Our family decided to celebrate the end of the most interesting school year with a trip to Destin, Florida! Southwest Airlines has a new direct flight from BNA to Destin that’s only an hour and a half! This quick flight is a game changer when traveling to the beach, which normally is a 7 hour drive! After an easy morning of traveling, we arrived in Destin ready for an adventure!
We spent Friday at the beach with friends! The kids were a little sad to miss some of the special activities at school but I think boogie boarding, splashing in the pool and eating Italian ice with their buddies more than made up for it!
So many people recommended Louisiana Lagniappe as a top restaurant choice and it certainly didn’t disappoint. From their amazing hushpuppies (and I’m a hushpuppy connoisseur), waterfront views and fresh caught seafood, we enjoyed every bite!
Saturday morning was a day that we’ve been looking forward to for a while! Before starting the day, a friend recommended stopping by Bon Appetit French Bakery and Cafe to pick up croissants! Let’s just say the croissants were gone in less than a few minutes! Destin-Fort Walton Beach has curated family-friendly adventure packs with a variety of activities. After exploring the options, we knew that we wanted to go on Captain Kevin’s Fish and Feast! We met Captain Kevin and his boat, Hey Baby for a six-hour deep sea fishing trip!
We all took Dramamine, loaded up on sunscreen and took off! I was a little hesitant about how long the trip would be for the kids but they enjoyed every minute of it!
While the rest of the family was catching trigger fish left and right (I even reeled in two of my own), I was snacking and I even took a nap! That’s just how relaxing the trip was!
Captain Kevin and his first mate, Cade were so helpful and knowledgeable. They made the experience so much fun for our entire family!
Once we made it back to the dock, Captain Kevin cleaned up our fish and took them to Harbor Docks to cook them for us!
While I always feel sorry for the fish, I have to admit this fresh out of the sea fish was very delicious!
Harbor Docks fried and blackened our fish for us and included two sides to go with it! We stuffed ourselves silly!
The next Adventure Pack we chose was a Pontoon Picnic!
This adventure included a 4-hour pontoon rental and gulf-to-boat seafood sampler from Rick’s on The Island.
We explored the most beautiful waters of the Choctawhatchee Bay and Santa Rosa Sound. The emerald water was the prettiest I have ever seen!
The kids searched for shells, sand dollars and I got some reading in!
We absolutely had the best day cruising around noshing on the seafood sampler!
We stayed at The Henderson Beach Resort and were super impressed with this beautiful property. I can understand why Southern Living Magazine named it one of the South’s best resorts.
The resort has beach access at Henderson State Park, an adult’s only pool, family-friendly pool with a lazy river, outdoor games, onsite restaurants and a spa!
The views off of our balcony were stunning! We could’ve sat there all day!
The Henderson also has an extensive local art collection, featuring over 465 works throughout the hotel.
This view of the crystal clear water just never gets old! The Henderson had all of the modern luxuries but felt quaint and very charming. We felt like we were in “Old Florida” here with a relaxed, beachy vibe.
Why do vacations always have to come to an end? Our family loves to travel and this was one of our favorite trips yet! Destin has so much to do for the whole family, the most gorgeous beaches, delicious restaurants and is a place that we can’t wait to go back! Before heading to the airport, we had to make one last stop at Camille’s for a quick bite and one last view of the ocean!