Crab Island in Destin Bay

Crab Island is really a very large sandbar with a lot of 2-3' deep clear emerald green clear water where all of the "cool" people hang out in boats (from large yachts down to kayaks). There are also commercial boats with music and food to sell (to include roving ice cream/boiled peanut boats).

Our first stop of the day was Dewey Destins Seafood Restaurant on the Bay (reached by way of the kayak). This is the best fried food seafood restaurant in the Destin area. Still haven't tried it's newer version, which is Dewey Destins on the Harbour.

The following are a bunch of pictures I took out at Crab Island standing in about 2' of water. Some of Connie and the Kayak and some are just to show the number and diversity of boats in this area.

There were a lot of bigger boats (yaghts) at the outside of the group of boats, but we were towards the center when I started taking pictures.

Boy am I ever behind

OK, here we are arriving at Emerald Beach RV Park as posted by Captain Jack, aka the Belly.

Sign at the entrance...

We have a small beach here at the RV park on the Bay, but can drive about a mile across the bridge to the main Navarre Beach Park on the Gulf side of Santa Rosa Island.

My best shot of me (my legs while in a beach chair) at Navarre Beach.

Also, this is the 30" redfish I did not catch from the Navarre Pier (although Connie and I did see it being caught). Too bad he could not keep it due to it being over 28".

We have done much more to include a 4 hour road trip east to St. George Island, but no time to show pics on this tonight.

 It rained for about 5 days (Thursday thru last Monday), but it good again now. What Connie and I did while it was raining shown below.

We plan to spend a lot of time kayaking Destin Harbor this next week. I'll try to do better and catch up on this blog.

Love my family and happy Fathers Day to all Fathers tomorrow!

Smore @ Navarre Beach Florida

Had a great kayak run this morning up the bay, about a 3 mile total run. No sail this morning as wind was low.

Made a cruiser run to Fort Walton to check out the Okaloosa Pier and Fort Walton Beach. Both look good although best beach water was out about 100' from beach.

Had left kayak tied up at the RV beach and planned another good run late this afternoon, but wind has picked up close to 30 MPH. Probably not going to go back out later, unless wind dies down below 20 MPH. May have to move the kayak further up the beach to stay out of harms way.

Day "something or other" in the Florida Panhandle

Arose late. First thought was to explore east beyond Panama City (St. George's Island State Park), but it was too late to start (about 3.5 hour drive to furthermost point) when we got ready.
Also too late (and hot) for a morning kayak in Santa Rosa Bay (where we are).
Explored west to Pensacola/Fort Pickens. Checked out Fort Pickens RV campground for a possible future stay, then on to the real "Fort Pickens" for a tour. Really neat! I think Fort Pickens was originated in the 1830s, saw action during the Civil War, and also was used during WWII. Really old stuff. Millions of bricks (walls 4+ feet thick). Also checked out Pensacola Beach and Pier for the near future on the trip back.

OMG...we actually got the kayak into the Bay this evening. Only had about an hour before dark, but the wind was 15-20MPH and it was great sailing! My only problem is dealing with the sail when beaching (flap-flap-flap)...gotta work on my  beaching technique! Left the kayak locked up down at our RV park beach for tonight to enable any early trip out into the Bay in the morning!

Wish us luck for an early arising for kayaking as we don't have an alarm clock (and ain't gonna get one!).

Day 5 in glorious downtown Navarre Beach

Still not much to write about as we are still on the mend from allergies...but nearly well.

Even so, we are spending glorious days at the local Navarre beach with white sugar sand, emerald water, and lots of other fun loving people! Plan to do the same tomorrow, but will get with the Kayak program come Monday!

More to come...even the promised pictures!

Day 2 @ Navarre Beach Florida

Did not post yesterday, day 1, as we just cruised the coast from Pensacola  to Destin checking stuff out. Connie is still pretty out of it with allergy and nasal infection.

Day 2 was spent at Navarre Beach, about a mile across the bridge from our RV site, which is on the mainland, but which has Santa Rosa Bay access. We have a beach canopy which let us stay on the beach from 8 am until 5 pm. It was great with the sights and sounds all day long. We'll get into kayaking as soon as Connie is well enough. Plan to kayak the Santa Rosa Bay (where we are) and the coast off Navarre Beach as it is much calmer ocean here than at South Padre Island. Also plan to spend a lot of time in Destin Harbor (25 miles away) and many points to the east of Destin and even Panama City.

It is too good to be true here with all this crystal white sand and emerald water. We have a base camp and plan to explore for future trips from here. We are loving it!

Oh yeah...we ate some great seafood stuff...but I'm not supposed to focus on that!

Day 1 @ Lake Palestine

Arrived to spend the week with Connie's sister, Kathy and her husband John Schexnayder late this afternoon. Unpacked and then went out for a short run in the kayak with Bradley (their son). I think he enjoyed it too. Got
some good compliments at the  marina on our "slow ride" kayak.
Back to the condo for food and relax time. No post tomorrow as it's MOMMA'S DAY. Going to see Mom at the nursing home, so no kayaking.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL MOTHERS...WE LOVE YOU!

Day 16 the road back from South Padre

We left South Padre Island's Isa Blanca Park at about 8am when the office opened. The trip is about 560 miles and we made it in 12 1/2 hours mainly due to 8 stops and an extra hour on the Houston Beltway at 5pm. Driving wasn't bad at all, except for crawling 1 1/2 hours on the Houston Beltway. We had a lot of stops. The first two were for shrimp at Port Brownsville and at a fruit stand nearby for a big bag of onions, which is what is being grown in the Rio Grande valley this time of year. We have to stop every 100-125 miles for gas which accounts for all of the other stops except one for food.

Pulled in about 9 pm last night and everything is looking great. Great job Kelvin. Flowers have grown and yard is in good shape.

We'll be spending today (Friday, May 4) getting the RV & kayak unloaded and start clean up of them. Also getting ready for Windy's wedding tomorrow!

Maybe more kayaking in local lakes next week...

I missed the smell/sound/sight of the Ocean this morning when I walked outside, but it is good to be home for a while.

Day 13, 14, & 15 @ South Padre Island, Texas

Having too much fun to find time to blog the last couple of days...but here's my attempt at catchup.

Monday April 30:  Had a huge kayaking day! Sailed all the way out the channel from the bay to the Ocean! Connie survived and it was pretty calm today! I did forget to mention on our first day kayaking last week in the channel that the swells got higher than Connie's head. That was our key to come back into the bay. Much calmer Monday. We saw many, many dolphins in many places (some as close as 20' away) all along the channel as well as where the channel empties into the Ocean. It was a truly beautiful experience.

Tuesday May 1:  The kayak is in the shop (mine) today for repairs. A little 5 minute epoxy ( 24 hour cure time) on a seat strap holder that stripped out. We spent a lot more time on the beach today. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Walked several miles along the beach. Swam and floated a bit. Sat and watched the world go by...we are getting good at this beach bum thing.

Back to today, May 2: Had another terrific kayak day. Went across and down the shipping channel towards Port Brownsville. I wanted to see if we could kayak to South Bay (good fishing) and still have enough steam to get back. We did with plenty of leg power to spare. We saw several dolphins on this route too. I also saw a small sea turtle. We kayaked back from South Bay and then further down the bay to a restaurant for lunch, then back up the bay to the county park boat launch afterwards. We kayaked at least 5+ miles, probably closer to 8 miles as we were tacking back and forth to keep wind in the sail. You didn't think we did this all with leg power..did you? Hah! Although it is necessary to slowly pedal when using the sail to help with tacking turns. Then took our last trip to the beach. Another beautiful afternoon with lots of sun, sand, and surf. I found my first real sand dollar shell. So pretty! We must pack up & leave in the morning...Boohoo! We shall return, but it may be next spring.

Day 12 @ South Padre Island, Texas

Started the day with breakfast at home (the RV), then went for a long walk on the beach.

We were going to go on the guided bird tour, but I decided we weren't that looney (looney bird that is). Maybe tomorrow.

Went to the farmer's market. Bought tamales, kettle corn, & tomatoes. What a combo. Then back to the RV for lunch (tamales and tomatoes). Most of the kettle corn disappeared before we got back to the RV.

I worked on getting organized to go fishing. All the new tackle in the tackle box, strung a rod, etc.

Went to dinner at Joe's Oyster Bar. I had the $5.95 15 fried oyster special and the seafood soup. Connie had the crab cake plate. By the way, if anyone ever comes here, you must try the crab cakes and the fish soup as well as raw oysters (if you like em) at Joe's Oyster Bar. They are extremely good. The fish soup is not even on the menu, but they always have it. Ask for tortillas, instead of crackers to go with the soup and tear off small strips to add to the soup. Delicious! Expect to find 12-20 crab claws in the soup (along with everything else in the sea) which you must pick out to eat separate from spooning.

Was going to go fishing after dinner, but got sidetracked by a free dolphin show off the bay point where we usually launch the kayak.We loved it. Saw about 5 or 6 dolphins within 100 feet and there were playing for nearly an hour (still there when we left). Four or five "dolphin cruise" boats came by loaded with people to see the dolphins. We had a better view from the rocks on shore than most of them. The only thing that would have been better is if we had the kayak amongst them (we'll try this tomorrow).

 Yea, the winds are down below 20MPH again in the morning...so its back to kayaking again.

AS MY SWEET WIFE JUST POINTED OUT, THIS BLOG MIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER NAMED THE TRAVELING FOOD SHOW...NOT THE TRAVELING YAK. WATCH OUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HERE I COME!

Probably not so true in the future...as we are starting to at least eat lighter fare at the RV. We're not to the point of cooking at the RV yet, but maybe by next trip we will be (if I ever catch fish!!!).

Day 11 @ South Padre Island, Texas

Kinda laid back day today. Mostly touristy & old folks stuff. No kayaking as winds still high. Waiting for Monday and good winds.

Breakfast at Manuel's as usual, American today.

Visited "Sea Turtle, Inc" which deals with rescuing sea turtles and sea turtle eggs on south padre. They have a bunch of tanks with turtles for viewing...some quite large, and a oral presentation every half hour.

Visited "The Birding Center", but only the outside as we were too cheap to pay the entry fee. We are going back tomorrow morning for a guided birding tour.

Wanted Italian for lunch, but the best place did not open until 2pm (or so their website said). Went there at 2pm and the sign on the door says they don't open  until 4pm. Went back to the RV and ate sandwiches and fruit. Went back to the Gabriella's Italian at 4:30 and it was fantastic. The salad...the bread...the dip...the pizza were great. They also have 25 micro beers on tap. I tried 5 each 5oz samplers of different micros . The best one was from McKinney, TX.

May or may not make it to the beach for an hour or two...that's it for today.

Day 10 at South Padre Island, Texas

Breakfast at Manuels again. I tried the the special which was the "Migas" breakfast. Basically its a scrambled egg Frito pie (without the chili). It was good, but i won't repeat it. Connie ate American (eggs/bacon/biscuit).

We were determined to put the kayak in and sail today after yesterdays fiasco of the lost sail mast. Bad decision. Winds were too high. Had to port the kayak back to the launch point (truck) as tacking into the wind was too hard on the sail and the amateur sailors. Never any danger, just too hard on old folks. We learned a valuable lesson. 20MPH wind is good for sailing the kayak. 25 MPH wind is not. We will never go out when winds are or will be over 20 MPH wind again.

Lunch at Daddy's. Good stuff.


Took took the rest of the day off.

Dinner at Daddy's...can't get away from those boiled crayfish this time of year.

Day 9 @ Sourth Padre Island, Texas

Day 9 @ South Padre Island, Texas

Started with the "American Breakfast" special of the week at Manual's Mexican Food,  $3.95 for 2 eggs, 2 bacon, hash browns, & biscuits to die for. Is Good!

Completely readied the kayak for launch at the county park site this morning. Last thing was to put the sail on. Found that some dummy (me) had left the sail mask behind a couple of days ago. So we loaded it all back up again, as the wind was too strong 25MPH+ for pedaling without a sail. Bad way to start a day. At least we were able to replace just the sail mast at the local kayak store...so we're ready to try again tomorrow. Wind is best first thing in the morning.

Lunch at Dirty Al's. I tried the ceviche, which is kind of like a shrimp cocktail, but is fish marinated for 24 hours in lemon juice instead of the boiled shrimp. It's in a tomato juice with avacado/onion/tomato mixed in. Is good!

NAPPED! Required! We are blaming the naps on the seasickness medicine.

Had an exploratory expedition a little further south late this afternoon. Drove above 40 miles, but we only went 4-5 miles south of South Padre Island. Had to go around the Brownsville Ship Channel. Checked out the  Boca Chino State park located at the ocean closer to the Mexican border. Nothing there but ocean beach! Visited the site of the last Civil War Battle, Palomino Ranch. Some say it occurred after the end of the civil war as General Lee had already surrendered, but the Texas Confederate generals had not. We were also looking for a road to the South Bay (good fishing), but did not find it. Must pedal kayak 2 miles instead.

TOOK CONNIE TO MEXICO! Actually, I took her to see Mexico across the Rio Grande River. We were less than 50' from Mexico as the Rio Grande we were on the US bank of is only about 100' wide at this point. We did have to stop at the Border Patrol check station on the way back. but they didn't check us..thank goodness as we had the Cruiser loaded up with stuff (legal camping stuff only, but a lot of stuff).

Dinner at Daddy's. They have outstanding boiled crawfish I can't seem to get enough of.

Day 8 @ South Padre Island, Texas

Wimped out of kayaking this morning due to high winds, even in the bay. Checked out a few more launch points for the kayak (if the wind ever slacks up a bit, or maybe if it don't).

Tried lunch at Manuel's (our favorite Mexican breakfast place). It is more Tex-Mex and we liked it better than the Mexican food at U.S Bar yesterday.

Spent all afternoon on the beach. Lots of kite surfers...must have been over 25. We excelled at watching them. The ideal age for kite surfing is like 16-18, but they make  it look easy and they did it for hours on end and for miles (no exaggeration) up and down the beach. We'll stick to sailing the kayak (hopefully tomorrow). We were in the ocean for a while, but mainly in the beach chairs just a looking and soaking up the sun (along with a little windblown sand).

Dinner at Joe's Oyster Bar & Seafood Market. $4.99 a dozen large juicy succulent raw oysters ... yum ..yum.. yum. I tried the seafood soup which was great and Connie had blackened fish/shrimp/crab cake. All of it was great. The crab cake was the best we've found other than at Copeland's restaurant in Shreveport.

Day 7 @ South Padre Island, Texas

OMG! Been here a week and the rent is due! It's actually worse than that. We assumed that since the park was only 1/3 full...the site we are now in would be readily available for rent next week...WRONG! Starting May 1, this place starts to fill up. So we had to move the RV first thing this morning. Only took an hour...no bigee, and we moved into the lower rent district (just as good as the other) and saved $65.

Lunch at a real Mexican restaurant called "U.S. Bar and Restaurant". It used to be across the border in Matamoros, Mexico and was one of the top 3 restaurants there before the drug dealers shut down the tourist trade.  It was different food to be sure, but at the end, the waitress did jokingly say "you didn't like it, did you?" as she looked sideways at my utterly empty plate...Oh yeah! Connie wasn't as impressed as I and we probably won't go back.

Did a little driving around looking for kayak launch sites.

Ran across the Blue Bunny delivery truck. Chased him down to find a Blue Bunny ice cream store, as the only ice cream we had found on SPI is "Italian" and tastes like Ben & Jerry's ... yuck! Anything but Ben & Jerry's. Mission successful, Blue Bunny in the freezer.

Took  another afternoon siesta!

  Went dolphin watching at the point...but did not see any today.

Fish dinner at "Dirty Al's", bought a souvenir T-Shirt that says "BIG PEOPLE ARE HARDER TO KIDNAP...EAT UP!"   It's a being next to the Mexican border insider joke, and no I am not going across the border...T-Shirt or not.

Walked on the beach a bit...loving it!

Day 6 @ Padre Island, Texas

Started the day getting replacement keys for those lost lost in the ocean yesterday. Success at the local ACE hardware store, except for the clicker which will wait.
Lunch special at Daddy's Seafood & Cajun (Almonde Grouper...yum!)
I don't know where the afternoon went...OK, maybe we took a nap...it's an occasional old folks thing.
Spent the last 2 hours of the day on the bay sailing with winds at about 15MPH...it was a blast.
Back to Daddy's Seafood & Cajun. I discovered they still had boiled crawfish...so I'm hooked.
That's All Folks!

Day 5 @ South Padre Island, TX

Breakfast at Manuel's (Local Food on the cheap). Launched the Kayak at the county park. First day (couple of hours this morning) trying to use the kayak sail and it went great even though wind was only 4-5 MPH. Lunched at Dirty Al's (again on the cheap, shared zucchini & lunch salads). I could brag we are eating healthy, but that Ranch Dressing on the salads & the fried batter on the zucchini would make a liar of me. Dang it was good! Shared acquired RVing Corpus Christi information with neighbors headed there in a couple of days. Enjoyed several hours on the beach and in the water later this afternoon, then went back to Daddy's restaurant for dinner. I really love the shrimp (huge) and oysters (very tasty) down here...but what really blows me away is the Flounder (fried and blackened). Got to catch some myself! Check back in a day or two to see if I do or don't.

Oh yeah...the only spoiler today was that I tried fishing using the car keys as bait at the beach (bathing suit pocket). No fish caught, the keys are a permanent part of South Padre Island, and a $50 Lock Doc bill! It coulda been worse.... Don't worry, be Happy!

Day 4 @ South Padre Island, TX

A good day! Started as a technical observer at 6am of the South Padre Island Kayak Fishing Tournament this morning. Got some good tips. Not ready prime time myself yet. Had a HUGE breakfast taco at Maguel's (shared with Connie who slept in), then checked out a new pier to launch from (Palm Tree Pier). Wal-Marted and fixed/improved RV. Lunch at Joe's Oyster Bar (great oyster/shrimp/fish cheap). Did not go kayaking today as the wind was too high. Went to the beach for awhile, but again, wind too high to stay long. Going back to Daddy's Cajan Seafood for dinner. That will make 8 consecutive seafood meals in a row (not counting breakfast). No end in sight!