Destin-ee

Destin-ee

An unexpected trip occurred this weekend when I took a ride to Whiting Field with my husband. We had to drop some information there and it was a really nice day on Friday for a drive to Milton, Florida.

On the way out of the base, we decided to try a different route home. My husband said, “Let’s try this other road, do you know where it goes?” I said, “Gosh, no, I’ve never been on these roads before, but it looks like ‘the road less traveled’.” And of course the GPS wasn’t giving us much direction as far as side streets go – no pun intended.

We took ‘the road less traveled’ by us both and sometime later, ended up on Route 98 heading toward Destin. We had never been there before and it was a treat to arrive there in September, after the summer crowds have left and before it is Spring Break time. The hotel we checked into is just over the bridge entering Destin. Well, it really isn’t a hotel, more accurately, it is a resort. Even more accurately, it is one of the ‘Legendary Resorts’, it is called ‘Emerald Grande’. I picked up a pen there and the web address is http://www.emeraldgrande.com . I haven’t gone to the website yet, but probably will once I jot down some of my thoughts.

As we were crossing that bridge into Destin, I sighted a huge building that I mistook as being somewhat Flemish in design. As the road twisted and turned, I would adjust my sight to it. It was just rising out of the sky like some Disney building, or if you have ever been to Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut, as you are cruising down a tree filled road and expecting Bambi to jump out into the road at any moment, suddenly you are in awe at this massive, sparkling tower of incredible concrete and glass rising out of a clearing big enough to build an airport. It was that same element of surprise entering Destin and seeing that grand orangey and glass building with various towers that turned out to be the Emerald Grande Resort. My husband quickly braked and turned the Jaguar into the driveway, it was just about a 180 degree turn at about 30 mph, glad we were in the Jag.

What a divine place to be on a Friday evening; great weather, slight wind blowing about 5 knots, 82 degrees, sails passing every which way, fisherman going out for an evening trolling event, blue skies with billowing white clouds, and a wonderful husband that swept me away for a great escape – no luggage to carry, no thought put into it. We just call home to see if mom can take care of the pup for the weekend. Of course we knew she could, she is staying with us for the next few months to enjoy the holidays that will be coming up soon enough.

When we walked into the lobby, we noted the décor, plush chairs, fine carpets, massive pictures of sea life beautifully and tastefully framed on every wall you turn toward. People chattering in many different languages, it was fun to pick up bits and pieces of conversations in Spanish and French. The desk attendant was pleasant, efficient and before we knew it, we were in the secure elevator trying to figure out how to get it to move. Minutes later, luckily, when the elevator door opened and we realized we were still on the Lobby level, a uniformed security person entered the elevator and swiped his card for us to get up to the 4th floor. … More to say another day… or visit me at http://www.mavensnest.com/