"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau

Hi! We’re the Runfts! That was the name on our reserved beach chairs today. [FYI for those who have no clue who we are, our last name is Ranft - no one ever spells it right, ever.] Hey, daughter Kelly, thanks for taking this picture of us!

Grandson Knox and his dad Kerry back in the pool this morning, riding the gator

Beached whale

Sand is way more fun when you wallow in it. Neil and Kerry kept making these cool sea creature shapes and castles and Knox kept gleefully bulldozing them.

The water was awesome today ~ Kerry and Kelly enjoyed the warm, placid waves ~ no seaweed so far since we’ve been here

Knox liked floating around in the Gulf waters, too, with his water wings

Daughter Kelly ~ is she reading or is she checking her iPhone? ~ I think she was actually reading a novel ~ behind Kelly you can see the tent set up for a wedding reception

A flock of sea gulls ~ 80s group, right?

We enjoyed some fresh shrimp for supper

Storm clouds rolled in late this afternoon

From our balcony, we watched this couple tie the knot in a small ceremony by the sea ~ I said a little prayer for them to have dry weather for their wedding ~ she walked down the sandy aisle to the Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun. While they were getting married here …

… this was going on right next to them ~ there was a spectacular lightning show happening, but the wedding party never got rained on [God heard my prayer and probably the bride’s prayer, too] …

… and He blessed them [and us] with this totally awesome sunset which made for a colorful backdrop for her wedding reception. Just might be the perfect way to start a marriage [and end the day, for sure]

B.E.A.C.H. = BEST ESCAPE ANYONE CAN HAVE

This morning before we hit the beach, we went to Destin Commons to browse. Grandson Knox is a train magnet. Choo choo!

Drive My Car ~ Son in law Kerry hijacked this car ~ his passenger never even noticed

Kerry and Knox enjoyed some pool time fun in the hot sun

Water Baby

Knox looks like he’s buried up to his ears in this picture ~ the beach slopes quite a bit in some spots

The view from beneath my pretty blue umbrella

Knox and Grandpa got a kick out of burying Knox’s leg in the sand

Attack of the killer lobsters (gratuitous pic of my beach towel)

It was another yellow flag day ~ the waves were a bit choppy ~ seems there’s a storm brewing around southern Florida ~ hope it misses us

Surf’s up!

Selfie

Another beautiful day in Destin

This is my favorite sea food place in this town because …

… they have THE BEST snow crab legs in the history of snow crab legs. True story. This is why I came here. I can go home now. Happy.

Walked along Fisherman’s Wharf, admiring the boats after dinner, and found Frazier Crane sitting on the dock of the bay

Aaarrgh!! We found these pirates as we strolled through Harbor Walk Village ~ Long John Knox and his Mommy Matey Kelly. They look dangerous. As many times as we’ve been to Destin and walked along the pier, we’ve never walked far enough back to even know this place existed. It’s like a tiny village full of cool restaurants and shops. We were looking for the Harbor Walk live video cameras ~ called my sister Jane who had the link to the live cam ~ thought she might be able to catch us walking by. She thought she saw us but wasn’t sure it was us. Hard to make out faces on the live feed. It was fun watching the crazy people doing the zip line. Yo Ho Ho! Happy TGIF from the Emerald Coast!

BEACH THERAPY

Yesterday in the rented van: “Are we there yet?!” We eventually arrived in time for some supper and a walk on the beach.

Today: hot perfect weather

The beach to a 2 and a half year old is one big happy sandbox. Grandson Knox could not wait to get his toes in the sand to dig and wallow and play.

He and Grandpa made a castle …

… and these awesome sea creatures.

I’m happy just to sit and watch the waves roll in and out.

Home away from home

Waiting to catch the next wave ~ Knox loved the water


Yellow flag ~ pretty clouds ~ looks crowded but it’s not

Sailing

Playing in the sand and the sea

Beach clouds are the best

He had the best time today

Amazing shades of blue and green ~ pictures never do it justice

We enjoyed pizza at Mellow Mushroom this evening and then hit the candy store next door ~ the choices are overwhelming

Mr. Krabs ~ can Spongebob be far behind?

Pretty clouds outside Mellow Mushroom

And a gorgeous sunset to top off our day at the beach

9/11/01 How could we ever forget? I wore my T shirt in memory of the horrific events 13 years ago ~ God bless America! May this never happen again.

IT’S TIME FOR FALL BALL, Y’ALL!

Grandson Elijah played first base this evening in his team’s first ABYL “Fall Ball” game at the ball park in Algood.

He did very well and got several outs. He’s on a different team with different kids and coaches this time. They all hit and fielded well and hopefully had a good time.

Here he is, running like the wind to first base after smacking the ball. In Fall Ball, it’s more of a practice/fun type game, and it’s up to the coaches whether or not they want to keep score, which they did in this game (makes it more fun in my humble opinion). Elijah’s team won the game, 17 to 9. They’re off to a good start. Fun times at the ballpark!