Destin

We loaded the kids in the car in New Orleans and then drove a few hours east along the Gulf Coast to Destin. It was still a bit chilly when we got there, but we soon ended up at the beach with the kids. Destin is part of the "Emerald Coast," a stretch of shoreline known for its white sands and turquoise waters. This was the view from the Henderson Beach State Park:



The white sands are like sugar, and was very bright in the sunlight. But the sand is actually fine quartz, which arrived here at the end of the last Ice Age. Quartz particles from the Appalachian Mountains were carried down to the coast by the Apalachicola River, about 20,000 years ago.



We spent a few days here with family, going to the beach and eating lots of seafood.





And on our last night there, we went down to the beach at sunset. It was a good way to end the trip before having to make the long drive back up to Arkansas the next day.