Destin -- Destined to be a Favourite

The sand is a different conistency than that at Okracoke. It's a bit like fine granular sugar -- soft and sparkly.

We are sitting in the lap of luxury at Tom and Sandra's condo here in Destin, Florida. The sand and the sea are wonderful: white sand, emerald green sea with big white capped waves rolling in one after the other to meet the little sandpipers that scurry back and forth just out of reach of the water that could surely sweep those little birds right out to sea.

We are on the 14th floor, with only a little swimming pool between us and the beach. The single red flag has been out indicating that there is a swimming hazard and, although the water is not closed to swimmers, we figure it is closed to us so far as venturing out in the surf is concerned. This is called the emerald coast and it is easy to see why. The water, unlike that at Nevis, which is turquoise, is a definite green colour -- clear and beautiful. We plan to get out on that beach tomorrow morning before the intesne heat of the day. We will swim if the red flag is down, but in any case we will paddle about at the edge and sit and read a few pages in our novels. We cannot stay out too long -- neither one of us wants to burn, and you can feel the direct rays of the sun begin to cook before too long.

At Sandra and Tom's suggestion, we went to Marina's for supper. The specialty entrees are half price between 5:00 and 6:00, so that's when we went. Sandra said she liked the red fish the best, so that's what I ordered. Red fish is a mild white fish. It was crusted with a tiny bit of spicy sausage and covered with a mild creole sauce. Green and yellow summer squash and onions completed the dish. Mary Ann had large grilled scallops with a delicious sauce along with tomatoes and artichokes. It was all so delicious and, again, the very essence of luxury and elegance -- a view of the harbour, white table cloths and napkins, a waiter who carefully described several of the entrees in high cuisine language (would you call it "cuisinaire" and could you build it into blocks of 10? -- that's an inside joke for those of you who aren't old teachers). The portions were pretty large and after eating numerous pieces of baguette type bread dipped in herbed olive oil, we just didn't have time for dessert, so we've come home for coffee. Mary Ann has just showered and I will follow soon in order to wash off the sun screen and sand, even though I thought I already had the sand carefully brushed off -- not.

I did something (I have no idea what) that has made my back so sore that I've been taking ibuprofen every four hours and I am hobbling around and wincing on and off like a crotchety old lady. On top of that, I thought I was getting covered with mosquito bites, but in fact, I seem to have develped hives over a good chunk of my body. What a mess I am! I do things gingerly so I can keep up with my more athletically gifted sister :). Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. I'm a bit sleepy from the antihistimine, but it has helped the scratching problem and a good night's sleep will hopefully resolve the back issues.

This is a wonderful place and we are so grateful to Tom and Sandra for sharing it with us. It has Hawaii beat, and it's right up there with Nevis for me -- although I was never on a 14th floor condo on the beach at Nevis. Brian and Nita, you will know that it was more like a grubby little room on the second floor of our "bombed out" shelter not too far from Pinney's Beach!