March 4 – 7, 2015

Our drive to Destin along  the coastal Hwy 98 was rather interesting as for a lot of the drive, it looked like we were surrounded by snow. In reality it was all sand but when you see the pictures below you will see what I mean. We much prefer the sand! It had also been very misty for several days and that day was no exception which just added to the illusion.

We arrived in Destin  in the late morning and found a spot to park in the downtown area close to HarborWalk Village which is located right at the foot of the Destin Bridge so it was the first thing we saw as we entered Destin. We took Jazz out for a stroll along the boardwalk. It was a beautiful sunny  and warm day and it was really nice strolling along the water.
HarborWalk Village offers adventures for all to enjoy.   You can book tours there for fishing and dolphin cruises. They have water sport rentals, shopping, nightlife, weekly fireworks, seasonal festivals, live entertainment, and an array of restaurants including  Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville!!  Now you know the real reason we went there!!

Once Jazz had enough exercise, we took her back to the RV and Rob and I went to Margaritaville for lunch of course. (See pics) We had a fun lunch and enjoyed seeing this Margaritaville. For those who have never been to any Margaritavilles , each one is different so it is interesting to compare them to others. I liked this one in Destin.

After lunch, we returned to the RV and headed to our next RV Park which was located in the east end of Destin actually in an area called Miramar Beach. We found Destin to be very big and VERY commercial. Every store and restaurant chain imaginable can be found there.  Miramar Beach was a little less commercial  but we determined this really wasn’t the kind of place we enjoy. We prefer smaller towns with some personality

When we woke up Thursday morning it was very humid and was already 75 degrees. Rob went out for a nice bike ride at about 7:45 am and he checked out the area and found where the Outlet Mall was located. We had read that the largest Outlet Mall in Florida  was only 1 mile away from our park and sure enough, it was.  After Rob returned to the RV and we had breakfast the 3 of us set off for a walk along the beach. The beach was beautiful white soft sand just as it had been in Pensacola Beach. Unfortunately, our walk was cut short as it began to rain and by the time we got back to the RV it was raining very hard so all 3 of us were soaked. At least Rob and I could put on dry clothes but poor Jazz was not as lucky. She was damp for a good part of the day as with all the humidity, things did not dry quickly. The rain continued pretty well the entire day and the temperature began to drop drastically. At one point in the morning it was up to 79 degrees F. By 5 pm, the temperature was down to 40 degrees F. Unbelievable! Needless to say, we were inside the RV the rest of the day.

Friday morning was still cold outside but it was sunny so we walked over to the Outlet Mall for some browsing and shopping. We didn’t buy very much but it was a nice day for a walk anyway.

Saturday morning, we packed up the RV and were on the road by 9:30 am. We stopped on the way for groceries and by 10:45 am we had arrived at Panama City Beach. Yes, it is another “beach town” very similar to Destin. One of the main attractions in PCB is Pier Park which is right across the road from the beach. It is a mecca for entertainment, shopping,  fine dining, and fabulous fun in the sun.  They claim to have over 1 million visitors a year and to be well-known as one of the best places to visit along Florida’s West Coast.  Take a guess what one of the Restaurants in Pier Park was. You guessed it – Margaritaville!!  After wandering around Pier Park to see what it was all about we  returned Jazz to the RV and yes, we went to Margaritaville for lunch. We were able to sit out on the patio and it was a hot sunny day so that was great. But I have to admit, of all the Margaritavilles we have been to so far, this one in PCB was my least favorite. The food and drink prices in both Margaritavilles in Destin and PCB were quite high and this one in PCB just didn’t have that ‘fun” atmosphere that others have. But, we did have to check it out and now we know what it’s like.

Instead of staying in Panama City Beach, we decided to leave the commercial beaches behind and we headed further down the coast to what is called the Forgotten Coast – Mexico Beach. We arrived at Rustic Sands RV Resort on Saturday afternoon.

Stay tuned for more droppings about our time in Mexico Beach!