MrScubaBHT
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2002
- Messages
- 40
Day 12 15 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday , July 16 - 19
The Big Family Trip to WDW Day 12
I wake up to the alarm around 8:00 and grab breakfast. Now we need to wash clothes before checkout. I end up having to split our laundry between two floors in order to get enough machines.
The clothes are finally clean and everything is in the suitcases by 11. By the time we get packed it's 11:30.
We have no idea of where we are going to spend the night, only that we want to make it to the beach. We figure we will start looking for a place to stay around Apalachacola.
First mistake is to not use to Toll Way and after 2 hours of driving through small town after small town and averaging only 50 miles an hour we decide to cut back over to the Interstate.
Nothing eventfull happens today, just a lot of driving. We make it to Apalachacola around 8:00 and it's not someplace we want to stay, so we keep driving.
We make it into Panama City Beach around 10:00 PM and the main drag is still packed with cars. It takes us 45 mintues to find a motel that has vacancy, but there are people outside on the balconies and we can tell that we wouldn't enjoy staying here. So back in the vehicles and it's off to Destin, FL.
We finally make it in to Destin around midnight and check into a Home Suites? motel for $129 night. Not too impressed, but we are exhausted.
Day 13
I wake up and head down the main drag and grab donuts at Krispy Cream and bring the back to the hotel. I call around Destin to find a better place to stay and I'm able to secure a $116 night rate at the Comfort Inn for 2 Queen Beds and it's right across from the State Park Beach Access. This ends up being the best hotel of our entire trip. The motel is practicaly brand new and has a very nice pool, view, and the rooms are very clean.
We get checked in and I call around to find a Dive Shop for my BIL, Wife and I to go diving at. Unfortunately all of the trips have gone out for the day, so we will have to go tomorrow. My wife decides that she doesn't want to dive so I book a 2 tank trip for my BIL and myself for tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Cost $55. Does not include equipment, but we brought our own. Only have to rent tanks. BIL rents Air Tanks for $12 and I rent Nitrox tanks for $24. Very reasonable.
Rest of the day is spent on the beach. IMHO, Destin is the place to go for a beach on the Gulf Of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle.
The state park is very nice and has clean restrooms, outdoor showers, and two large covered picnic pavillions. The water is Emerald green and very clear and the beaches are covered with pure white sand. What a difference from our Texas Beaches where the water is a muddy Green/Brown and the Sand is tan.
We have dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Real food, and boy did it taste great. Service was excellent to boot!.
Day 14
I inform my wife to see if we can book another night at the hotel since we won't be getting back from our dive trip until noon. My BIL and I head over to the SCUBA Tech around 7:30 and get checked in and I verify my Nitrox fills. The boat dock is just across the street so we drive over and unload. Everyone is on board and we are underway promptly at 8:00 AM. Very Impressed.
Our first dive is done on a natural reef in approximately 90'. The visibility isn't as good as expected, but 50' is still good and much better than the 5 - 6' visibility in the lakes that I've been diving recently. The visibility in the Gulf Of Mexico in Texas approaches 100', but you have to go anywhere from 25 - 60 miles offshore to get that visibility. Were only 3 miles off of the coast, so the boat ride is less than 20 minutes and most of that is spent at no wake speed getting out of the jetties.
The diving was good with lots of marine life and some soft corals. One thing that was different here was the Toad Fish. The Splended Toad that is found in the waters around Cozumel, Mexico always stay in their holes with just their faces visible. But the Toad Fish here in Florida are completely out of the holes and will only retreat if you get to close to them. Wish I would have had room for my U/W housing for my video camera....
Second dive was in 65' of water on the old bridge rubble. Same time of marine life with the added bonus of being able to see an Octopus in the daytime. A rarity.
We're back in port by 11:30 and back to the motel by noon. After sandwiches in the motel room we spend the rest of the day by the pool and at the beach.
Dinner is at TGIF and this is the best meal we have where everyone is seated at the same table and everyone can actually hear and carry on a conversation without screaming over the load music. Again we have excellent service......
Day 15 - The Long Haul Home
We decide that we've spent a ton of cash and it's time to head home. We're not sure if we will make it back to SA today or spend the night somewhere. We make it to the TX/LA border by dinner time and decide to eat at Mr. Gatti's and head home.
We make it in to SA and drop my parents off right around midnight and are in our own beds by 12:30 where we pass out and don't wake up until 10:00 AM the following morning.
Well, that's it folks...... Hope you enjoyed our trip. Hopefully it won't be that long before we go back.
The Big Family Trip to WDW Day 12
I wake up to the alarm around 8:00 and grab breakfast. Now we need to wash clothes before checkout. I end up having to split our laundry between two floors in order to get enough machines.
The clothes are finally clean and everything is in the suitcases by 11. By the time we get packed it's 11:30.
We have no idea of where we are going to spend the night, only that we want to make it to the beach. We figure we will start looking for a place to stay around Apalachacola.
First mistake is to not use to Toll Way and after 2 hours of driving through small town after small town and averaging only 50 miles an hour we decide to cut back over to the Interstate.
Nothing eventfull happens today, just a lot of driving. We make it to Apalachacola around 8:00 and it's not someplace we want to stay, so we keep driving.
We make it into Panama City Beach around 10:00 PM and the main drag is still packed with cars. It takes us 45 mintues to find a motel that has vacancy, but there are people outside on the balconies and we can tell that we wouldn't enjoy staying here. So back in the vehicles and it's off to Destin, FL.
We finally make it in to Destin around midnight and check into a Home Suites? motel for $129 night. Not too impressed, but we are exhausted.
Day 13
I wake up and head down the main drag and grab donuts at Krispy Cream and bring the back to the hotel. I call around Destin to find a better place to stay and I'm able to secure a $116 night rate at the Comfort Inn for 2 Queen Beds and it's right across from the State Park Beach Access. This ends up being the best hotel of our entire trip. The motel is practicaly brand new and has a very nice pool, view, and the rooms are very clean.
We get checked in and I call around to find a Dive Shop for my BIL, Wife and I to go diving at. Unfortunately all of the trips have gone out for the day, so we will have to go tomorrow. My wife decides that she doesn't want to dive so I book a 2 tank trip for my BIL and myself for tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Cost $55. Does not include equipment, but we brought our own. Only have to rent tanks. BIL rents Air Tanks for $12 and I rent Nitrox tanks for $24. Very reasonable.
Rest of the day is spent on the beach. IMHO, Destin is the place to go for a beach on the Gulf Of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle.
The state park is very nice and has clean restrooms, outdoor showers, and two large covered picnic pavillions. The water is Emerald green and very clear and the beaches are covered with pure white sand. What a difference from our Texas Beaches where the water is a muddy Green/Brown and the Sand is tan.
We have dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Real food, and boy did it taste great. Service was excellent to boot!.
Day 14
I inform my wife to see if we can book another night at the hotel since we won't be getting back from our dive trip until noon. My BIL and I head over to the SCUBA Tech around 7:30 and get checked in and I verify my Nitrox fills. The boat dock is just across the street so we drive over and unload. Everyone is on board and we are underway promptly at 8:00 AM. Very Impressed.
Our first dive is done on a natural reef in approximately 90'. The visibility isn't as good as expected, but 50' is still good and much better than the 5 - 6' visibility in the lakes that I've been diving recently. The visibility in the Gulf Of Mexico in Texas approaches 100', but you have to go anywhere from 25 - 60 miles offshore to get that visibility. Were only 3 miles off of the coast, so the boat ride is less than 20 minutes and most of that is spent at no wake speed getting out of the jetties.
The diving was good with lots of marine life and some soft corals. One thing that was different here was the Toad Fish. The Splended Toad that is found in the waters around Cozumel, Mexico always stay in their holes with just their faces visible. But the Toad Fish here in Florida are completely out of the holes and will only retreat if you get to close to them. Wish I would have had room for my U/W housing for my video camera....
Second dive was in 65' of water on the old bridge rubble. Same time of marine life with the added bonus of being able to see an Octopus in the daytime. A rarity.
We're back in port by 11:30 and back to the motel by noon. After sandwiches in the motel room we spend the rest of the day by the pool and at the beach.
Dinner is at TGIF and this is the best meal we have where everyone is seated at the same table and everyone can actually hear and carry on a conversation without screaming over the load music. Again we have excellent service......
Day 15 - The Long Haul Home
We decide that we've spent a ton of cash and it's time to head home. We're not sure if we will make it back to SA today or spend the night somewhere. We make it to the TX/LA border by dinner time and decide to eat at Mr. Gatti's and head home.
We make it in to SA and drop my parents off right around midnight and are in our own beds by 12:30 where we pass out and don't wake up until 10:00 AM the following morning.
Well, that's it folks...... Hope you enjoyed our trip. Hopefully it won't be that long before we go back.
