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.”