The Emerald Coast to Sanibel Island

Finally, on October 2nd, we made it back to our home state, now time to explore the Emerald Coast.

             

         

Our first week was spent on Perdido Key at the Purple Parrot Resort.  Perdido Key is  between Orange Beach, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida.

Our resort was under construction, due to Hurricane Sally (April 2121). The only issue the construction caused us was we had to sign a waiver and parking spots were taken by storage pods. Otherwise, we had no issues, most work was being completed inside different units.

Our condo was perfect, one bedroom, very nicely decorated and close enough to the pool and Tiki Bar but not too close.  I could sit on the balcony in the evenings and the music from the Tiki Bar was just right. 

We spent the week exploring with our friends Derek and Dianne, who live on their sailboat and are currently staying at NAS Pensacola Marina.  

Our first stop was the Oar House for Bloody Mary's and fish and chips. I believe this is the best fish and chips I have ever had. They are served with french fries or cheese grits, hush puppies, coleslaw, tartar sauce or Oar House sauce. The Oar House sauce is their version of a remoulade, so good, no need for tartar. It was so good we went a second time and had the same dish.

Next stop the famous Sandshaker Lounge for the world famous Bushwacker. Never heard of a Bushwacker, but OMG it was so good.  Bushwacker is a frozen drink made with Kahlua and rum.  Such a dive bar!

We toured the Pensacola Air Museum, this was a great museum.  We had a tour guide he was very knowledgeable. An awesome museum with so much history.

USS Essex ship model

Derek and Dianne took us out on their sailboat for some sailing.  Rob even got a chance to sail the boat.  We had a perfect day to be on the water and to spend time on the beach ⛱😎.   

Dianne, Derek, Sharon, Rob

Back of Derek and Chief

Coast Guard Ship

Pensacola Lighthouse

                                  

Rob, Dianne, and I explored the Pensacola Lighthouse and Maritime Museum.  We climbed 177 steps to reach the top. Once at the top someone (Rob) would not leave the doorway and step outside to see the view, it was amazing. 

After our climb back down, we toured the Keepers Quarters which were built in 1869 and housed the Lighthouse Keeper's and their families until 1965.  Not only did I have Rob climb to the top, but he also had to hear about the ghost that reside in the Quarters, luckily we did not see any. 

We decided to have a down day and spend the afternoon at the pool and cook dinner in.  We ventured to the best seafood place I have ever been to, Joe Patti's Seafood.  I could live in Pensacola just for this market. 

  

    

We had a great week with our friends, so many great restaurants, dive bars, lots of drinks, and plenty of laughs. The plan is to see them soon when they head to Key West.

We spent some time on Pensacola Beach before heading to Destin.  

Destin, my first impression of Destin was way too crowded and busy.  Between traffic and shopping at Walmart on a Saturday, OMG 😲.  

Our resort for the week was at Sandpiper Cove, a gated community with its own beach. Our location was at the very back of the resort, but we were right next to one of their 5 pools and on hole #9.  Our room was not the best (a little dated), but it would do for the week.  We had a full suite with a living area, kitchen, separate bedroom, bathroom and a deck.  

                                  

On our third evening our toilet backed up, Rob called security and they showed in about 5 minutes.  It was so bad 😝, there was water also coming up through the tub 🤢.  The security guys could not fix the issue, we had to move for the evening.  They had to call Roto Rooter.  The unit they had us move to was literally right around the corner. It was pretty much the same setup as the first unit except better decorated, no door missing off the closet, and a great view of one of the canals and a better view of hole #8.

In the morning we went back to our original room to see what was happening, the issue was fixed, but it still smelled bad and the bathtub was disgusting.  We went to the office and asked to stay in the new unit, they said no problem.  Great for us as we liked this room so much better.

The beach ⛱ in Destin was amazing.  I loved the beautiful white sand, the water was  clear, and the beach was easy to walk on. The water 💧 was the perfect temperature 🌡.  Our tan lines are finally back.

    

The bad thing about the resort, we had to drive to restaurants and bars, there were none close enough for us to walk.  We really enjoyed The Red Door 🚪 Saloon, definitely a dive bar. We also liked The Back Porch, where we met Jeff, Melissa, Keith, and Ma and Pa. There food was good also.     

                                       

                                        

Our next stop was Panama City.  We stayed 3 nights at The Inn @ St Thomas Square. We had a studio which was basically a bed, a kitchenette, and a bathroom.  It was small, but doable for a couple of nights.  

                            

On our way to our hotel we passed Hammerhead Fred's, it looked like a fun place, seemed to be packed, and was in walking distance to our room.  So we had to check it out, yes an Octoberfest, German music, beer, and schnitzel. 

The inside bar of Hammerhead's was pretty cool, it originated from a 100 plus year old sinker cypress log dredged up from the Choctawhatchee River.  The picture does not do it justice. 

On Sunday, October 17th, we started our morning with a walk on the beach.  This was the first time we experienced the "red tide",  The term used for a harmful algal bloom, that occurs when algae grows out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds, there were dead fish all along the beach. The smell was disgusting.

Sunday Funday 🤪 football 🏈 was enjoyed at Off The Hook. A locals hang out on the water. We had a perfect afternoon watching football, drinking beer and watching the sunset.

We made a trip to the Exchange at the Naval Support Activity, Panama City Base.  While there we took some pictures of the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center. Rob was stationed in Hawaii on a Rescue and Salvage ship that a lot of the crew were Navy divers that graduated from the Training Center.

          

           

We enjoyed Panama City, but I can say been there done that. 

On our way to Apalachicola, we stopped in Mexico Beach, Hurricane Michael destroyed this area in 2018 and they are still rebuilding 😢. We only took a short walk on the beach.

Apalachicola is a cool town and I like the name, we stayed in The Pearl Room at the Riverwood Suites.  When I was booking the room, I was informed they only had one room available and it's their largest, okay.  Well, it was definitely large and beautifully decorated, loved the veranda. The cost was more than I wanted to spend, but well worth it.  I chose well with this one.

                                         

Loved the claw foot tub, also
had a nice shower 🚿 

                                                   

I thought this place was perfect for us because it is located in the Historic Baltimore Building. Apparently, Apalachicola was sitting on a "gold mine", oysters.  But, the locals did not know how to shuck the oysters fast enough to be able to market them.  The Northerners knew how to, so when the railway was completed winter migration was possible and a group of seasoned Oyster shuckers and catchers from Baltimore, MD, would relocate. So, the Baltimore building was constructed in 1908 to provide lodging, with 16 small rooms upstairs.  Tiny rooms, no insulation, community bathrooms, nothing special. The building was extensively renovated and now the upstairs consists of 4 beautiful suites. Since, I am from Baltimore it seemed like the perfect place to stay.

We met some of the nicest people, including "Governor Sam". Even gave him some stickers for his road trip. Our favorite place was the Oyster City Brewing Co (I'm usually not a fan of breweries), but I enjoyed the Bier Fest and they had a happy hour.  We had dinner at The Hole in the Wall, interesting little joint, oysters were delicious 😋.  

Rob has thoroughly enjoyed
applying these stickers

We explored St. George Island, nice area, but very little to do. Great if you want to rent a home and spend all your time on the beach.  We tried to get into the ritzy section, it's a gated community, they wouldn't let us in. We happened to find a house 🏠 (actually couldn’t see the house), but the yard was full of various signs and artwork, very interesting.

                               

Here, at the west end of the island was the next place we experienced the red tide.  This time, there were warning signs before entering the beach and both of us were coughing, we did not stay very long.  Where the Lighthouse is located the red tide was not as bad and we were able to check out the Lighthouse grounds and enjoy some beach time.

            

             

Next stop, Cedar Key, definitely not a town you just drive through you have to plan to come here.  Another place when booking, said I have one room left, okay. We stayed in The Gulliver's Rest Suite at the Cedar Key Harbor Master Suites.  Again, their biggest suite, it's like being in a mansion.  The pictures online do not do it justice and it has recently been remodeled. We had a small balcony, but it was great for people watching, we were right on main street.

                             

                             

We rented a golf cart for 4 hours and Rob took us all over the island several times.  

We stopped at Cemetery Point Park and strolled the boardwalk. We also stopped by the Proud Redneck Tombstone of Eddie Peter's who was a firefighter and had many mementos around his resting place (Roadside America). 

A few pictures from around the island before stopping at Joe Rains Beach for Rob's nap time.

               

Halloween Decorations 

My view while Rob was napping

We had dinner at Steamer's again, we had Seared Tuna and Seafood Pasta, both were delicious and would definitely order again.

A great small walkable town. 

On to Clearwater Beach ⛱,  with a few stops in between,  Crystal River, Tarpon Springs, and Dunedin.  We have been traveling along the coast as much as possible since entering Florida, looking for our dream town.

Crystal River was recommended by Melissa, a cute little town. As we entered Tarpon Springs we noticed a festival, seemed like a good place to stop. Turned out to be a craft fair, we had a great Greek lunch 😋.   We decided we needed to come back and see more.  Dunedin we quickly drove through and decided to come back when we had additional time.

The week in Clearwater, we stayed at the Five Palms. This resort, at first I thought was too far away and would not be convenient for us. The room itself was perfect, living area, small kitchen, with a separate bedroom and a balcony.  The location ended up being  great an easy walk to the beach, bars and restaurants.

Our second night I finally cooked a dinner, it was so nice to have a home cooked meal.  It was so good, Rob was finished before I could take a picture. I made a Green Chili Chicken with sauteed spinach over rice.

We found a Baltimore bar 😊 😊, with Orioles and Ravens decorations, usually it is a Steeler's bar 😠 😡. 

One of our favorite spots was Frenchy's Rockaway Grill, good food and drinks, great location on the beach, and friendly bartenders.

Tuna Nachos

Tuna Poke

We made our way back to Dunedin (pronounced DONE-EE-DEN). We walked part of the Dunedin Causeway Trail, great area for walking, fishing, and sunbathing.  We then spent the afternoon downtown walking, shopping (window), and enjoying lunch.

       

Someone caught a shark

Reuben on Rye 😋 

We spent the week enjoying the pool, beach, bike riding, sunrise, sunsets, and exploring the area. 

Beautiful beach ⛱ 

My man Hulk!

Volleyball 🏐 

Sunrise

Sun Setting

Loved 😍 😍 😍  Clearwater!

On our way to Venice we stopped in Bradenton to visit with Chris and Melissa Monoki.  We enjoyed lunch at Tides Table Restaurant, great restaurant selection.

Again, we drove through all the coastal areas when possible, Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key, St. Armands, and Siesta Key to name a few. Our next 2 nights we stayed at the Tropical Villas of Venice. 

 

Venice was a quaint town, we could walk to the downtown restaurants and shops.  We had Bushwackers and dinner at The Daiquiri Deck. Rob ordered the Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas and I ordered the Tuna Poke Bowl.  My dinner was delicious 😋, Rob's was very disappointing.

We rode bicycles 🚲 🚲  to Nokomis Beach to check out a rental property. I am a couch potato 🥔  and do not like to ride bicycles, so I was amazed we did over 11 miles.  We did get to stop for the drawbridge (I could catch my breath) and we walked on the beach ⛱.

The staff at the hotel were very sweet, they were planning a party for their boss and they invited us to stay for the party (it was on the day we were checking out).  While we were watching football by the pool we even had the chance to sample the avocado 🥑  deviled eggs 🥚🥚.

We left Venice and headed to Boca Grande, we did not know there was a toll ($6) and we could not use our SunPass (FL's EZPass). We walked around town, checked out the Lighthouse and the beach. We definitely ruled this location off our list, was just not us.

We arrived on Sanibel Island 🏝  November 1 and we are looking forward to 6, yes 6, months on Sanibel Island 🏝 in a little rented cottage.  It is a duplex, the owners Dad lives in the other duplex. The owners are really nice, Billy has invited Rob to go fishing. We are in a perfect location, quiet, walkable, and a bike friendly town.

We are officially locals, we obtained the Sanibel parking permit that allows us to park free at the beaches, we even have reserved spots at certain locations. We obtained the Leeway transponder, because Sanibel has a toll just like Boca Grande. The fees are $2 with the transponder. 

Since arriving, we have been to a couple of restaurants/bars (Tipsy Turtle, MudBugs, Lazy Flamingo, Doc Ford's). We met new friends Larry and Betsy at Matzaluna, we really liked this restaurant, but they are now closed. New restaurant will be opening in January.

MudBugs Bayou-Style Oysters

MudBugs Char-Grilled Oysters

Doc Ford's Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail 
and Shrimp Scampi Flatbread

We celebrated 14 HAPPY years of marriage at Bleu Rendez-Vous French Bistro. The service was impeccable.  Also, Rob made me my favorite breakfast. 

Trout

My love and Boeuf Bourguignon

Eggs Benedict

We have traveled to New Smyrna Beach twice to empty out our storage unit and to have dinner at The Garlic.  One trip included a stop in Orlando to see my sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, and 2 great nephews.

                                 

We have spent time on several beaches, I have learned the Sanibel Stoop, slightly bent knees, hunching over at the waist, eyes darting back and forth and arms dangling to the ground, looking for the perfect shell 🐚. 

I have been cooking 🍳:

Firecracker Salmon Bowl

Baked Chicken with Vegetable Orzo Salad

Broccoli 🥦 Egg 🥚  Bake

Grilled Chicken 🐔, Harvest Grains with Spinach

We have walked several trails 👣 and seen some wildlife, including an alligator.

I touched a shark, eww!

                      

You know what else was exciting, we have an actual mailbox and received mail, it's the little things.

I'm still keeping track of our expenditures and we really splurged in the restaurant/bar and lodging categories in October.  It was a challenge finding affordable housing that is decent.  We had a few places we definitely would not stay again and others, we will go back to. It has been very time consuming, checking availability, looking at reviews, and researching the area. 

The other things I've discovered with staying in different locations, you have to make sure where the bathroom 🚻 is, sometimes on my side of the bed, other times on his side.  Also, need to be aware of where the toilet paper 🧻 🧻 is located for those middle of the night excursions. Let's not forget about TV  remotes and the air conditioning setups. 

Having a Firestick has ben indispensable since 'cable' varies greatly at the different places we've stayed. All our apps are setup and logged into. All we have to do is plug it into a TV, change the wifi setting and we're all set. Plus, it's great for screen mirroring tablets and phones and using Bluetooth for our Bose speaker.

We loved the pan handle, Pensacola was great, the beach in Destin beautiful, loved driving along the coast and going through all the small towns.

So far, Clearwater has made the list of places I could live. If I could take Apalachicola and Cedar Key and put them closer to a great beach ⛱ with warm weather, that would be where I would settle.  The other places as much as we liked them still too cold 🥶  in the winter including New Smyrna Beach.  We still have so many places to explore.

Will Sanibel make the list, it just might.