Still Enjoying the Sun

Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Florida

Shannon took this picture. Just too good to not share.

On Monday, we went to the Air Force Armament Museum on Eglin Air Force Base. I really like learning about military history and about the different types of aircraft, so this was really fun for me. If only Sam didn't become cranky after too short of a time. We could have spent a lot longer, especially outside, but he just couldn't hack it.But that's okay. Inside was air conditioned. But chasing him around yelling "Copter!" every time he saw an airplane, and running to every airplane (and airplane model) was a bit tiring. The planes they had on display were very neat. Here is a link via google maps with an overhead picture.

Anyway, they have some great displays. There are many bombs on display, displays on automated weapons, air-to-air, aircraft, pilots. Really a lot of what you'd expect from a place called "Air Force Armament Museum".

Let's see. Later that night. . . or was it Sunday? I'm really confused about which day is which. This lack of routine is very, what, blissfully disorienting? Is that possible? I don't know, but I hope this isn't the last two week vacation I take. (It'll be quite a while before I do it again, that's for sure). Anyway, Later or Earlier I'm not too sure, we went out to eat at AJ's on the Destin Harbor. I have give it thumbs up all the way. I had something called "Run of the Kitchen" (where everything ran into batter and got deep fried). Very good, and the first time I've ever had oysters. It's a little bit expensive, but the value for what you paid is good.

Last night Shannon and I finally went to celebrate our anniversary. We went out to eat at a place called Old Bay Steamer. We had the Gulf Steamer for two, and I have nothing bad to say about it. Anywhere I go into where they play BB King gets an automatic nod for good, but the food here was just excellent, with a nice calm atmosphere. I had steamed oysters, steamed clams, and mussels for the first time. And it was the first time I have ever eaten shrimp that still had its head attached. An experience for sure. I highly recommend it to anyone coming to the area.

After supper, we went to Bass Pro Shop over in Destin. I just love that place. It isn't as good as the one in Springfield for sure, but still a neat place, with a pretty heavy emphasis on marine fishing, of course. I've heard a rumor that Cape is supposed to get one, but we'll see how that pans out. Bass Pro Shop is in a really neat shopping mall called Destin Commons. It's an outdoor mall, and is upscale (so I didn't do any shopping), but it's just a nice place to walk around and people watch. We got us some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, then headed back to the condo to make sure the kids were properly tucked into bed (with Shannon's mom watching them).

So today, this morning, the family headed down to the pool for a bit, then we had some lunch. I leveled my Mage (Level 52!) while Sam napped and Shannon and Erin went back to the pool.

Tonight was Great Fun. We all went to Destin Commons and as soon as we got there, Erin spotted the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Her face lit up, and we went. (We knew it was there and anticipated this moment, already planning on going). She was so excited! She went through and got her a bunny picked out, got it stuffed, gave it a bath, put clothes on it, and then we named it and created a birth certificate. She has been going on about it ever since, conjuring stories of how it came to be, where it lives (four televisions and an indoor pool in her house, which is a cardboard box and is "much bigger on the inside than it looks").

Sam enjoyed it as well. He picked out a monkey (named Nanas) then ran around the store trying to run the stuffing machine and trying to put the bear clothes on. He also had a great time.

After that, we went over to the fountains. It's this really neat fountain set up that shoots sprays of synchronized water and the kids (and some adults) can run around and play. Sam didn't do much with that, but he enjoyed running around in circles. Erin just dearly enjoyed every bit of that.

Shannon took this picture (just above) of the fountains tonight. We don't know anyone in the picture, but they're blurry anyway. I got a couple of short video clips (via digital camera) of Sam and Erin.

• Erin
• Erin and Sam
• Sam

And we ended our night with a few cheetos, some teeth brushing, and a quick couple of photographs of our new friends. I can't believe that it's only Tuesday, yet it's already August the 7th!