Columbus, OH to Destin, FL - Day 4

Monday morning was again thick with fog and overcast.  What is with the Florida weather?!

Susan, Colleen and I inflated our kayaks and stand-up paddle board and launched them in the bay that borders the north edge of the campground.  We spent an hour paddling west out to the US Route 98 bridge to Okaloosa Island and back.  We saw lots of birds and ducks that would go underwater for their breakfast.  It was a very relaxing and peaceful paddle and as the sun came up, the weather got a lot nicer and warmer.

While we were on the water Brad and Erich went to get doughnuts at Parlor Doughnuts.  The doughnuts were huge and were considered a Cronut.  They were very flaky with lots of layers.  The little bite size beignet like ones seemed to be everyone's favorite.  

We all went to the Surf Style shop to get some beach wear before heading back to camp to pack our lunch.

Today was our boat rental to visit Crab Island!! We rented a 14-person, double deck pontoon boat that had 2 water slides on it!  Luckily the weather was much nicer than the morning and most of the fog had lifted.  

Erich was the Skipper, Brad the Safety Manager, and Susan the Charter Representative, all extra responsible members of the boat crew!

We motored out to Crab Island which is an underwater sand bar near the Destin Harbor.  It's nice and shallow and usually there are lots of boats docked there enjoying the warm water and sun.  The water was not warm but we all did the slide and had fun.  Once you were in long enough it didn't feel that cold anymore.

We parked and ate our lunch of Italian subs and other snacks.  By then we were all hungry.  We had always seen videos and pictures of the vendor boats that float around Crab Island selling food and items.  There weren't many out today, like we hoped, but we did get the Ice Cream boat to stop!  Next time maybe we can get the Cheeseburger Boat.

  

We saw a partially sunken sailboat which was pretty creepy as the people's cooler was still bobbing in the water.  There's wasn't anyone on board so hopefully they were rescued successfully when it happened.

We also saw a giant sting ray as we were driving around and, on the way back, we saw a few glimpses of dolphins!  At first, they were really close to our boat, but they moved on pretty quickly.  There were also seagulls flying with our boat and they would get close enough to take a chip out of your hand and even from your mouth!

Sadly, the 4-hour rental was over before we knew it, it was really sad to have it end.  This was certainly a highlight of the trip and one to be booked again next time.  Hopefully on a warmer, sunnier day.

When we got back we cleaned up and ate dinner.  Hashbrown casserole was cooking all day in the crockpot, so we threw some burgers on the grill for a quick dinner.  It was probably the best meal we had on the trip yet.  

Overnight another bad storm came through but luckily no damage! Surely better weather in store for tomorrow, right?

 #airstream #liveriveted #springbreak #adventure #camping #bffs #destinfl #destinwestrvresort