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When my parents told me we were all going to be spending New Year’s Eve down in Destin, Florida, I was extremely excited. I was going to escape the snow and cold of a Mid-western winter for palm trees and colorful drinks with little umbrellas on the beach. I packed my bags, filling them with bright shirts, swim trunks and sunscreen. I threw in an extra sweatshirt, a pair of pants and a stocking hat as an afterthought, burying them at the bottom of my bag beneath my sun hat. I was ready for a good time.
We flew into Ft. Walton and rented a car and when we got to Destin it was beautiful. Sugar sand beaches stretched in a graceful arch out to the horizon, and they were nearly deserted. This isn’t to say there weren’t any people around, there were but none of them were on the beach. That’s because it was 45 degrees outside and the few people who were on the beach were wearing windbreakers or something heavier. When the wind started blowing it felt like we were on the moon, or even worse, the white sand started to look like snow.
My parents and their friends had rented out a private summer home and when we got there we noticed that the house had a small pool in the backyard. We cranked up the heat on the pool and by the next morning it was invitingly steamy. The weather was a bust all week, it even rained for a few days, but the trip was still enjoyable.
Destin is really a beautiful place and even when it was cold outside walking along the beach was gorgeous. We fished, both off of boats and in the surf, and treated ourselves to wonderful seafood dinners. A restaurant in nearby Pensacola, The Fish House, served me what may be the best meal I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, pecan-fried grouper along with a string of wonderful accompaniments. My best friend and I raced go-karts on a three story track, and a good time was had by all. Even when we left Destin the weather didn’t improve, Atlanta was hit by its first snowstorm in years. Though our flight was only delayed an hour or so some travelers were stuck at the airport for days, and we felt sorry for them as our plane lifted off, headed for snowbound Minnesota.
Tags: Beach, Family, Fishing, Florida
