Celebrations, Citations, and Crees

Since relocating from Dallas to Destin over a year ago, many old friends have tossed around the idea of coming for a visit. Many dates and plans have been arranged but I dare to say that not a single one of them has actually shown up on our doorstep. (You people know there are white sand beaches here, right?) So when I got a call from an old friend I only half-expected to have company for Labor Day...

But I do LOVE surprises, especially when the package is a Kerry-Kevin combo! Our newly engaged Dallas pals ventured down to the Emerald Coast for a "celebratory" Labor Day weekend. The fun began the second they arrived on Friday evening when Kevin and Nick made a quick ($150) trip to Cash's for some "celebratory" beverages. Let's just say the night started off on an interesting (wobbly) foot. We headed out to Harry T's for some grub and an ocean view then to Funky Blues Shack for some cocktails and live music. The night was spent in laughter and fun... which led to pure exhaustion... which led to all of us coming home and passing out... except for Kevin who got locked out of our condo for 4 hours. Oops...

Luckily Kevin made it back into the casa for some shut-eye before we rounded up the troops for a day at the river. Apparently the river is part of a state park so alcohol is not permitted. Since we didn't believe such a ridiculous rule could actually exist, we of course ignored it and went about our lazy river ride. As we finished the last of our brewskies about a mile before the exit, we saw a uniformed man flagging us over to the bank. Surely, he wasn't talking to us- the group of older adults with 2 kids in tow- so we kept going. In retrospect- 6 tickets later- probably not the best idea. My citation read: Wik was consuming Bud Light Lime beer on the sand bar at River Beach Black Water state park. End quote. Luckily this particular citation is the equivalent of a parking ticket. It has, however, been catalogued in my souvenirs under "B" for Best Labor Day weekend ever. Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride... nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no...

After a long night out on the town and an even longer day in the sun, we didn't make it past 9 pm. Talk about getting old. It's one thing to go to bed at 9pm. It's another to do it on purpose. On a Saturday. During Labor Day weekend.

Once we all got a good night's sleep our fab foursome went to breakfast in Mirimar Beach (my favorite spot) then decided on a beach day. Nick's fam joined us at Norriego Point to soak up the sun and a little R&R. The weather was perfect, the scenery was great, and the company was simply amazing.

We couldn't let our guests bid farewell without experiencing our very own local treasure- Helen Back. At this point, Kerry and I could barely keep our eyes open but once that greasy pizza hit the table we were wide awake. After the pizza high? Not so much. We stopped in downtown Fort Walton for a quick drink and then decided to turn in for the evening. I cannot say the same for our men who tucked us in and escaped into the night for some quality time together. Warm and cozy in our beds after an exhausting two days, Kerry and I didn't mind one bit.

Kerry and Kevin had planned on staying until Tuesday, but woke up early Monday morning and simply could not make it one more day. I was sad to see them go, but to be honest I was not sure that I could have made it another day either. Too. Much. Fun. A warning to all future visitors: The Crees have left you some pretty large party shoes to fill. Veni vidi vici.