Florida
The Awesome McGuires Pub In Pictures
I didn’t get a chance to do a full review of this great place since my wife started to feel the effects of too much sun when we go there. I’ll definitely be back to do a full write up but wanted to show it and say just a bit.
First thing to say, Super Cool! McGuires has a great look and an awesome menu. It is quite large and there are so many things to look at. I love places that are visually stimulating and fun. This place hits it. Add to that there awesome craft brews and you just can’t beat it. The food was great. The beer was even greater. I also have to say that the service was excellent. Since Sandy didn’t feel well, our waitress go our stuff wrapped and ready to go at warp speed with a smile. Incredible.
Take a look at the pictures of our stop at the Destin location. Talk after the jump.
If you are in Destin Florida, check this place out. I mean it. So cool, so good and so fun! Want us to come to your place and live tweet or write about it. Get in touch. Email tompkinscontent@gmail.com and follow @combatsportlife on twitter!
Random Fun Shots From Our Travels (a goofy pictorial)
Just for fun I thought I would toss on a few outtake type shots from various trips. Trips from all over for fighting, writing and also my daughters dance comp(maybe some rodeo for my son). I shoot a lot of background stuff for extra and not all of them are great, but all tell a story about people/places and surroundings. Take a look and enjoy. Branson. Virginia Beach and Colonial Williamburg, Destin, Daytona plus Chicago and Vegas. Heck even some I don’t know( West Virginia, Gatlinburg and who knows lol).
Sunsets and Dusk From Various Trips ( a short pictorial to inspire)
The sun is great .Awesome on the beach and in the mountains. I love sunset and Dusk even more in those locations though. There is a relaxing and restoring energy for me at that time. It could be my American Indian heritage, the beauty of I’m just weird. Who knows. I thought I’d post a few here to help inspire you to search out what gets you relaxed and restored. Enjoy travel for what you see and experience wherever you are! The pictures includeVegas/Destin/Virginia Beach/Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge and the wild prairie of central Illinois. Enjoy. Talk after the jump.
Find what inspires you. Better yet, find inspiration and beauty around you. Explore life wherever you are.
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Enjoying A Dolphin Cruise In Destin Florida ( pictures, video and details)
My wife loves dolphins. We have watched them and chased them along the beach in many locations. We had never done a dolphin cruise though. Partially because she gets motion sickness, and fairly easily! Yes I know, strange for people who travel all the time.
So this recent trip to Destin our 20 yr old daughter was with us. They both spotted the dolphin cruise sign as we were walking through Harbor Walk Village ( see my piece on it in the archives ). Sandy said she wanted to try and the water looked pretty flat so we went for it. Myself and our daughter Kaleigh don’t have issues with that. Heck you could hang us from a ceiling fan lol.
The company was Southern Star Dolphin Cruises. They are well known and seemed to be well thought of. Our trip proved that they should be. It was excellent. The staff was great and the cruise well done. You were able to see much of the marina and harbor area at the start and learn a lot about it ( read my earlier piece and learn more). Beautiful views of both the shore and great open water views as we got out further.
Dolphins are wild so you can’t guarantee seeing them, and the cruise before us apparently didn’t. Fortunately we saw lots. In fact a bunch right up close before we got out of the marina. Almost as soon as we untied.
I’m going to let some video and pictures do the talking and then I’ll come back and give some details about the boat and my two favorite parts!
The boat is an 80 ft glass bottomed vessel. There is a top deck that’s open air and a galley and seating inside. A decent snack bar is in the galley. It makes for a nice two hour ride.
We did the evening one which brings me to my two favorite parts of the trip. Being able to see things along the shore and learn about the area. That was great. The best part was being on the water and watching the sunset on the ocean. Amazing! Here are a few pics of that.
You can get all the details and prices on the website ( link below) but ours was $29 per adult which is great for the experience. Kids and seniors were much cheaper. I loved this outing. For an old fighter that’s been all over, this was so relaxing and yet let me learn a bit. Both good things. Check it out.
If you want to be featured here , have us come check your place out or just get a cheap link here email us today. tompkinscontent@gmail.com and follow @combatsportlife on twitter.
Today’s link
http://southernstardolphincruise.com/
A Quick Review Of Island Wing Co In Destin Florida
I usually stick to local dives and hang outs when on a beach vacation, but sometimes something catches my attention. I love wings! My daughter loves wings even more than I do. Driving along 98 in Destin headed to another area, she spotted Island Wing in a strip mall type area. Not always a bad thing but on beach vacation not always my usual haunt at the beach. It’s a chain but only a few of them and all at Beach locations.
First and possibly most importantly, they have a huge and varied draft beer list. For me this is vital. I know nobody but me cares but it is a sign of a great place! Second, it’s got a very cool island vibe to it for a place in a strip mall and its very clean.
The menu is solid leaning obviously toward wings but also chicken sandwiches and burgers. Great sauces and condiments as well as sides. I was in the mood for a sandwich instead of wings so I had the one in the picture. Very good and just spicy enough without being crazy for a normal dinner. I’ll let you look at the menu from the link to see the sauces and make your own decisions after the picture set. I had the sweet çaribbean chicken with an add of jerk sauce. My wife had the honey bourbon wing and my daughter had the Thai chili wings. Great stuff on each. A good amount and very good quality. The price was good as well for a vacation destination in a nice building.
The service was very good with an attentive young man taking care of us. The added sauce on my sandwich made the right combination of sweet and hot paired with a nice Kona Brewing draught. Can’t beat that. Take a look at the crestvof the pics and then hit the link after the jump.
Twitter
f you’re in Destin Florida or in Gulf shores check this place out but was right up my alley in food and environment. Plus Draught Beer!!!! Tell the we sent you! Check out the link and if you want to be featured here contact us at tompkinscontent@gmail.com . Also follow @combatsportlife & @tompkinscontent on Twitter
http://www.islandwing.com/
Back Roads To Florida In Words And Pictures ( OK just some random fun!)
I love two lanes. I’m a kid who grew up in a tiny farm town and it’s how you travel. Out of the way cafes, old truck stops. I love it. Sadly tons of my travel these days is on a jet. That’s awesome for some things and I love the luxurious exotic places we go, but it misses something. One of the things I love about travel is seeing the little things. How people live or eat in an area, especially rural areas. Gas stations can be one of the coolest learning experiences! Where I’m from it was the hang out as a kid. Park your car in the corner with your friends, grab a soda out of the machine and talk about life.
On my recent trip to Florida we drove. We had fun and my Cajun friend who vacations in Destin often gave me a cool way to go from here. My Cajun friend who lived up here for years ( and is an executive who has testified before congress lol) so he has great love of back roads like me. I wanted to post pictures of this part of the trip. My wife shot most of them from the window of the car while I drove, so don’t expect incredible photography. Enjoy it for what it is. I’m also going to throw a few in from the bigger highways but they were unusual. Fitting for road trips. I’ll pop in and out to explain through the trip!
Most of these pictures were taken in southern Alabama and Northwestern Florida. If you get that way, a bit South of Montgomery turn off of 65 onto 31. The trip to the beach this way will take you along 31,41,87 and 4 in Alabama and Florida as well as through Blackwater River state park. Take the time and do it. See America!
The next pics are from other parts of the trip but still less photographed. Truckstop coffee. Roadside kitsch. My love!!! Enjoy. From I 57 in Illinois on down. One interesting set. A hotel in Alabama flying a Korean flag with sushi stuff on the breakfast bar. Turns out there was large Hyundai plant in the area. Just funny in rural South. Enjoy!
The next time you take a road trip, take some time and just enjoy the journey on the road. It’s how most of America lives. See where your food comes from! For marketing/advertising or to Get us to visit your place email tompkinscontent@gmail.com. obviously if you want seminars for martial arts and fight camps we would love to help you with that as well. Follow @combatsportlife and @tompkinscontent on Twitter
Today’s links. Get yours here inexpensively.
http://www.martinandbayley.com/
A Quick Review Of Mama Sherry’s Pizza and Wings in Destin Florida ( great meal great price)
So something that has become a tradition in our family trips is finding a place for pizza and wings. We all love pizza and hit that up wherever we are, but Beach locations require a pizza and wings place. Why?? First because it’s awesome!! Second, because we spent years travelling for fights and tournaments plus dance comps for my daughter. Now fights and rodeo with my adult children. Along the way at a dance national in Daytona, we found a great pizza and wings place after finally getting back to the beach late in the evening. After all day at the comp we just wanted to hang out. Pizza and wings ( beer and wine for mom and dad) on the beach at midnight hit the spot. The fact that it was a great deal made it better. Thus a tradition began
We are fortunate to travel all over and have luxurious travel experiences. Still, my favorite is find that great, quaint place with a great deal on this kind of food. Frankly, it’s how I got here. My loves won’t change!!!! So on this recent trip to Destin we found Mama Sherry’s. In between the high end strip malls with chains and along the road to the marina, this oasis of family vacation fun can be found. You have to either be a local, know it’s there ( because you subscribe to this awesome blog) or know how to search these places out. That said, it is on the main drag on 98 although easy to miss.
I’ll make this quick and to the point, then I’ll get to the pictures( what you want!!!). We had the hand tossed pizza with pepperoni. A classic without pretense. It was great. We had an appetizer of fried pickles ( my daughter’s fave from bluegrass nationals karate tourney waaay back). Excellent!! We also had wings with a honey habanero glaze. Perfect! This isn’t molecular gastronomy. This is classic people food. Enjoy it for what it vis. I love both, but this is my world!!!! I had a couple of Mama’s Irish Red ( a private label made by Bud, think Killian’s). Big beers and cheap!! My wife had a couple bof house red wines. Again cheap! See a theme?? Eat well, have fun, keep some money. OK so next are the pictures. Check out the food and drinks but also the place. Fancy? Nope. Awesome? Oh yeahhhh. If you don’t like this kind of thing you probably aren’t interested in what goes on here. Lighten up, I’ve been around the world and this is great. Check the pics and see how much after the jump.
Twitter. o all that food and alcohol that was delicious, plus old school Florida ambiance. Less than $50 with tip ( and I tip really well). It more than fed three people ( with lots of leftovers ). Easily feed a family for that or less. Finding budget eats at the beach with a family is something I will always want to show you. I’m always going to be a guy who grew up in a Midwest farm town!!!
Enjoy. Go there and tell them we sent you. If you want your place reviewed or a link here hit us up. From social care on twitter/fb to full campaigns or just getting us to stop by we want to talk to you. Affordable for any business, email tompkinscontent@gmail.com. follow @combatsportlife and @tompkinscontent on Twitter
Today’s link! Get yours here !
http://www.mamasherryspizzawingsandthings.com/aboutus.htm
A Quick Review Of Quick Bite At Surf Hut In Destin Florida (Pictures)
While my reviews are never super long or wordy, this one is shorter than normal. Not because it was bad, but because we at there after getting out of the car from along trip. We pulled in to Embassy Suites, unloaded and walked across the street to Surf Hut. Usually I spend time getting lots of photos of the place and our food but not this time. We were tired and the girls didn’t want to work with me right then lol.
It’s a great location. Right on the beach and facing Gulf Drive. This makes it not cheap. It isn’t high end expensive, just pricy for coastal casual. It’s worth it. The food is good, the service is great and the location awesome. I’ll give you an idea of prices in a minute( not terrible, just not cheap). It has a great deck in the back and a bit if private beach with games. A nice covered porch on the front, classic keys look for dining.
My wife and I both had the special, six gulf shrimp with fries and slaw for $13.99. It was good and not way out on price( higher than most areas though). My daughter had a cheeseburger and fries also 13.99. It was good, but obviously for just a regular burger that’s slightly high. Let me just say, all well with it. The location sells it and the food is good. I just want you to know what you’re looking at.
It was great overall and I definitely recommend it. If you’re in Destin, give it a shot. A nice relaxing time. Take a look at these pictures and enjoy.
Hope the pictures help( took the night shot from the beach another time). Again, it was a quick meal so a quick post! Sometimes that’s the best though!
If you need help promoting your business or you want to be reviewed, contact us. All kinds of services and advertising/ marketing available. Inexpensive and casual. Email tompkinscontent@gmail.com and follow @combatsportlife & @tompkinscontent on twitter.
Check out today’s links
https://surfhutdestin.html
http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/embassy-suites-by-hilton-destin-miramar-beach-DSIESES/index.html
graytonbeer.com
