AT THE BEACH ~ A SUNNY DAY! ~SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2016 ~ DESTIN, FLORIDA

Woke up to sunshine and blue sky today ~ Woo Hoo!

Kelly soaking up some UV

Knox wanted to be buried in the sand first thing

Half Knox ~ he doesn't stay covered for long

Lots of sunshine but choppy sea ~ red flag has been flying pretty much all week 

Family Kimbrough takes on the waves

Knox's life vest comes in handy for lifting him above the surf

Daddy comes in handy, too

And so it begins ~ sand castle in the making

Rainbow around the sun (not a lens flare) ~ pretty cool although picture does not do it justice

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day

Ever expanding ~ the sand castle grows

Jonathan Livingston

Kelly's new BFF ~ she shared her PBJ with Walter Pigeon

The gulls were jealous 'cause she shooed them away ~ turned their backs on her ~ that'll show her

Greetings from Destin ~ thanks for sharing the selfie, Neil

Urban  Beach sprawl ~ I'll bet the property taxes are astronomical

My little Canon PowerShot has various special effects and filters to play with ~ I think this was poster effect ~ Neil was the sole engineer/builder on this project although Knox did help at the first

Knox and Gull contemplating life in poster effect

Super vivid effect makes the sky and sea colors pop

Used toy camera effect here ....

.... gives it kind of a vintage feel or vignette ~ Neil still expanding his castle

Knox is racing with his shadow

Beach clouds

Miniature effect (really don't remember now but it sure was fun playing with these effects)

Fish eye ~ seems appropriate

Kerry and Knox in the waves ~ the water felt really good today ~ no seaweed (and no mangled jelly fish)

“To build refuges of my own making is to construct fortresses of sand at ocean’s edge, where the relentless tides of time will leave my most magnificently constructed walls as perfectly flat sand. And now that I am subject to the very tides that destroyed these walls of mine, I am left with the reality that my single and sole refuge can only be the God who created both tides and sand.” 

― Craig D. Lounsbrough, Flecks of Gold on a Path of Stone: Simple Truths for Profound Living

God blessed us with an amazing day of welcome sunshine in the sunshine state, but more storm/rain clouds loomed on the horizon

You know it's coming ~ you can see it building in the distance

Then the clouds turn black

Knox let the waves wash him ashore

Weather in Florida turns on a dime

The wind blew in (uprooting beach umbrellas and carrying them through the air faster than the beach setup guy could close them) and the rains came down

This was a couple of hours later after we had some supper ~ looked like a promising sunset, something we really haven't seen since we've been here this past week

The pink was eventually devoured by the gray as another storm rolled in

Here we go again ~ at 8:30-ish right now, there's a spectacular rain storm raging out there ~ lightning, thunder, the whole kaboom sheebang ~ 

Just another day in paradise ~ waiting to see what happens next

AT THE BEACH ~ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10 ~ THURSDAY, AUGUST 11 ~ FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2016 ~ DESTIN, FLORIDA

Wednesday brought us cloudy skies, choppy seas, and rain. And more rain. Storm swirling around in the Gulf has been persistent to say the least.

Captain America  Grandson Knox wearing his new hoodie from Target

Son in law Kerry came prepared for rainy days ~ Putting together Avenger Lego sets is a great way to pass the time ~ Knox is supposed to be helping but he's busy fighting bad guys

Empty beach chairs ...

... as far as the eye can see

Crab legs at the Back Porch ~ a one time indulgence this vacation week ~ so good

By evening the sky started to clear after a torrential rain ~ we kept thinking maybe the rain is over ~ not

Wednesday was some pool time under cloudy skies

Knox is an expert at making new friends ~ Another abbreviated outdoor time as the rains blew in again and drove us back inside

Thursday began with fair weather but the rains kept on coming ~ we'd get ourselves ready for the beach or pool but by the time we got settled in the rain would blow in again

A refreshing beverage at the Back Porch

Since the Fisherman's Wharf restaurant closed two years ago, we look forward to having some meals at the Back Porch ~ such good food ~ Crab cakes were excellent

We walked around Thursday evening at the Harbor Walk Village ~ a nice diversion from the clouds and sitting in the condo

Neil and moi ~ thanks for the pic, Kelly!

Knox got his face painted

Captain America, of course! 

Family Kimbrough

Friday morning looked promising for some time in the sand ~ we rode out some sprinkles and thought we were clear ~ got in almost two hours and the sun actually came out for a few minutes ~ but the wind blew in a hard rain and back inside we went

Back down to the pool for a few minutes

Kelly watching for the next round of showers ~ we finally gave up and headed back inside when the rains came down

Mexican cuisine this evening ~ Knox amusing himself with a video on the iPad

I've heard about Whole Foods Market and how great it is ~ we stopped in at the newly opened one here and browsed around ~ very nice grocery store/eatery ~ expensive ~ bought yummy looking cookies for a buck each ~ now I can say I've shopped at a Whole Foods Market ~ we'll never have one in Cookeville ~ couldn't afford it anyway

The sunsets here so far this week have been subdued ~ no sun to set the sky ablaze as it sets ~ but the moon is visible along with a few stars tonight ~ is it too late to see the Perseids? We've kept an eye on the Olympics, especially the swimmers, watching USA win the gold. Here's hoping for a sunny weekend.