A quick getaway to Destin

After a several month hiatus, I'm back, folks.  Not that anyone reads this thing anyway, but I've been a bit removed from the blogosphere the last several months because I had been working hard (VERY hard) on finishing my PhD dissertation, which I recently submitted a few weeks ago!  Three cheers for me!

Evidence that I publicly defended my dissertation!

...and that I submitted my dissertation online.  

...Oh!  And that I submitted the paper copy of my dissertation to
the graduate school.  Wahoo!

In celebration, Joe and I took a weekend trip to Destin, Florida to get away and generally disconnect from the CDC/Emory world that has been especially consuming our lives over the last year.  We initially booked this vacation to Destin because it was cheap, and going to the beach seemed like a splendid idea (primarily because the weather would be ideal for reading a book on the beach without getting baked in the sun).  Part of me was a little hesitant about taking a beach vacation on a weekend which coincided with both Easter and Spring Break (for some), but we decided to book a room a few miles away from downtown Destin in hopes of having a bit more peace and quiet.

Basically, we had one of the best vacations ever, guys.  Blue skies for most of the weekend, white sandy beaches, pristine waters, and oh -- REALLY awesome seafood.

Don't believe me??  Just see for yourself!

A steamed seafood platter "for two" (in actuality, probably
should have been for a family of four, at least!)

...the aftermath.

One of the BEST seafood restaurants in the Destin area, Dewey Destin.
It's not a super fancy place, but it's fantastic!

I've never had such unbelievably delicious gumbo. 

This had shrimp and giant pieces of crab (see spoonful of
delicious crabmeat).  All seafood is locally caught.

Um, guys, I loved the gumbo so much, I literally went back
for a second bowl two hours after I ate the first one.

JUICY cobia fish sandwich.  I hadn't even heard of this (locally caught) fish!

Doesn't have to be fancy to be a
great restaurant!

The menu for another phenomenal restaurant we visited twice
on our trip, Stewby's Seafood Shanty.  This place had the
cheapest, freshest seafood we've had in a long time!

Fried seafood platter with shrimp, oysters, and some white,
flaky fish (I can't remember the name of it).  We got
potato salad with bacon and ranch dressing (YUM) and
cheesy grits (so Southern).  

Grilled ahi tuna salad.  Amazing, and SO fresh --
despite the tuna being (supposedly) caught
somewhere close to Destin, I think
we paid $8.99 for this GIANT,
entree-sized salad.  Whoa!

Grilled shrimp tacos.  'Nuff said.

Oh, and the views weren't so bad either. :)

The view right outside our hotel.

This is the path that we took to get to the beach from our
hotel every morning.

Breakfast on the beach, courtesy of Publix. :)

Some of the scenery we encountered while hiking alongside
the beach in Henderson State Park.

Beach rosemary!  This isn't actually rosemary, but 
it does grow on the beach, and it smells (and tastes) divine.
If we were local, I definitely would have put a sprig or two
of this in a hearty lamb or pork dish!  This stuff was everywhere!

Just a few miles away from the beach, we
saw lots of pine trees on another hiking trail.