Although our condo is within a day’s driving range, we elected for a direct flight this time with Allegiant Air out of Belleville IL. It’s a small airport, so 10 minutes and you are thru security and ready to go. We just do carry on, so add some time if you are checking any bags. But with a washer/dryer in our condo, no need to pack too many clothes. For a 7 day trip, bring 4 outfits and you are set. Most of the time is just swimsuits anyway.
A previous trip we had rented a convertible from an official car rental, only to have them wind up not having one, and giving us a jeep instead. So this trip we tried Turo, renting a convertible directly from the owner, so we knew we would wind up with the actual car we wanted to rent. Our first time using it, we learned to save us time next trip is to request exact vehicle location in the parking lot so we don’t spend too much time looking for it. Also you’ll just request the code from the owner to access a lockbox in the car, which contains the key. And that’s it, away you go, no waiting in lines for a vehicle. Returning it is even easier. Just leave it in the parking lot, let the owner know where its at, lock up the key, and head into the airport.
Although the first day we arrived the water was still rough, the next days after that turned out to be beautiful. The weather forecasts are often wrong, so don’t cancel your trips based on that. You may wind up missing this!
One of goal this trip was to only eat at places we hadn’t been to before. One new one we found was Surf Hut, which had a great beach front view, open air restaurant, that turned out to be the fastest service of any place we’ve been. Food was great, good prices, and will definitely be returning to this one!
Just for the sake of time, we only go out to eat once a day, and the remainder of the time we’ll usually eat on the balcony. Our balcony is literally only 200 feet from the beach, so you cant beat the view there.
But you can even eat down at the beach, and if you need drinks or food, Pelican Beach has its own beach service. Most trips you’ll get to meet Caitlin Elom on the beach, who is also starting a concierge service called LivinLocal.Co You can follow her instagram page here. While the property management companies take care of our day to day needs of the unit, making sure everything is working great, Livin Local is more of a secondary service to fill in the gaps to make your vacation easier. Example; rather than waiting on grocery delivery or pickup, she can stock your fridge for you ahead of time, etc.
One of our favorite activities every trip is just looking for shells on the beach. Destin has the powdery white sand beaches, but not a lot of shells. If you make a short drive over to Navarre Beach, you’ll find more shells than you’ll ever need there. The sand is also noticeable more course, with tons of shells.
We took another trip with Fun Destin Adventures out to Crab Island on their new “redneck pontoon”, then took the boat over to Elk Lodge, played a game of darts, then went back to eat at a small place right by the docks, called Harbor Tavern. Then we headed out for a sunset cruise with Fun Destin Adventures. You can book trips with them HERE.
We are also frequently asked about snow crab, so we went to check out Brotulas all you can eat crab and bottomless mimosas. (no its not fresh crab, its from the arctic ocean). But if you are looking for fresh crab, nearly every place will have blue crab claws, which are fantastic if you like crab. Harbor docks was another place we tried this trip. Its also great, and just down the road from our condo.
While you can hire photographers to do beach photos, we find that a good cell phone camera, a tripod, and a blue tooth remote do just fine for us. This trip we were able to get some photos on the beach during a full moon.
We made a few more updates to the condo this trip. We touched up paint as always, and added a new Florida Girl hand painted pineapple centerpiece to the table. We also decided to remove the door closer on the main entry door, as it made the door very difficult to hold open. We also installed a new wifi connected thermostat. So if you are staying with us, just send us a message a few hours ahead of your arrival and we’ll set the temperature to whatever you’d like. Housekeeping usually turns up the thermostat when they leave, so it can be a little warm or humid upon arrival sometimes. But with the new wifi connected thermostat, you can walk into whatever temperature you want.
In August, the large painting in the dining room, as well as the one by the entry door will be getting replaced by brand new original Florida Girl artwork. And then we are also making an update to the dining room table. It currently has an older wicker style table. We are replacing that with a brand new 4 place solid wood table, plus 2 additional chairs at the counter. So you’ll be able to pull those chairs over to have up to 6 people at the table if needed. But here’s some of the minor details that are often overlooked. Its all about the view, and with a regular height table, your looking over the back of the couch. The new table with be counter height with counter height chairs to get your eye level above the living room furniture.
So if you are looking for that dream vacation, look no further. You can book your next trip to stay at the Florida Girl condo right here at PelicanBeachCondo.com
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