2020 Panama City Beach

For some of us, especially those named the Lady Adventurer, the packing started early. How early, you ask? Six months, or maybe more. That's when Lady A. began to accumulate stuff that she would take. Why that early, you ask? I'm not sure, but I will say that her brain works differently from mine.

In my mind, going to a place means getting away from much of what you own in order to unburden yourself with the load of life (not necessarily the love of your life). In my mind, going to a place entails packing your clothes and a minimum of other necessities. Lady A. believes (and I'm trying to be fair here) that you should carefully plan to make your stay away from home as comfortable as possible. And this means bringing as much of your comfortable, cozy home along with you as possible. So besides packing early, and in the spirit of 'vote early, vote often,' she packed a lot. A whole lot. It's safe to say there was some marital discord over how much of home would be packed into the car for the trip.

Then there were only a couple days to go. We were spending our time taking care of a dog and waiting at the morning bus stop with grandkids. One particularly cold morning we had just gotten home and were warming our butts by standing in front of the fireplace when I said, why don't we go to sunny Florida a few days earlier and visit my sister? It didn't take long to make this little alteration to our travel plans.

The trouble with going to Winter Haven on the way to Panama City Beach (PCB) is that it's not on the way, Now it would be a couple more hours south, followed by a couple of days there, followed by a nearly seven-hour drive back up north to PCB. But it was worth it.

Debbie, Beth, and Dan at Circle-B Reserve

An Eagle at Circle-B Reserve

We enjoyed visiting Beth, and I think she liked having us there for a couple nights. The highlight was a visit to Circle-B Reserve - a restored-to-nature former ranch that is now a wildlife sanctuary type park. We saw birds galore, including a pair of bald eagles. We saw one gator and got almost too close for comfort. It's a wonderful park.

After saying goodbye to Beth, driving all the way up North, staying an extra day in the middle of PCB, we finally reached our main destination, Beachside Resort. Of course, moving all that stuff in was an ordeal. But then it was time to relax and enjoy the sunshine.

Made it to Beachside Resort

Except that I had a marathon to run. The very next day.

Just after the Tallahassee Marathon, with my Major Award!

The date: 02-02-2020. That's a palindrome. It's also Groundhog Day. It's also the date of Superbowl IVXIIILY (I'm not sure of the exact number, but the Roman Numerals are cool anyway). It's also also the day of our first full day at Beachside. And it's also also also the date of the Tallahassee Marathon. I woke early, drove that long way, ran the race, and returned in time for the Superbowl party at Linda and Bob Rafalski's room.

Superbowl party

NOW, we could enjoy the sunshine! Nothing left to do but relax. And we did.

Not much happening that first week. Besides the Superbowl party, we had another party at Iris and Mike Zielinski's place. Then yet another party (in which we played golf-poker) at Mike's brother Jeff's place. We saw a second movie (1917). Attended a 'Snowbird Expo' (which was a total flop). Went to a Birthday party for Mike at Boon Docks. And finally attended a second race - the Valentine's 8K Run in Destin. Just after that little event, Debbie and I, along with Mike and Patti Busser explored Grayton Beach ('America's most beautiful') village and state park, where we had a nice hike. On the way back from Grayton Beach, we inadvertently discovered Route 30A.

30A is a thing. It's a big, very expensive thing. The wealth and newness of everything is astounding. Town after town seems brand new or just being built. And homes and condos are priced from $300,000 to $10,000,000 and up. It goes on for miles and miles, and it's all pretty astounding.

Patti and Mike with Debbie and Dan at Grayton Beach

Some days were foggy and some clear. That was okay. Temperatures were in the 60s and 70s. We tried to go and see things during the nice days. Things like Mexico Beach, destroyed a year and a half ago by Hurricane Michael. Or the St. Andrews Mardi Gras, or one of several parks, like Camp Helen and PCB Conservation Park.

The sunsets were magnificent during the clear days, and such was the case on Valentine's Day. Since we have such a great view of the beach and sunsets, our Valentine's Day party guests all went outside to enjoy the sunset and the frolicking dolphins. Debbie made lasagne and we all told stories.

Whiter sand than PCB? Yes, Destin and destinations further west (like Fort Walton Beach) have them. We survived the Destin traffic to see The Boardwalk and admire the pretty sandy beach and dunes.

I mentioned the St. Andrews Mardi Gras. There was another one the following week in PCB itself. This time we enjoyed the parade with Linda and Bob, then had dinner and stayed for the fireworks. We all acquired a bunch of beads.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

It was cloudy, cold, windy, and there were even a few raindrops about, but nevertheless, the Sea Screamer went out for the dolphin watching cruise with us on board. And guess what? It was tons of fun seeing the PCB shoreline and the dolphins near Shell Island. A few of them surfed our wake.

On the Sea Screamer

Dolphins in the wake!

Looking out our patio