January 21, 2013. Henderson SP, Destin, FL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 21, 2013.  We are near Destin, in Henderson State Park.  We arrived too early to check in, so we asked for the park ranger's recommendation for good seafood (an oxymoron).  She named several places, among them, Dewey Destin Seafood & Restaurant.  Off we went.  Based on appearances, you would not eat there.  It was off Calhoun Street, down a gravel alley, past tired, run-down warehouses to an old trailer on the water.  There was a larger wood structure on piers over the water with cardboard on the walls for insulation.  The menu was handwritten in chalk on a blackboard and most of the seating was on two parallel docks extending out over the water.  But, the food was good.  Annie had grilled shrimp and I had fried fish. 

Evidently, Dewey Destin is a favorite eatery for locals.  Most of the cars in the parking lot had Florida license plates.  While we were early for lunch, most of the tables were occupied.  A pelican and gull waited for patrons to ignore the sign admonishing them not to feed the birds.  I witnessed no violations.  A well-dressed older woman sat at a table with two older men.  I heard her tell them three times that she was 84 years-old.  After finishing her meal, she hugged several of the workers at Dewey's, then left.  One of the men at her table then pulled out a harmonica and began playing, seemingly for his own amusement, some hauntingly melancoly melody.  The sound carried to the end of the docks and across the water.  Dewey Destin is a very interesting place. 

We registered at Henderson and took off on the bikes.  We found a boardwalk to the beach and took a stroll.  The beach was pretty deserted but for us and a few other snowbirds.  There was a paucity of birds, although we found footprints indicating they had been there.  A couple of barefoot walkers going opposite directions also left their prints in the sand. 

Tomorrow, we will tour the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, then go on to Gulf Shores, AL.  You may recall that Gulf Shores, more accurately, Foley, is the home of the third Lambert's Restrauant.  We will spend the rest of the week at the Gulf State Park there, then start back north.  We should be home next week, sometime.