smays.com

Identical except for the sand and the melanoma

A couple of times each day last week, I'd walk down to the beach where Barb's clan was gathered. The kids were playing in the surf and the adults relaxed with cold drinks. They'd get in the water to cool off from time to time, but it wasn't uncommon for them to spend the entire day, just chilling on the beach, catching up on family news. I could do maybe an hour of this at a time. Tops. Then I'd go off and do something on my own.

I've spent the last couple of days hanging out at my local coffee shop. I can do this for four or five hours at a shot. I suspect I could do this for days. Until I dropped dead from dehydration like one of those Korean teenagers who die at their gaming consoles.

Alright. Please take out your Blue Books and write 1,000 words comparing and contrasting A Day At The Beach and A Day At The Coffee Shop. Begin.

Sand Castle Lesson

Barb hired a professional sand castle artist Mark Flynn to give the family a lesson. Not too bad for a first try. And lots of fun. Here's the flickr set and slide show.

It's still a beautiful "beach"

I've been thinking a good bit about the nature of reality. Specifically, the notion that we create our reality through consciousness. I was thus occupied when I noticed the sky above the beach here in Destin seemed just a little too perfect.

[Larger photo]

2000 Sun Block

Here is the obligatory yes-I-went-down-to-the-beach photo.

MSM ink for Destin Florida Podcast

Nice story in the Northwest Florida Daily News about The Destin Florida Podcast. The "voice" of the DFP --25-year-old Harley Van Hyning-- is a waiter at Pompano Joe's, a Destin native (I knew it!) and a recent graduate of the University of West Florida, where he got a degree in public relations and communications.

Harley and his buddy Ted Newkirk expect to eventually build an audience 80 percent out-of-towners and 20 percent locals with the twice-a-month podcast. Sounds like the right mix to me.

Smile

Barb always gets better pix than I and brought back some nice ones from her recent trip to Destin. This is my favorite.

Somewhere out on the web there's a photo of Barb taking this picture of the man taking the photo of the family on the beach. [larger]

If you're still looking for a place to vacation this summer, she has some new pix of Amberjack Landing.

Amberjack Landing: The Blog

I finally got around to converting AmberjackLanding.com to a Typepad blog. Getting the domain switched will take a few days.

The experience reminded me (again) of just how much the tools have improved since I created (with FrontPage) the original site. There was no Flickr, no Google Maps, no Typepad. And best of all, Barb will be able to post, add pix, play with the layout and such. Much more fun for her.

But we gotta keep the thing fresh, so if you spot something about Destin, send it our way.

Miltenberger Family Reunion: 2006

I didn't take a lot of pix on recent trip to Destin because Barb's brother Chris is a damned fine photographer and snapped about 500 images. I added 20 or 30 to my flickr set.

Someone hired a professional beach photographer to get some family shots. For some reason, all beach photogs have a thing for khaki pants and white shirts. There's a proof page here (very lo rez) but not for long. I like Chris's images better.

I don't want to play outside

"Addiction" is such a strong word. I prefer "passion." Sunday monring here in beautiful Destin and we're coming to you from the local Barnes & Noble ($2/hr). Mac Update: I'm unable to access any of the open wifi hotspots with the Mac Book but brother-in-law Chris is getting on with his ancient Dell. I had to put the Mac Book away to the hoots and jeers of a room full of PC users. Chris let me use his laptop but it was just too humiliating, so I slunk (slank?) away and came to B&N. I gotta go now. Mom says I have to go down to the beach and play with the other kids.

Oh, almost forgot. No HBO either. I think I'm Tivo'ing Deadwood and Entourage but will somebody please record these, just in case?

Heading for Destin

We saddle up and head for Destin tomorrow for a week in the sun with friends and family. (Thanks to Vince and Mike with the JCPD SWAT Team for sitting with the dogs.) Not sure what the wifi situation will be at Amberjack Landing but it won't hurt me (much) to be off the grid for a few days. I plan to spend some of the time dancing the with Mac Book.

Counting the hours

Five days. 120 hours. And then I'm on vacation. Sort of. On Wednesday Roger Gardner and I head for Seattle and three days (for me...RG will probably get geek toxic after a day or so) of Gnomedex. I'll get back just in time for the long 4th of July weekend. I'll rest up a few days after that and then it's off to Destin with the lovely Barb where we gather with her clan for a week. While I won't be completely off the grid, I will be away from the office and I'm really looking forward to it.

Hope to see my pal Jim Mathies, who lives in Destin. Search for some open wi-fi. And try to get better acquainted with the Mac Book. I feel like the guy that's due to be released from prison in three or four days and is afraid to leave his cell for fear of getting shanked so close to freedom.

The beach is back

I was last in Destin back in October and the beaches had been savaged by the hurricanes. Just six months (and $5 million? $22 million!) later, they look pretty damned good. Amazing. Barb and some clients are going down for few days in a couple of weeks and we'll get a first-hand report and more pix. And I'm told the cottage is all booked up through May and June, and part of July.

Expensive sand

Friend Jim reports the beaches at Sandestin are completely replenished. Just in time for the hurricane season. Only cost $22 million (paid for by touristas). He promises more pix this weekend.

Beachfront property

Nice aerial view of the beach closest to our place in Destin. I took a couple of shots of this lot on our recent trip. Would love to know what this little patch of sand sells for.

Mother Nature 7, Man 0

Barb and I took a long walk along the beach yesterday and, yes, I was the only one wearing jeans, shoes, socks, etc. Still a nice walk. I'm not sure where Destin and Sandestin start and stop or the names of beaches but I think the beach closest to our place is Miramar Beach.

Still a lot of trash to be picked up. Things like 40 foot pilings, concrete swimming pools and a few things a person could actually lift. The beach is pretty much gone in some places but looks okay in others. High surf (from Wilma?) the last few days seems to change the beach almost daily. I've never actually seen Gulf surf this high.

Once again, having the Casio in my hand made me see the beach a little differently than I used to. Sea shells and jelly fish; what a beach house should look like; what it should not look like (last shot, I promise).

While I couldn't find the discipline to stay off line, I have enjoyed this long weekend. This is the time of year to come to the Gulf Coast. Jim says spring break is good too, but that's more about co-ed's than climate. Found a great bar (Theo's) and made a new friend. Let's make it Mother Nature 7, Man 3.

18 floors above what used to be the beach

From the Grand Dunes website: "18 story Gulf front rental restricted condominium villa homes; 89 huge, well designed, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom floor plans; dramatic 2-level penthouses; Private Beach; Secured gated resort."

You know I'm not a surf-and-sand guy, so can you exlpain how this is any kind of beach experience? I'm just asking.

Speaking of beach-front property. Back-to-back hurricanes destroyed the house so the lot is now for sale. Inquiring minds want to know why leave the pool? The few folks I've spoken to about this are tyring to put a good face on things, but from where I stand in my Levis and long-sleeve shirt, the beaches have taken a pretty big hit. [flickr set]

Road trip

Not sure if you can call 30 hours in the car a vacation but Barb and I are heading down to Destin for a long weekend (next week). There's some kind of home-owners meeting at Gulfside Cottages and I'm tagging along because I desperately need to get off the grid for a couple of days. Uh, yeah, I'll probably take the Thinkpad. But I'm pretty sure I won't be online for the 14 hour drive down and back. I'm eager to see how Destin is recovering.

Destin beaches looking good

Barb's vacation cottage survived Hurricane Dennis amazingly well. Early photos left you with the impression the beach would take a long time to recover but these photos are reassuring. And the Gulf was crystal clear.

Destin beaches recovering

Barb and her family spent part of this afternoon on the beach in Destin. The effects of Dennis are still visible but things look much better than she expected. I assume she's taking photos but we probably won't have them until her return.

Destin beach photos

Mark Bremmer has a house in Gulfside Cottages, just down the way from Amberjack Landing and shares these photos of "our" beach at Destin.

Destin Update

Latest word is our house in Destin came through Dennis in great shape. The "Fish" is still swinging. Ocean Reef (the rental folks) says we are to have renters in next week and they're still telling people to come. There are some beaches accessible and open to the public. I hope that's accurate.

Bring your boots.

More heartbreaking images of the Destin-area beaches from Jim Mathies' excellent blog:

I think it's safe to say the tourist season is over in Destin. I doubt many condos can be rented, especially since even if they're safe to enter, the only way to get to the beach requires a 20 foot jump. The good news is the seaweed will wash away in a week, the nails and other metal debris will rust away in a month, and the wood will rot in four. But, if your still thinking of braving a trip down to Destin within the next month or so, skip the flip flops, and bring your hiking boots. You'll need them.

The photo to the right is what's left of a swimming pool that was part of the deck of a house right on the beach. Before Dennis ate it up, there was a wooden walk-over just to the left of that deck that we used to access the beach from Amberjack Landing.

Miramar Beach, Destin.

Before and after. Bummer.

Blogging Dennis

Watched all of the cable channels off and on throughout the day trying to get a sense of what was happening in Destin. I had been looking for a Destin blogger and finally found Jim Mathies, "a former Silicon Valley dotcomer who migrated to the beaches of Florida after the Internet bubble burst." This is really amazing coverage and if you scroll down to his Google map you can see that his home is very close to our place. Small (wet) world. Jim promises pictures tomorrow.

45 degree plunge

Barb and sister Jan are in Destin for a week. Checking on the house and hoping for some warm weather. Doesn't look good. Technorati search took us to Cliff's Travels 2005 who reports a 45 degree plunge over night:

"The temperature when I got here was 73 degrees. This morning it had plunged to 28. No hike on the beach this morning. I am off to the west looking for warm and sunshine."

Didn't spend enough time on Cliff's blog to get to know him but his "About Me" sounded interesting:

"At 64 I am ready for the game to begin. This winter I will tour by pickup truck, bike and foot for six weeks. Then I will bicycle 3000 or so miles before summer. After that?????"

I like your attitude, Cliff. Let the games begin!

Gulf Coast Damage

Mark Bremer points us to more images of the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. Damage along Highway 30-A; Destin; more Destin; Pensacola Beach; Orange Beach; Perdido Key; more Perdido. Bummer.

Destin beaches

The soft, sugar-white sand dunes of Destin, Florida, now look more like the Bonneville Salt Flats. Thanks to Mark Bremer for these photos (1-2-3), taken from what's left of the walk-over between Gulfside Cottages and the beach. Mark appears to be about here (pre-Ivan)

Bullet dodged

Early reports from Destin are all good. Sounds like only very minor damage to Gulfside Cottages (pre-hurricane photo)and Amberjack Landing esacaped with a little water damage (2nd floor door blew open). Sounds like there might even be some beach left. The red dot in this image is approximate location of our cottage. This one shows a little more precisely. Barb spoke with one of the guys from the property management place and he said there are people arriving today for their scheduled vacations. That is pretty hard-core.

And a dozen wallet size

Thanks to Mary Anne for taking my new Favorite Picture of Barb and Me at this summer's family get-together in Destin. I find my Elmore Leonard wardrobe works equally well for beach or formal occasions. Speaking of Destin, here's a nice shot of Gulfside Cottages. No fewer than three of the Miltenberger clan have volunteered to drive into The Perfect Storm to board up Amberjack Landing. The fact that all three are either retired or out of work in no way detracts from their courageous and generous offer.

Toto, we're home!

Dorothy said it best and she was right on. Back from a week at Amberjack Landing in beautiful Destin, Florida. I believe there were 15 people in our house and two other families/friends staying in nearby cottages. Barb's brother Chris was a photo-taking fool and must have shot 500 images (including the shots of Barb and me above). They were all pretty good but I picked out 50 for this post. I also did a little video that attempts to capture the week's good vibe.

[Note for friends and family: the file is about 9 meg and might take a minute or two to download. Just right-click and "Save Target As"]

Destin

Photos by Chris Miltenberger.

I believe in signs and omens

That I am unable to access the net from our place here in Destin can only mean that the gods want me to take a little break. But here I am at Destin's only (?) Internet cafe, feeding the blog monster (the meter is at $2.80 and ticking). No pics until I can get the Thinkpad connected.

I had three objectives for this vacation: Get drunk, have a good cry and take a long nap. Two down.

Sign that your marriage is very strong or nearly over: Barb and I did not listen to the radio...CD's...or book-tapes during the 10 hour drive on the first day. I confess she spent the first three hours doing business but, still, that's a long time to talk to your wife/husband.

I can stop anytime I want

The blogging lamp will dim for a couple of days as we motor down to Destin for a week for R&R. This must be what movie stars feel on the drive out to the Betty Ford Clinic for a month of detox. I know I need to spend less time online, but...

A great place to meet girls

That's what I've always heard about family reunions but can't say I've found it to be true. Our upcoming Destin vacation will be shared with Barb's brothers --Chris and Lew-- and their families; her sisters Jan and Beth; long-time friends Pam & Paul; and Nancy and Terry McVey.

Or wherever your final destination may be

I really hate flying. I hate everything about it. The short list includes:

* The shitty little bags of pretzels
* The chemical smell of the toilets
* The morons that refuse to check the baggage and slow the boarding process to a crawl as the park their fat asses in the aisle trying to shove stuff into the overheads. These same dumb-asses can't grasp the concept of "wait until we reach the gate before standing up and pulling your shit back out."

Air travel makes me resent people in wheelchairs...and old women on walkers...and children. Funerals and weddings of loved ones will get me on a plane again but it will be an act of duty and obligation. If I don't look like I'm having fun when I get where I'm going it's probably because I'm not.

Yes, Key West was warm and beautiful. And only a real party-pooper would complain about getting there and back. But the math doesn't work for me. I need 100 hours of fun for every hour of travel time, and I never get it. And I never will. Let's try this. I'll spend a weekend on the beach with you for every weekend you spend sitting next to me while I surf the web. Come on, it'll be fun.

Destin beach

My favorite image from Barb's recent trip to Destin. Unknown woman walking away from unknown boy.

Bitches & Beaches Tour, Day One

Barb just called from the Green Door Bar in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. En route to Destin. Sounded pretty drunk.

Me and the pups

Barb, Jan and a dozen lady friends are heading for Destin tomorrow for the 2003 Bitches & Beaches Tour. Killer rip tides do not frighten these women. So it's just me and the hounds for a week. Nothing but dog biscuits and Buds. Drunken co-eds stay away. There's nothing for you here.

Tell your friends

Did I mention that Barb built a house in Destin, Florida? Well, she did and it's for rent. Great for family reunions if you're into that kind of pain. A better plan might be to get some friends together (there's three bedrooms) and split the cost for a week. You can check it out at AmberjackLanding.com. I'm through with getting shitty service in over-priced hotels in places I didn't want to go to in the first place. My vacations will all be "One cold drink from the beach."

Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear

We hit the road at 4 a.m. on July 5. Seventeen hours later we rolled into Destin, Florida, where the traffic was bumper-to-bumper. The trip included a 3-hour layover in Nashville to repair the 70 mph blowout on the rental truck (the Ryder guy was there within one hour)...and a Hollywood-style car fire (not ours) north of Montgomery. But neither of these events held my fascination like the guy hiking through southern Illinois, carrying a cross. Whatever his well-intended message, it was diluted (for me) by the wheels he'd affixed to the base of the cross. I mean, if you're going to put wheels on the cross, why not construct it of balsa wood. Or Styrofoam. Or make it inflatable. It reminded me of the Candice Bergen scene in Carnal Knowledge.

Sand in my pants

As a rule, I do not vacation well. And the idea of sitting in the hot sun, with wet pants filled with sand... well, it's not for me. But I am headed for for the beach and plan to turn over a new leaf. Or starfish. Or something. Driving to a vacation destination, no less. The first time we've done that in 18 years (ever?). Fourteen hours, I'm told. Watch this space for updates.

Unplugged

No laptop. Yellow Mustang convertable. No PDA. Destin, Florida. No mobile phone. Heineken. No email. Hawaiian shirt. No voice-mail. Smoothie King.