Leaving Las Vegas

Editor Manson (right, back) and the gang enjoy lunch and cocktails at the Beachcomber Music Award winning AJ’s in Destin. Hey, DIRECTV, notice the clever product placement? Maybe you can knock a couple hundred off our bill next month!
Photo by Mark Focus.

What a crazy week leading up to the fine publication you’re holding in your hands right now. Normally, I’m scrambling to get everything together the weekend prior, but I was in Las Vegas with the extended family Friday through Monday for a wedding, and, yeah, I’m exhausted.

I hadn’t been out to Vegas since I was a kid, and back in the late ‘60s-early ‘70s, the city wasn’t particularly kid friendly. My dad later made it up to me and my siblings with annual trips to Opryland in Nashville (now the site of a #$%* outlet mall).

One thing you should know about Vegas, everything costs at least $50. You want a Johnnie Walker Black neat? Fifty bucks. A towel for the pool area? Fifty bucks. Directions to the restrooms? Fifty bucks.

I did walk out of the Bellagio with a few hundred bucks in my wallet, though.

We saw a Cirque du Soleil show the night before I flew back. It was called O, and it was a waterlogged spectacular. My only gripe is I kept waiting for the woman to get strangled by the male lead—probably because of the title and my longtime crush on Julia Stiles.

The wedding itself was lovely. It was held at a rustic resort up in the mountains about 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas, and the parents of the bride took care of the bar tab. What wonderful human beings…

The flight back included a three-plus-hour layover in Atlanta. I’m not a fan of airports, but they’ve done a lot of great things with this place since my last three-plus-hour layover.

The flight over to Vegas was a lot more pleasant, and I got to watch Shazam!, which is wildly entertaining, particularly in the first half. Drop by your local Blockbuster store and rent it.

The week before Vegas, our friends from California came for their annual visit, and I’m happy to report that I remember some of it (see photo).

Anyway, this week I’m appearing with my Act4Mystery friends for two wild nights. The first is Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Twisted Grape in Shalimar—great place, terrific food and wine. Then Saturday, Sept. 28, at Samuel’s Roadhouse, the only good restaurant in the city of Crestview. Hope to see some of you at one or both.

Two of our favorite local events are happening this week(s)—the Destin Fishing Rodeo, which kicks off Oct. 1 and runs all month long, and the Destin Seafood Festival, happening on the Destin Harbor Oct. 4-6. The Destin Fishing Rodeo puts out a FREE program every year, and the gorgeous slick paper makes me feel tingly in places I didn’t think possible. Pick up a copy and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Meantime, enjoy the latest issue of the Emerald Coast’s Favorite Magazine Since 2001, and please don’t gripe about no Horrorscopes. The Phantom may or may not be hanging up his stargazers for good. Stay tuned…

Love, Editor Manson

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Nice publication that I always enjoy reading from front to back. Now I can do it from home, too!

– Kevin Charton

Editor’s Note: Mr. Charton is not referring to our (nonexistent) home delivery, but rather our website beachcomberdestin.com and our semi-regular email newsletters. Sign up by sending a request to chris@beachcomberdestin.com.