Vacation 2012

On Sunday, -T and I returned from vacation to face the real world of work days, food shopping, bill paying and flying monkeys. And quite a fine vacation it was. We flew out of KC on Friday June 1st non-stop to the Big Easy, New Orleans. We had spent part of our honeymoon there 35 years ago, so I made reservations at the downtown Marriot hotel where we stayed. The Marriot is on Canal Street in the heart of the French Quarter.


Originally, we flew to New Orleans to save a few hundred dollars in airfare, the difference between flying into New Orleans versus Destin our vacation destination. While saving significant money, it also allowed us to visit John and Barbara Strain. John is a childhood best friend with whom I shared toys in the church nursery. We remained fast friends for nearly 20 years until he left Kansas City in the mid-1970's. Since then, he has lived in central Missouri and Illinois before settling in Covington Louisiana, just across Lake Ponchatrain from New Orleans. John and I stayed in touch for the first few years after his departure, and he did serve as a groomsman in our wedding. After that, our contacts were few and far between. –T and I did visit John and Barbara in the mid-1990’s, and John did make a few trips to Kansas City where we connected. But mostly, the friendship has remained occasional emails or facebook messages separated by days, weeks, months or even years. We had completely lost touch for many years until his name appeared in an article I read about hurricane Katrina. John was mentioned as a local blogger who was one of the only sources of on the ground information as the hurricane made landfall.

John and Barbara

John and Barbara met us downtown on Friday evening for dinner and some time in the French Quarter. After our first of many awesome seafood dinners to come during our vacation, we walked Bourbon Street and surrounding areas, stopped for coffee and beignets at Café Du Monde, and shot a neat full moon picture at the St. Louis Cathedral, just steps away from where Napoleon signed the Louisiana purchase agreement in 1803. The evening was one of those moments when you feel so satisfied to be in that place at that time with those you are with. Our vacation had gotten off to a fantastic start. Both –T and I agreed that Friday was memorable. I wanted to tell John that we had really enjoyed last night but didn’t want to be the first person to ever say that to him, so I didn’t.

Bourbon Street

Saturday was a travel day, delayed by 4 hours as we decided to take the opportunity to visit the National World War II Museum in New Orleans before leaving for Destin. It was also time well spent. The museum is the result of Stephen Ambrose, Tom Hanks, and Stephen Spielberg’s efforts to capture the stories of WWII veterans who are rapidly becoming a rarity. It is a world class museum and a must see for New Orleans visitors.

The drive to Destin was uneventful. We arrived at the condo early in the evening and had our first of many fantastic grilled/blackened grouper/amberjack/Maui dinners at Pompano Joe’s, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. The remainder of the week was spent alternating between golf, beach, pool, and seafood in no particular order. We even did a little shopping. The weather cooperated by sparing us from rain until Thursday afternoon when we were rained out of a golf round after 10 holes. Fortunately, we were reimbursed for the greens fees, so essentially played 10 holes for free. The activity we did the most was to eat at Dewey Destin’s, our favorite restaurant in Destin. Dewey Destin’s can only be described as a dump - a real seafood dive. The restaurant is a shack, with a detached kitchen (trailer) located at the rear where all food is prepared. Customer seating is on whatever picnic table can be commandeered on the adjoining pier. The seafood is exceptional as are the views. We dined at Dewey’s 5 times over our 6 day stay.

Dewey Destins

View from Dewey Destins

On Friday evening we decided to check out the local entertainment on the resort’s property. We ended up at a club named Rumrunners where a very talented singer/guitarist entertained us for several hours. –T and I couldn't help noticing the entertainer bore a striking resemblance to our nephew in law, Kelly, only with musical talent. Both are big southern boys. Both are essentially bald with beards. Both are Zac Brown wannabees. After an enjoyable evening, we rode the shuttle back to our condo to finish the sad task of packing for a morning departure.

Zac or Kelly?

We left Destin on Saturday morning, headed for another visit with John and Barbara, but this time in their hometown of Covington. We left Destin in the rain. It rained all the way to Pensacola where it morphed into a deluge the likes of which Kansans rarely see. It rained so hard we couldn’t see the side of the road, so to remain safe, I slowed to 60 MPH. We later heard that Pensacola received 15 inches of rain in 7 hours, the second highest 24 hour rain total for that city in history. Past Pensacola, it rained normal rain through Mobile and Biloxi. By the time we arrived in Covington, the rain was reduced to a light sprinkle, but only for a few hours. The entire gulf coast was to receive up to 30 inches of rain over the next 7 days. We felt thankful we did not plan vacation for the following week.

Saturday was spent with the Strain’s at their home playing with the Apple products, and dining at a local restaurant. It is amazing how –T and I would naturally pick up a conversation with them after years of separation. We are thankful for their hospitality and friendship. Monday was spent helping –T’s dad prepare his new home for move in. Now we are back in the world of flying monkeys.