Super Bowl Party and Beyond

Sunday – February 12, 2023 (Petie’s Birthday) – Super Bowl Party

Today we held our annual Super Bowl Party.  We’ve done it for a number of years and the sole attendees are Maggie and myself.  We work up some creative hors d’oeuvres for the big game.  We don’t have any favorite but Mag sides with KC because she bought a Chiefs jersey one day, purely on a whim.  If I had a favorite, it would be KC but only by a small margin.  I go with Philly so we can have some competitive banter during the game.

It turned out to be a great game and KC came back in the second half like some other team returned to the field.  Some Philly fans complained about the holding call late in the game that likely influenced the outcome.  I say, “the ref saw what he saw.”    We dined on some nachos, buffalo chicken wings, red pepper hummus, peach and mango salsa.  We also bought fixins for pulled pork made with jack fruit.  We heard it’s quite good and one wouldn’t even be able to notice the difference between real pulled pork and pulled jack fruit (?).  There was some concern about the exact type of jack fruit we needed, canned or frozen, so we decided to hold off on that.  The nachos are a staple of our Super Bowl Parties and we prepared them with vegan Mexican cheese, peach and mango salsa.  In the past we have used real cheese but, this time around, we’re doing vegan cheese; not much difference really.  This year the buffalo chicken wings were plant based, think chicken nuggets, with Franks Hot sauce for a little extra heat and ranch dressing.  We enjoyed the wings and not much difference between a chain restaurant’s version.  I know that’s not saying much but they were pretty good.  The hummus was served with almond crackers or dip chips made from cassava flour.  The peach and mango salsa came from the refrigerator section so, it was fresh, not from a jar.  Like the popcorn at the theater, as least from me, most of the food was consumed right around kickoff time or, at the start of the movie, if you like!

Monday – February 13, 2023 (Michael’s Birthday)

It’s gonna be a sunny day today so we’ve decided to make it a beach day!  Mag has scheduled a neck/shoulder massage at Awaking Wellness, not too far from Dune Allen Beach where we beached earlier.  I was able to install the new tube on my bike so, I figured while Mag is getting neck relief, I’ll go for a bike ride.  We head down toward the beach and park at the massage place.  Mag heads in because we’re a couple a minutes late and I get suited up for my bike ride.  There is a multipurpose trail, Timpoochee Trail, that runs along coast for 18.4 miles.  Mag said her massage will be about 50 minutes so I figure I can do 10 miles.  As I head off, I don’t have any plan in mind, and connect with the trail in a few hundred feet and turn left.  As I ride, I decide to head east for 2.5 miles, turn around and backtrack 2.5 miles then, continue west for another 2.5, do a u-turn and back to the start.  It was a pleasant ride, not a lot of traffic, foot or bike, and I ended up doing 9.34 miles and got back to Awaking Wellness at 1:29, perfect.  In no more than a minute or two, Mag comes strolling out of the spa claiming, “I’m all better!”

Dune Allen Beach Access is roughly one mile west so we head in that direction and park in the free parking lot.  We gather all our gear and I follow Mag to our spot where we’ll spend the next several hours.  There isn’t a cloud in the sky with the temp in the mid sixties and a good breeze.  Within shouting distance, there is probably a couple dozen people enjoying the day.  We have a beach blanket down, cover all the corners with gear and plunk down two beach chairs.  Apparently they are the best beach chairs ever because they recline, have a pillow for your head, a cup holder and fold down with a strap for easy transport.  It’s such a beautiful day but the breeze is making it a little chillier for what we drug out to our spot.  Quick trips to the truck for some additional layers solves that.

It’s approaching 4 PM and we decide to head out so we’ll have time to grab a few items at the Walmart in Destin.  We load up our gear and I have a backpack, two chairs, an accessory back, while Mag carries two small bags, her phone, shoes and a water.  She burst into laughter looking back at me as I look like a pack mule while she totes so little (wish we had a pic).  The traffic along 98 to Destin is 2 to 3 lanes wide and an abundance of traffic signals.  One our way we noticed on the opposite side in the east bound lane, a bad accident.  As we continue our drive the traffic is backed up for miles and we are concerned about our return trip.  We finished our shopping and head back, google suggests a new route  to avoid the accident, we figure, sure.  The diversion directs us north onto a causeway that requires a $4 toll that accepts Fast Pass.  Mag scrambles to find our transponder and we drive through a toll lane that accepts Fast Pass plus there is an attendant.  I stop to ask if our transponder will work and she say’s it’s not reading it.  She asks me to hand it to her and she waives it around but, still no.  We pay cash for the toll with the attendant suggesting we check our Fast Pass account in a day or so to see if it did in fact work.  It’s a nice drive across and along the north edge of Choctawatchee Bay back toward Freeport, no traffic signals, no accidents, just moving along at a good clip with some light traffic.  We mull the option to taking this route in the future weighing the $4 toll; it could be a good and safer option.

We settle in and finish up some of our hors d’oeuvres from yesterday and then off to bed.  No plans yet for tomorrow.

Tuesday – February 14, 2023

It’s gonna be another beautiful day and we’re thinking hike.  Mag researches more hikes in the area, there are plenty, and shares Watercolor and Seaside Trails Loop.  It’s an 8.9 mile hike and I suggest we trim it a little and she agrees.  It was an interesting trail, different I’d say, because it meanders through a community called Watercolor.  Rather than me try to describe, I’ll let the folks at Watercolor do it:

With a classic coastal design, the intimate WaterColor® Inn offers a relaxed beach house ambiance with all of the perks and amenities of a well-appointed boutique hotel. 

It’s quite expansive and at times you feel as though your in the forest and other times at a small town beach community.  They have restaurants, lovely shops and some of the homes are quite spectacular; some under construction.  About a third of the way into our hike, we came across a deer, maybe 25′ in front of us, crossing the trail.  The deer didn’t seem overly concerned with our presence but did keep an eye on us as it wandered into the woods searching for something to nibble on, it appeared.  There was a number of spurs off the trail and bridges that crossed over stretches of water that provided wonderful views of the surrounding area, lily ponds, and Western Lake.  As strange as the hike was for me, it was interesting and enjoyable.  We truncated the hike and here are the stats.

Tomorrow Orian (Irish spelling) is coming to wash the trailer, we’ll keep you posted. 

108-Trail-Wooden-Path

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