Destin......ation Location!

FAVORITE VACATION SPOT!

Do you have a favorite vacation spot you frequent every year? If not, may I make a suggestion. If you're looking for a warm climate and white sandy beaches within the good ole USA, Destin, Florida, is the place! It's fun for adults, fun for kids, and fun for dogs, too! If I can't take my dog, I'm not going! PRIORITIES!

SO MUCH TO DO!

Our annual vacation is always during Spring Break. My husband's a coach and our daughters always played summer ball so Spring Break was the only time we could get away. We love Destin for a variety of reasons. The shopping is amazing, the condominiums are reasonably priced, the seafood is delicious, the beaches are beautiful, it's family friendly, and did I mention, dog friendly!

SHOPPING!

Destin has fabulous places to shop and offers pretty much anything you want. Silver Sands Mall is awesome. It's an outlet mall that goes on for miles it seems. So many good brand name stores. I always get my tennis shoes there. This year I bought Nike walking shoes for $30 and some change! My daughter always shops for her kids there. They have Gymboree, Carters, Osh Kosh, Gap Kids, and a host of other stores. If you're in the market for a designer purse, this is the place to find a huge selection reasonably priced. Michael Kors and Coach are two I've shopped. Hungry? Loads of places to eat from sit down to grab and go. And if you have a sweet tooth, you're in luck! From ice cream to chocolate, to cookies, to candy, Silver Sands has it covered. 

Another great option for shopping is Destin Commons. It's basically an outside mall with a very fun atmosphere. It has grown soooo much since we first started going to Destin. It has a really cute store that has darling swimsuits called,

Everything But Water. And while the girls shop, the guys can hang out at Bass Pro because it's right there as well. There is a Belk store which I know a lot of women like, a Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body, Sephora, and many other popular stores.

And last by not least, the souvenir shops!! Alvin's Island is our favorite one, but there are plenty of others just like it! This was always our late night entertainment. My grandkids love it!. They have so many toys that are enticing to kids and a total waste of money (haha), but they sure loved playing with them. I'm pretty sure they brought home a hermit crab and an alligator egg that hatched as soon as they got home! How does that work? I mean how big does the alligator get? LOL! Everyone needs a vacay tee shirt, right? I always seem to pick up a new tee shirt or sweatshirt every time I go. The apparel is very affordable, and there is a ton of it!! We frequented all the souvenir shops and each one had something just a bit different. You won't go home empty handed!

WHERE TO STAY?

Considering there is one condo after another and piled 12 stories high, you won't have trouble finding a place to stay. I can only speak of the area we always stay in, but there are plenty others. We always stay in the Emerald Shores/Maravilla area. It's centrally located with the malls and the grocery store is close by. We are also right across the road from the beach. Like we walk out our door and walk across the road and we are standing on Miramar Beach. You can get on VRBO and start surfing for condos. We walk about an hour every morning. The sidewalk runs parallel with the beach. It's a beautiful view as we power walk each morning. There are numerous people walking, jogging, and riding their bikes. And did I mention, many are walking their dogs! Along this path is condo after condo after condo. Be selective because you can find a very nice place to stay at a reasonable price. I wouldn't go every year if we couldn't do it at an affordable price. And if you have a dog, there is no shortage on pet friendly condos! That's important!

 

WHERE WE GONNA EAT?

That's always at the top of the list! We eat at the condo nearly every meal. If you love seafood, you can get it fresh every day. Most of the time we eat shrimp, but we also get fish and it's equally DELISH! The very first day we were there, my son-in-law made a trip to get fresh shrimp! And he fixes is too! Of course, if you don't want to cook on vacay, there are plenty of places that will prepare it for you.The fruit is amazing! We ate an entire pineapple everyday! We live in Kansas and getting good fresh fruit that's juicy and flavorful only happens in the summertime so we love to indulge in all the fruit when we are there! They have lots of good fruit but PINEAPPLES ARE THE BEST! 

SANDY TOES AND SALTY KISSES!

When they advertise white sandy beaches, it's for real! We think Destin has such a beautiful shoreline. The sand is so soft and makes beautiful sand castles. It was a bit windy the days we were there which made it a little chilly at the beach, but we braved it like all the other people who were there. Miramar Beach was packed with spring breakers and families. The kids collected seashells, chased seagulls, buried themselves in the sand, played catch with the baseball, hunted for hermit crabs at night, built sand castles, and frequented the cooler all day long because they worked up an appetite! The beach is a fun place to spend the day, and kids never forget the experience. We are hoping our adoption is complete next Spring Break so we can take Aura with us! 

MAN'S BEST FRIEND!

Have a mentioned Destin is sooo pet friendly! Winston had a ball! If you are a crazy dog lover like me and want to take your furry friend along, they are welcome nearly everywhere! I've never seen so many dogs in my life. When we walked every morning, we passed dogs along the way continuously. Winston didn't know quite what to think! And if he wasn't a celebrity when we arrived, he certainly was when we left. I now know how people feel when I ask them if I can pet their dog! No, not really! I didn't mind at all! If someone wasn't petting him, they were pointing to him or staring at him. And he was so well behaved! Actually many people mistook him for a standard size poodle! He wasn't amused! But as much fun as Winston had, we had more. He truly added so much happiness to our vacay! Can't imagine not taking him with us!

RECOMMENDED!

Well you can probably sense my enthusiasm and excitement about our Spring Break trip to Destin, Florida 2018! I thank God for His provision and protection while we were away. I thank Him we have jobs that allow us to get away and relax at least once a year. I often feel a bit guilty because our boutique works hard to financially assist families who are wanting to adopt internationally, and here we are off on vacation. However; we devote hours and hours at our jobs, and I do think it's important we get away from it all for just a few days and enjoy our family. (Btw, we found an awesome church in Destin called Destiny Worship Center that was AWESOME.) But reality has set in, we're back in Kansas, back to cooler weather, and back to the grindstone so we can further our mission to do as much good as possible to as many people as possible! And look cute doing it! haha! 

As always, thank you for reading my blog. Hope you found it helpful, and if you ever plan a trip to Destin, be happy to answer any question you might have.

May God bless you and bless you richly,

Libby