Destin, FL

Monday, December 3 - Friday, December 14, 2012

Legendary Marine of Destin...in a word...Impressive! Trevor jumped into the engine room before we had a chance to shut her down. After twenty minutes he was on the phone with Crusader while still in the engine room. He talked over Mike's concerns and gave Mike his plan of action. Within an hour we were packing a bag waiting for Enterprise to pick us up! Irish Attitude was hoisted out and  moved to her temporary home in the service building.

Hoisted

Mike watches Irish Attitude on the Forklift

After a little hunting we decided to go through a rental agency. It was possible Irish Attitude could be out of the water from a week to ten days if the engine needed to be replaced. A place with a kitchen would be a money saver. Luckily it is the off season and deals were available. Mike and I rented a cottage a block off the beach. Our Nantucket Rainbow Cottage exceeded our expectations. For the price of a boat slip we had a kitchen with table, living room, queen bed, bathroom w/ shower and even a couple bunk beds. Mike sat at the table and I sat in a chair living room putting on my shoes. I looked up and realized that this is the farthest apart we had been in months! Weird. After our 4th day I discovered there was a pool and a laundry room! It was not mentioned and at the rate we were paying it was not expected. Maybe our luck it turning around!



11B

My favorite pass time became walking on those soft white sandy beaches. No hot sands this time of year. The beach and water was beautiful and it was ours alone (almost!).

Our layover was a great time to visit the area. We followed the coast highway to the east to Rosemary Beach and to the west back to Pensacola to the National Naval Aviation Museum. It was worth the drive. Over 140 military aircraft are on display. There are 3 IMAX movies. We chose the Magic of Flight movie featuring the Blue Angels. It was surprising to discover the number of carriers the U.S. has had over the years. Mike served on the Enterprise, the first nuclear powered carrier. Reading the accounts, seeing authentic uniforms and all those planes from every era!




Aviatior Over the Years

Destin has every restaurant you can imagine. The unique restaurants, mostly seafood of course, make this area a real attraction. Harborwalk Village has all the charm of a fishing village blended with the amenities of a resort area.

Sunday night we went down to Harry T's and sat upstairs. A Christmas boat parade was scheduled for 6 p.m. A couple sitting along the balcony offered us their seats since they were leaving. ‘Merry Christmas’ she said! The boats ranged from the tall ship Buccaneer to small personal crafts. Decorations varied from simple elegance to load it up and light it up! The boats passed in front of the judges then circled around in the bay. Once all the boats were out of the harbor the fireworks began. It was a fun night, but like most nights, we were still home before 9 p.m.!

Our 9 yr. old engine that had developed a knock in the lower end has been replaced with a new Crusader Engine with a warranty! The sliding glass doors had to be removed to take out and reinstall the engine. We had new port shaft bearings replaced, rudders realigned and new larger fuel filters installed while the engine work was being done. Thursday we will sea trial the new engine and hopefully move back aboard to continue our adventure.

The weather was turning chilly again. The warm spell is over. Destin turned out to be a great place to wait our engine repairs. Thank you to Legendary Marine and especially Service Advisor, Trevor Hardy!