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Back in 2010, a friend told us he had just come back from Destin, FL and the Kings and Reds were running in Destin and we should go... Thanksgiving was coming and I took a few days on either side to tie in with the holiday, and we drove down to see my Parents in Pensacola, and fish Destin. It was going to be a GREAT trip. See Dad and Stepmom, catch monster fish and get away from the grind. BUT... our vacation curse kicked in. When we drove across the Georgia Line, a cold snap hit and all the fish stopped biting. Two days before, you couldn't buy parking a half mile on either side of the Bridge in Destin. We got there and the town was empty. Was like someone had turned OFF the switch marked bite.

Hey, we rented a house at the beach for a week, we were going to fish. (I call it practicing my casting over water, but, we were going to fish.)
The next morning we headed out, and it was a Beautiful Day, the sun was shining and the water was crystal clear.... I actually saw two monster red fish swim under the yak and head towards the blue water, and threw a couple nice casts with the 7wt fly rod, nearly hitting one of them in the head. He ignored the lure, like an Ugly Girl on a Miami Beach... Tina moved in to fish around the pilings with her Gulp Shrimp and see if she could hook a flounder or two. We had brought our Hobie Adventures, the kayaks were 16 feet long, narrow and rockets on the water. Powered by pedals, ours had the optional "turbo" fins, longer and wider, they could throw a wake. All the sudden Tina was headed to shore and leaving one!
"What's the Problem?"
"Shark!" she said, "I saw a shark and I'm done."

Probably a Dolphin, I told her, I have seen a couple swim under the kayak already.
"I KNOW a shark fin when I see one." About that time two fins bust the water ahead of her yak.. and she yells, "There! I told you I saw a shark"

Whoosh! The dolphins blow and dive again. I bust out laughing.
I won't quote what SHE said.
The dolphin pops up and says, "Take My Picture!" They seemed fascinated with the kayaks and especially the Mirage Drive System on the Hobies, they would swim under the kayaks and roll over and stare at the fins, then pop up on the other side. They played with us for more than an hour. They even seemed to thrill with performing for us...
A tail wave... A flip... Backflip There were two distinct pods and the larger pod was led by a pale albino dophin, huge and scarred who communicated to the rest and was obviously in charge. This pod was the group of older more mature dolphins. The smaller pod was the younger, smaller dolphins and they stayed near, but out of the way of, the older pod. The dolphins would swim at us, dive under the kayaks and pop up on the other side and clear the water. They'd jet away at high speed and we'd follow. Once, when I thought we'd lost them, one swam back, popped out of the water, and looked over his shoulder as if to say, "What? Tired out?"

After about 90 minutes or so, I had shot about 300 pictures and was dying. The large male suddenly squealed and clicked and both pods turned as one and shot off toward the bridge... in seconds they were GONE! All the while we were playing with the group, folks were watching from shore and from the bridge. It was a great afternoon... another proof that when the fishing sucks, it's a great day of kayaking.

very interesting report .... really enjoyed reading it ....

Great story!

Florida is about as opposite of Washington State as you can get.

We had planned the trip to Destin well in advance and had secured our stay through a website we had used several times before called Home Away. We had rented a four room house located on a canal leading to the ocean a few miles from Destin Bridge. It had it's own private dock, and secure storage for our kayaks. We were thrilled at the rate the woman offered, about 30% below the posted rate. Several Reasons... she offered the discount based on the fact that we were taking it over the holiday weekend, when the house normally would sit open... the fact that Miss Tina and I had excellent reviews from all our previous contracts.... and I was both a Marine Corps Veteran and working for State Police. Didn't Hurt that my dad, whom we were coming down to visit... was retired Navy and a former Blue Angel.

Yup, we were thrilled. A week, less than a week, five days before we are due to leave, she calls. The house is suddenly no longer available. The tenants who were in the house for the previous week had trashed the house. I don't mean they left a mess, I mean $20,000 in damage. Broken Windows, Damaged Carpets, a fire in the upstairs, the pool would have to be emptied and the filters replaced, furniture, TVs and the microwave replaced. It seems that an attorney from New England had rented the house for He and his wife to have a romantic getaway for a week. That's the "purpose of the rental" in the contract. What he really did, was rented the house for his college kid son and his eight or nine frat brothers to have a getaway, and they brought wine, women, and song, and acted like rock stars.

Not only were rentals to, and use by unsupervised College Age tenants Strictly Prohibited in the contract signed by Dear Old Dad, but "Spring Break Type" activities, Loud or Destructive Behavior, and Occupation by those NOT listed on the Contract by the signee are Strictly Prohibited.

She said the attorney would be out much more than the $20,000 in damages, he would also be out for the loss of rentals during the two to four months for restoration and may face charges for the fraudulent contract and could get disbarred in NE... at the very least, he would be facing sanctions for his actions by the BAR's professional standards board (or whatever she called it.)

We told her that we were so sorry for her loss and asked if she could suggest a hotel that WASN'T in a crime ridden area as we would be towing ten grand in kayaks and trailer with another $5,000 in fishing related equipment, plus the brand new truck... or.... we could also just cancel the trip.

She said that she had discussed the issue with the family, and although they RARELY did this, she was going to rent us the family vacation cottage in Destin. It was in a gated community, and rents in the Gated Community went for $4,500 for the week. We would still pay the original $1,200. Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for your service.



This place was amazing.
Heated pool, 4500 square feet, one block off the beach area, 1/2 mile from the bridge. The kayaks and trailer fit in the garage. The Titan, which we still have, was only a couple months old at the time, we hadn't put the shell on it yet! The living room area gives you a feel for the rest of the house. There were three (or four?) bedrooms, each with a bathroom. All beautifully decorated. High end fixtures and well appointed. The pool? Salt water and heated, sweet when it's November, Thanksgiving week remember.

Sometimes Karma comes back around.

We left the house as nice, or nicer than when we arrived. Tina Dusted. LOL.

Sometimes, you just get lucky.