Sunday started out beautiful and sunny.  Thankfully, no wind.


The Destin 50K run ends on the beach in front of the condo, so we had front row seats to action at the finish line.  This is a short video of the finish line as viewed from the balcony.

We set the DVR for the Wisconsin/Ohio St. basketball game and it was off to church at the Destin United Methodist Church. One of the contemporary and the traditional services are at the same time. We decided to try the contemporary service. The room was small. There were about 50 people to fill it up. It had a stage where a praise band played and the congregation sat in cafe-style tables. They played some of the same songs we ourselves play at church.

After kicking around a few ideas for lunch, we decided to go back to The Donut Hole for brunch. I could eat there every day. I love that kind of food. I would gain 50 pounds a year, however!

We went to the harbor at Destin and took a short walk. Here are Erika and Anne with me. Erika is sporting her new coat, which she needed given the 50 degree temperature. 

We happened to be there when a fishing charter arrived.  About 15 guys returned from an 8 hour outing. It looks like each group caught 6-10 fish. We watched the pros clean the fish. It took about 20 seconds to get the two filets from each fish. It would take me twice that long to figure out how to hold the knife correctly. 

When we returned to the condo and settled in to watch the basketball game, we discovered that the game did not record properly. So we went online to see the score and highlights--those would be highlights only for Badger fans, if you know what I'm saying. Papu was glad to avoid an afternoon of frustration.

Dinner at the Bonefish Grill was excellent.

We returned home to watch the season 3 finale of Dowton Abbey. Anne and I have never seen this before, but I can see how many people would like it. We may try to catch up by watching the first 3 seasons this spring/summer. 

Saturday can be summed up in one word: windy.

Despite the sunny skies, the wind kept us from doing more outside. We read a lot.

The balcony is somewhat protected and in the sun, so we managed to sit our there to read, have lunch and I may have fallen asleep for a short time.

Anne, Lou and Joyce went to the fitness center.  Anne, having run outside earlier, soaked in the hot tub, while Lou and Joyce did their usual 30 minutes on the recumbent bike and 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Erika and I are not feeling 100% and went to the grocery for a few things.

I wouldn't be a trip to Miramar Beach without a trip to the outlet malls.  With Lou staying behind, the rest of us managed to pass about 4 1/2 hours there.  Everyone found something to spend money on, including a chocolate covered strawberry.

Joyce had a nice dinner of salmon and stir fried vegetables.  Good stuff!!

We arrived safely in Miramar Beach. We were quick to take advantage of the warm sunshine having lunch on the balcony.
Thinking that the weather might not be as nice for the next two days, we put on our shorts and headed down to the pool where we saw the son and daughter of Judy and Al Karchner, friends of Lou and Joyce.
Anne and I took a walk on the beach while Erika sat by the pool with her Yaya and Papou. The warmth seemed to escape the air more quickly than we had hoped, so we all headed back upstairs.

Anne went for a short run while I wrote a few more grade comments for my students (the technical reasons for the day off of work).

We decided to eat out tonight, so we headed out in search of a local Italian restaurant. After driving farther than we had anticipated, we found the restaurant only to discover that it was closed for renovation.

With stomaches rumbling, we pulled into The Donut Hole Cafe and Bakery. Lou and Joyce had eaten breakfast there recently and recommended it. We satisfied our hunger with sandwiches.

After a brief stop at the outlet malls and drug store for Erika's emerging cold, we made it back to the condo. I went to bed, the other stayed up and watched part of a movie.

Here is the view from the condo balcony.

Travel to Florida

We were up at 4:15 this morning.  I don't know how people do that. I have a few acquaintances that get up that early to exercise every day.  Forget it.

A few last minute packing details, a cup of coffee and quick wipe of the snow off of the car and we were on our way to the airport by 5:05.

Milwaukee is such an easy city to navigate. We were parked and walking to security by 6:00.

A quick flight to Atlanta and two hours to kill before our flight to Panama City where Lou and Joyce will be waiting to pick us up.

Here is Erika killing time in the Atlanta airport. Fun!!!

Welcome!

We hope you enjoy reading about our journeys as much as we had living them!