FLORIDA 2016 (DeFuniak Spring)

The reason we travel at the end of July is for us to celebrate Jaz's birthday. It has become a tradition to celebrate her birthday in another city or state.  This year, we chose Florida.

The plan to leave at 3 was moved to 4 then 4:30. I needed to make sure the house is safe, the insecticide is sprayed and the chicken has feeds. Off we  went. After 40 minutes of driving the tire light came of. Dismissing it as "normal" for Sienna, we drove for more than 30 minutes more until I finally relented to my conscience to have the tire air check at Bucess!

Defuniak was our first stop over. We were surprised to see a gift from the staff  for our "anniversary." Unknown to me, they told my wife that my comment in their website showed that we are celebrating our anniversary. I don't remember making any mention of the anniversary. Nevertheless, how can you refuse a bottle of wine from the local winery, a set of goblets, candies and a note. To return the favor of their great hospitality, aside from paying $168.00, I have to give them a good review in Yelp and in their site (which I have not done as of this writing). The only downside was the gas. It costs us $2.35 per gallon which to our dismay was way too high when we found a $1.91 per gallon 4 miles from DeFuniak Springs.

Thanks Holiday Inn of DeFuniak Springs 

Why DeFuniak Springs ? Because it is the closest city of Seaside. Ms. Cordes mentioned to me how beautiful is its beach, how quaint is its town center and how unique is the city. Hence, we chose Defuniak. True to her word, the beach park is indeed captivating. The sand is white, powdery and comparable to Boracay (except that it is cleaner). I let my feet play with the sand and enjoy the respite it brought me. Definitely I will be coming back here, I told myself. Who will not? That was the first time for me to see and feel the inviting calmness of a beach. So pristine and untouched. I promised myself not to go back to Galveston and Surfside anymore.

 

The town by night was enchanting. Although parking is hard to find and speed is below ten (because of the people crossing and biking) it did not take us long to find a spot...and a place to dine. There are food trucks to choose from ranging from the usual american staple to the exotic concoction. We played safe and picked St. Louis style barbeque. It did not disappoint us. The spices and sauce were just about perfect.  Even Ylize stamped her approval.

We strolled around, took some pictures, ventured into their local post office, "sampled" their gelato.  We went home filled and full. Defuniak is definitely a future destination next summer.