and ended up at the Commons mall. [We may stop doing this kind of driving around if gas gets to $4 a gallon!] There we went to Starbucks [surprised?] to get coffee and a free treat. They are introducing cake-on-a-stick, so for a few days you can get one free. It’s a ball of cake with frosting on a stick, like a tootsie-pop. It was very sweet, but I don’t know how well they will sell. We sat and watched people go by - lots more college age kids, but there seems to be more people in general. Then we came back to the resort for awhile before we went to supper at Landry’s. I had a $25 birthday credit on their club card, so we had a great $15 supper! I had fried oysters with asparagus, and Linda had broiled shrimp with rice and broccoli. Home to watch the first singer get eliminated on American Idol.


FL WEATHER: High 64, low 41. Cool but sunny, windy.


FL NEWS: Teacher pay-tenure bill passed by Florida Senate
[I’m upset that the general public thinks tenure is designed to keep poor teachers from being fired. WRONG! Its purpose is to keep good teachers from being fired on the whim of their principal. I can see it coming - teachers fired because they were getting paid too much compared to a new teacher, or because they have a personality clash with their principal. SAD!]
A less rigid version of a bill that would begin merit pay for teachers and end tenure for new teachers is on a fast track to passage after it cleared the Florida Senate in a largely partisan vote on Thursday. Just two days into the legislative session, a bill similar to one vetoed last year by former Gov. Charlie Crist, is now headed for a floor vote in the House next week. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans and the legislation (SB 736) is strongly backed by new Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Its key features are a merit pay plan based heavily on how well each teacher's students improve on standardized tests starting in 2014 and a ban on tenure for teachers hired after July 1, 2011. "This bill ought to be a teacher's dream to be able to get paid for student success," said Sen. Stephen Wise, a Jacksonville Republican and retired educator sponsoring the bill. Democrats argued there was no evidence merit pay improves student performance and that the bill fails to pay for the salary enhancements or additional testing needed to make the salary plan work. "I'm afraid it will collapse under its own weight because of the funding," said Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat and CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. Montford said that's why Florida's five prior merit pay plans failed. Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston said the legislation was an unworkable attempt to run schools like a business. "Teachers and students aren't just widgets coming off the assembly line," she said. "They're human beings who can't be and don't deserve to be reduced to a single number on a piece of paper."

BEACH AT DESTIN & HARBOR WALK



Pretty colors again

White sand, aqua water, pretty sky,

gulls, and not many people

Nice boats at the harbor

Flock of pelicans

2011 Wed. March 9

For lunch, we went to Another Broken Egg, which has over 200 different kind of egg dishes on the menu. Linda had a quiche, but I just had eggs, bacon, and a huge pancake. Nice restaurant, very quiet, pleasant décor. As we left the restaurant, it was starting to rain, so we rode 10 miles to Ft. Walton Beach to a covered mall. It poured rain on the way to the mall, and it was nice to be able to be inside at a mall. We walked around, shopped some, and then went to an outlying Starbucks for coffee and a scone. Home for a lite supper.


FL WEATHER: High 72, low 44. Warm, but very windy and cloudy in the morning. Rain by noon, done by 5:00, but tornadoes in the area.

FL NEWS: Storms pummel Gulf Coast with wind, lightning, tornadoes
A line of severe weather tore through Northwest Florida Wednesday. Lightning, high winds and heavy rain left a spattering of damage across the area. Lawmen reported one tornado touched ground east of Milton.
Two children were indirectly struck by lightening. A teenager was struck while grabbing a doorknob at the Learning Academy in Milton Wednesday morning. A second-grader at Northwood Elementary in Crestview was struck when a surge traveled through an electrical outlet that the student was sitting next to. Both children were transferred to local hospitals in stable condition. In Baker, on Keyser Mill Road, a mobile home was burned down after it was apparently struck by lightening, according to an employee with the North Okaloosa Fire District. The mobile home was a complete loss. In Navarre, lightening struck the roof of another mobile home on Molina Street. Wood beams underneath the home caught fire, according to Lt. Tim Cole of the Holley-Navarre Fire Department. The fire caused $5,000 to $6,000 worth of damage. High winds whipped through the area, knocking down trees and power lines. Power outrages were reported through the afternoon.

HARBOR WALK AT WEST END OF DESTIN

Bob under a huge tree

Part of Destin harbor. Note Linda at the right.

Note boards where charter boats hang the fish for pictures.

One of the charter boats coming into the harbor.

Some fishermen at the harbor entrance.

Not many people out yet, but lots of shops and restaurants here.

2011 Tues. March 8

Relaxing morning, then for lunch we went to McGuire’s Irish Pub at the far west end of Destin. Very unique - dollar bills stuck everywhere including the ceiling, Irish music playing, they brew six of their own beers, waitresses all wearing long green skirts. I had shepherd’s pie and Linda had corned beef and cabbage - excellent, large portions, so we have another meal of leftovers. I had their red beer, and it was excellent. After lunch we rode down to Crystal beach and went for a walk. We now see lots of college kids on early spring break - beaches are not crowded, just several groups of 5 to 20 kids. Very windy, so good wave action, but not many in the water - mostly sunbathing. On the way back, we went to the Commons mall, had a free large mocha latte at Starbucks, watched the people walking by, and came back for a lite supper.


FL WEATHER: High 68, low 62. Temperature is good, but it is windy, mostly sunny.


FL NEWS: EDITORIAL: The other agenda for Florida
Listening to politicians’ promises, you’d think the upcoming session of the Florida Legislature is all about cutting the state budget, creating jobs and curtailing the size and power of government. Well, think again. There’s another agenda on the table, one devoted to making government more intrusive and centralizing more authority in Tallahassee. Want examples? Check out these proposals:
1) A bill promoted by gun-rights activists would prohibit doctors from asking patients about guns stored at home, and would prohibit doctors from refusing to see patients who balk at gun-related questions. Inquiring doctors could be fined $5 million or jailed for five years. Doctors may have perfectly valid reasons to ask about guns at home, whether out of concern over spousal abuse or to encourage child safety. The bill talks about “the privacy of the patient,” but the privacy that’s REALLY being violated here is the private relationship between patient and physician. Legislators have no business sticking their nose under that tent.
2) Another bill would base 50 percent of a schoolteacher’s evaluation on student performance on the FCAT. This is yet another attempt to link teachers’ salaries to student test scores. By doing so, it would de-emphasize local principals’ evaluations and place more emphasis on massive, state-approved assessment tests. Thus, another layer of decision-making would be shifted to Tallahassee.
3) A package of immigration bills would require all Florida businesses to use the federal work eligibility database known as E-Verify and would require local police to check the immigration status of anyone they arrest. These and other measures … represent an overactive government. Florida’s economic boosters are complaining.
Truth be told, bills like these are common during each legislative session. While legislators take an ax to the budget, they should also take an ax to these proposals.

AT BROTHER TOM'S AT PANAMA CITY BEACH



TOM, JEAN AND BOB - 3 Crane sibs

Linda & Bob with Tom's dog Zoey

Large alligator on island in St. Andrew State Park

Along a trail in the park

Lots of surfers waiting for the perfect wave.

Around the break-water to the left is the entrance to the bay from the gulf.

Nice beach.  Notice the kite-boarder to the right.

2011 Mon. March 7

Relaxing morning, lunch here, then we went to get groceries at the Winn-Dixie. After unloading them, we went to an outdoor mall called Destin Commons. It reminds us of the Coconut Point mall in Ft. Myers (except on a much smaller scale) in the sense that it has a street down the middle of the stores making it like the good old days in a small town. I think this mall will take the place of Celebration, with a similar feel, but not quite as nice. And it has a Starbucks! Yeah! We both had hot tea today and a scone, and we sat outside in the sun and watched the people go by. I notice one lady get up from a table and leave her cell phone behind. Then, when she came out of the store, she went to a bench. She was looking through her purse for something, so I got the phone and took it to her. She was very, very appreciative and explained, with tears in her eyes, that she had just received some bad news, so her mind was elsewhere.
We spent lots of time at a Books-a-Million store. It’s just like the big Barnes & Noble, etc., and has a nice snack place with some soft chairs (but no Starbucks!). Lots of magazines also, along with games, etc. Home for supper.


FL WEATHER: High 61, low 45. Cool but sunny all day, more pleasant than yesterday.

FL NEWS: Spring breakers not afraid to get their hands dirty
More than 40 students visiting the area from Illinois State University got their hands a little dirty on their first full day in the area. The group is part of a wave of students that have opted to spend their spring break helping the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance create oyster reefs in Choctawhatchee Bay. “This is just our little help in the big effort,” said junior Katie Zaleski as she gestured toward her peers. Armed with shovels, gloves and mesh bags, the group dug into a mound of fossilized oyster shells stacked by the water at Boat Marina on U.S. Highway 98 in Fort Walton Beach. The Illinois State students broke into groups to accomplish the task. Some people were holding the bags open while others shoveled in the shells and another group carried the bags onto a waiting boat that was going out to the artificial reef location in the bay. The reef will serve three main purposes, said Alison McDowell, the senior grant manager for CBA. It will not only create a habitat for oysters, it will also prove a home for smaller creatures such as crabs and juvenile fish. The reef will also help slow erosion. The students got involved through a program at their university called Alternative Spring Break, which sent students to five states this year to volunteer over the break.