So anyway, last weekend, I jaunted off with one of my adopted families (yes, I am struck by the mind-blowing opulence intimated by saying such a thing; yes, I am an incredibly, incredibly blessed girl to have, not just one wonderful family, but several) to spend the weekend in the Destin, Florida area. We had one very important item on our agenda, and it was THIS:
And what was the impetus for this important expedition? THIS GUY!
Who happened to have just reached the ripe old age of TEN YEARS OLD, obviously an occasion worth celebrating!!
And how did we do?
Not too bad, I'd say! Seems to me that sore upper body muscles and a full cooler are pretty good indications of a successful fishing trip.
Oh, and a word of warning, for those who haven't done it, deep-sea fishing is highly addictive.
In any case, we had some leftover weekend after our fishing excursion, so we decided to head east and explore the little community of Seaside. I'll come clean, I'm really not much of a beach person, except for in very small doses, and I'm REALLY not a hot-weather person. (I think this partly comes from being extremely fair-skinned. It all starts to feel rather...futile.) That being said, I fell completely and helplessly in love with this little town, located literally steps from the beach, and explored on foot, under a merciless sun, in breathtakingly hot weather.
Rather than a bunch of gushing commentary, I'll give you the penny tour via photo. (Okay, there will be a little gushing commentary. Can't help it.)
Because this is how a lot of people get around, around here.
Love. Want.
I mean, seriously!!!
Who has a whole section on Architecture? And cool architecture! Not pictured, the Southern Fiction section...
The coolest dressing room I've seen. Though the proprietor did look at me a little strangely when I asked her if I could take a picture of her dressing room...
I mean, you know a shopping district is pretty fab when a person is reduced to taking pictures of displays because they're so awesome.
Then, there were the food options. (Of course.)
Airstream food trucks. Almost cliche. But soooo charming, nonetheless.
Almost. But grilled cheese won out. Things like this happen on vacation.
Because he's pretty cute.
Yep. This.
Strawberry Goat Forever. Alabama goat cheese, strawberry preserves and prosciutto. Melty and delicious.
So, yes, I would definitely put Seaside on my Top Ten list of worthwhile weekend destinations. Rent a villa, hit the beach, bike into town for some shopping and eating and maybe a concert in the park? I'm in!
Oh, and speaking of FINDS, on the way home, we stopped at Lofty Pursuits in Tallahassee. (Honorable mention to Jennifer, who found this place.) As any reader of this blog will know, I've been to several really great ice cream shops (Sweet Dreams in Gainesville, Jeni's in Atlanta, Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor and more than a few others). This one is the most fun, hands-down, no contest. The menu is a twelve-page, spiral-bound wonder of creative, delicious-sounding concoctions. (It's like the Cheesecake Factory of ice cream shops!) I had a hard time deciding between the Late Night Snack sundae which is described as "Vanilla ice cream drenched in our hot butter caramel sauce, M&M's and crushed potato chips" (I know, right?) and the S'More sundae, which is described as "Chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and ganache, crushed graham crackers, whipped cream and a toasted marshmallow". The S'More sundae won out for two reasons: one, because I am a sucker for all things S'Mores; two, because the S'More sundae better lent itself to the two flavors of ice cream I wanted: Purple People Eater (raspberry ice cream with chunks of dark chocolate raspberry truffles) and Chocolate Cake (exactly what it sounds like). The decadence!
It tasted even better than it looks.
Old school.
The decor isn't anything to write home about, especially when compared to, say, the hipness at Jeni's, but the place is obviously a labor of love by someone who really cherishes the simple pleasures of yesteryear. The menu is full of the kinds of treats that all of the old soda fountains used to dispense; things, like Egg Creams, Phosphates and Rickeys, all pretty tough to find anymore, plus crazy stuff, like the Kitchen Sink (an actual kitchen sink, filled with 26, yes, TWENTY SIX scoops of ice cream, plus every single topping in the place). In addition to the overwhelming array of ice cream options, the place also offers a variety of old-fashioned hard candies, all made in-house, and all kinds of toys and games. Plus, it's a bit of an old-timey museum of sorts, displaying the owner's quirky collection of things like yo-yos and yo-yo trophies (!), original Frisbees, a payphone and a poetry vending machine (!!). Classy? Not really. Heartwarming? Beyond a doubt.
I plan on drumming up as many excuses as I can possibly think of to go to Tallahassee.
No comments:
Post a Comment