Rainy Days & Wednesdays

For our Wednesday in Florida let me start with a change to lyrics of a song: “Rainy days and Wednesdays NEVER get me down…” When you are on vacation and in a place as beautiful as this, rainy days just mean a chance to explore other attractions! I do admit I was sad having to pass on the morning walk on the beach, but I put my energy to work making onion, garlic, mushroom, cheese omelets with Ladd’s homemade meat sauce on top. In my humble opinion, brunch is a very civilized way to start the day.
Tommy, Donna, and I then headed “down the road apiece” to an attraction called “Wonder Works.” (Ladd decided to stay at the condo to catch up on posting pictures to our blog.) The building itself is a kick! It looks like a house that has been turned upside down by some natural disaster. There are lots of fake windows that are always lighted. It definitely grabs your attention as you drive by, so we went in to explore. There are four floors of optical-illusions, interactive exhibits, rides, games, etc. We spent two-plus hours there and only managed to “cover” three of the four floors! One of my favorite parts was a hologram picture of a baby. When you stood directly in front of it, you saw a smiling baby. Then when you moved just slightly from side-to-side, you would see the baby’s face change: a baby about to cry, a baby laughing, a baby looking surprised, etc. It is the best hologram I have ever seen and would LOVE to have something like that in my house. It just made me smile and smile. I also had fun in a “dance station” where the lighting of your movements created different patterns of many, many colors on the wall/canvas. Donna and I are not fans of rides that turn you around and upside down, did not want to “lose” our omelets <g>, so we passed on the stomach-challenging “rides.” Tommy, however, took them all on! He pedaled a bike that made over-the-top loops IF you pedaled correctly, backwards when you did not. Tommy also went on a flight simulator /space capsule. He said the most exciting one was the gyroscope! Donna and I just shook our heads and tried to take pictures of Tommy upside down! We all had fun creating a “Time Capsule” picture that will be emailed to us. This was a cool place with something for all ages.
We then headed back to the condo to get changed before driving to Fort Walton Beach to see our son, Dean. HOORAY! Fort Walton Beach is about an hour and a half drive from here. It was SO GREAT to see Dean again. (He is in such great shape! Wish some of that Dean-exercise-thing would “rub off” on his mother! LOL) He is living in a two-bedroom apartment that he has worked hard on setting up. It looked SUPER, and was organized and clean, too. (Your mom says, “Way to go, Dean!”  ) We then headed to dinner in a place people had recommended to Dean. It is named “Camille’s” and is located in Destin. We lucked out with another excellent restaurant choice. Ladd and I couldn’t decide between two entrees, so he got one (Seafood Gumbo) and I got the other one (Shrimp & scallops with peppers, rice, and a spicy pineapple sauce) and we shared! Tommy had rib-eye steak that he said was “absolutely perfect.” In fact, Tommy liked it so much he shook the chef’s hand! Donna had blackened chicken on pasta that she loved, and was too much to finish. (Leftovers! Yum!) Dean had filet mignon served on top of mashed potatoes with an incredible sauce. Fun conversations and an awesome meal! We drove back to the condo full and happy. Totally exhausted we “hit the hay” as soon as we got back.
(P.S. Now Ladd and I are looking forward to the weekend when Dean will visit us at the condo!)