The trip from Gainesville back to Memphis is a long one, so I planned to break it up somewhere between, and discovered that I could get a reasonable rate on a room at Sandestin as long as I didn’t mind staying on the bay side of the resort, which I didn’t. My hotel room had a view of Choctawhatchee Bay, and was actually a three-room suite. Just a short drive away was an area of shops and restaurants known as the Village of Baytowne Wharf, where I ate dinner and did a fair amount of walking around. At one of the bars and grills near the pier, a band was playing, and I was surprised at the extent of the crowds. The weather was delightful, but after dinner I decided to head back to the room, and then to Fort Walton Beach to meet my homeboy Florida J at a rap club called Barley’s.