Thirteen years ago, Bob and Pat Harmer moved to Destin. Thursday they took time to reflect on the city's small beginnings.

"When we moved here Destin had just become a teenager and now it’s 20 years old, old enough to date."

On November 4 20 years ago, local officials decided to incorporate Destin as a city. Their goal was to create a unique place to live and play, different from eastern neighbor Panama City Beach. Since then, this sleepy little fishing village has been coined the world's luckiest and has grown into a major tourist destination.

On Thursday city officials held an open house at City Hall to honor the anniversary.

Destin Mayor Craig Barker says, "We're maturing as a city and this is a celebration of all that's been accomplished by all the past elected officials and the city staff and our citizens and our volunteers."

Many issues still loom for the Destin; redeveloping the harbor area, when to take over law enforcement duties from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office and controlling the incredible growth, but for those here chowing down and dunking the elected officials, those issues will be dealt with in due time.

One thing's for sure: Destin has surely developed a uniqueness all its own.