Destin Army Recreational Area

This month we decided to go south and warm up a bit after being in Indiana and West Virginia the past couple months.

The first place we stayed at was the Destin Army Recreational Area which is part of the Fort Benning Family and Moral, Recreation and Welfare Directorate.  It is located on the Choctawhatchee Bay which is just a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico.

The facility was top quality offering cabins, hotel rooms, and RV lots, along with other activities such as charter fishing.  We were really impressed with its upkeep and security.  

We have been planning on using military recreation facilities a lot more in our travels since they are usually much cheaper, but offer the same quality as private, higher priced resorts.

Courtney, Avery, Ethan, Ian, & Tia posing by the pool at the Destin Army Recreational Area.

As I mentioned earlier, we were really impressed by the quality of the resort.  Just looking at the pool gives you an idea of how nice the place was.

Pool at Destin Army Recreational Area.

We would have been very happy to stay here the entire time while in Destin, Florida, but already had reservations at another resort we were meeting friends at.  

The splash park, which was just added in 2011, was top notch and very well maintained.  

On another note, when we first started to explore the resort, while walking a gentleman standing in the door opening of his room shouted down asking if all of the kids were ours.  We get that a lot.  We answered yes, and after he made over them a bit, we went on down to the pool and splash park.

Next thing you know he walks up to me with his hand cupped so that I was the only one who could see what was in it and asked me to take the kids out for ice cream for a Thanksgiving treat, on him.  When looking down at his hand, I was surprised to catch sight of a $50.00 bill.

I of course told him that was way too much, but he insisted that we take it and buy the kids a Thanksgiving treat for him.

So that evening we went to Longhorn Steakhouse, ate dinner and let the kids order whatever dessert they wanted off of the desert menu.

I thanked the gentleman when he first gave us the money, but did not have a chance to give him one of our cards so he could follow us on the blog.  The next day I did not see him around any longer and it looked like his room was vacated.  Whenever we think about that moment, we will always smile because of his kindness reflected upon our family.  

So if you are reading this and are the gentleman who gave the family of eight the $50.00 for ice cream while they were at the Destin Army Recreation Area, THANK YOU! 

The splash park at the Destin Army Recreation Area.

There was also a 300 foot fishing pier available to fish in the Choctawhatchee Bay or do some crabbing.  As you can tell by Misty's hair, there was a nice breeze coming off of the bay that evening.

Tia, Courtney, Avery, Ethan, Misty, Chloe, & Ian on the fishing pier.

 Although it was a little nippy, due to the wind, we were having a nice time walking around the resort.

Tia, Courtney, Avery, Ethan, Don, Chloe, & Ian on the fishing pier.

One of the first things the kids wanted to do was play on the beach, so the next day, we headed down to the boardwalk and let them get wet.

There were plenty of people swimming in the water, which was not too awful cold, but we decided not to let the kids this evening since neither Misty or I had on bathing suites and did not want to risk having to go in after one of them.  

Ethan, Ian, Courtney, Avery, & Tia playing on the beach.

We actually love the beach this time of the year, since it is not very crowded and the sand does not burn your feet.  The water can be a bit chilly to swim in, but it really is not that bad.

It is funny, because you can tell the northerners from the southerners very easy by the way we dress and things we do.  

I would be willing to bet money that everyone swimming or in swim suites were from a cold climate while anyone dressed up with a jacket or long sleeve shirts and pants, were from the south.

There is always the exception but for the most part, the above statement is true.

Chloe, Misty, Tia, Courtney, Ethan, Avery, & Ian having fun in the sun.

 As with all days, the sun started to set and the kids started to say they were hungry, so we called it a day and went to get something to eat.

The sun getting close to set over the Gulf of Mexico.

 There will be more on what we are doing in Destin in future blogs. Since I only update my blog every week or so, I do not have the time to tell you about everything we do.  I wish I could blog everyday on our activities, but just can not make time for that.

I try to pick something that we have done, which I think will be of the most interest to you.  It is funny as some blogs I feel should be very interesting do not get a lot of traffic, while others I may have just thrown together to get something out, have some of the highest numbers of views.  That is probably why I am not in the paper business or a journalist.

Until next time, God bless.

Thanks!
Don, Misty, & Kids...