We’ve reached our destination – Destin, Florida – the self-professed jewel of the Emerald Coast. We’re in a very old Sheraton Hotel that is now part of the Marriott domain, serving only Pepsi products. In my previous post, I recalled a filthy fraternity pledge chant about Pepsi-Cola (See Post #1173). Oddly, I then just got an out-of-the-blue message from one of my Albion College Sigma Chi buddies about the sad Christmas Eve death of one of our brothers. During “Hell Week” we would have to say in marching unison this silly rhyme that ended with “twenty-one a**holes tied in in knot.” These were the 21 of us that pledged in 1970, and two have been reported dead this past year. (See Post #1018). I’m sure others have passed that I am not aware of, but someday there will only be one remaining with any memory of that eventful week. Rest in Peace, Ron. 

We have a spectacular Penthouse view of the beach, from a huge deck that wraps around the corner of the building. It’s one of the benefits of being Titanium Elite, a status we’ve earned through years of loyalty. It’s one of the few silly things that I have to brag about any more! Alaska miles got us here and Marriott points allow us to live above our means for a day or two. My wife continues to claim that I love my Marriott points more than her! The only thing I don’t love about them is their exclusive deal with Pepsi. Regardless, we’ll make full use of the Marriott Vacation Club program when we loop back to Orlando where we started this Florida excursion, and luxuriously house the two of us plus my son and his family for a long weekend of theme park activities. 

Tomorrow we meet with a realtor and two friends from our memorable Decatur, Illinois days. My wife’s former work colleague and his wife had to cancel our dinner last night due to illness. If gave us a quiet evening together after the long drive the day before. Although Decatur was not our favorite place to live, it certainly reaped the benefits of close friendship. Over the last year alone, we’ve gotten back together with six different couples that have become lifelong favorites. Only one pair still lives in Illinois, while the others have migrated to New York, Colorado, Arizona, and Florida. Retirement is all about reconnecting with the past. In a few days, we’ll have dinner with my wife’s college sorority sister that haven’t gotten together in 40 years. Obviously, I haven’t had the chance to meet them yet. 

Destin is a busy community, with heavy traffic and a line of condos along the beach that block any view of the Gulf.  I’ve never been here that I can recall, and for my wife it’s been about 35 years. There were only a couple of rental opportunities at that time, and she can hardly believe how much the waterfront has developed. She spent time down here with some friends and two daughters. Our beachfront hotel is now actually in West Destin that she jokingly said should have probably been named Westin. It’s interesting that there is not a Westin in Destin, although several hotels are named either Destin West or Destin West Beach. 

After we explore Destin, we’ll head south once again to the Panama City Beach Sheraton Golf & Spa Resort, our “destin”ation after Destin. Then, we’ll celebrate the New Year in Tampa, once again taking advantage of Marriott/Sheraton hospitality. So far, the Florida weather has been everything we’ve expected, and hopefully we can avoid some of the rain showers in the forecast. As my wife might say, “rain makes rainbows,” and as always, I’d like to have just a touch of her eternal optimism. Instead, I’ve earned her nickname of “Eeyore.”