It's going to be yet another two months of sh!tty days in paradise. Or, at least two months of weather that's usually warmer than Cleveland. That, and a beach.
 |
| Panama City Beach |
The ride down to Panama City Beach Beachside Resort is about as expected. The fifteen-hour trip takes us two days and an overnight in Pulaski, TN. Some things around Beachside Resort have changed, but it's mostly the same 'ole, same 'ole. That's okay by us. We hadn't been expecting earth-shattering changes and we don't find any.
We do manage to find a hole-in-the-wall place with the absolute best grouper imaginable (and at a great price): Reel-time Fishers in Calloway, FL. It's 45 minutes away, but well worth the drive. We WILL be back.
Another first is a stop at Duplin Winery in PCB. It's brand new, and quite an experience to visit and sample their mostly sweet wines. We probably will not be visiting them again, but it was certainly memorable. There's another winery here called Panama City Beach Winery. We visited that one last year, and they also had sweet wines, mostly fruit-based. It was also an experience to remember.
 |
| Duplin Winery |
 |
| Duplin Winery |
As of early January, Beachside Resort is nearly empty. There are a handful of other Snowbirds, and a few others come and go. But that's it. It's nice and quiet, except for all the maintenance going on. At least the heated pool and hot tub are working.
Until they aren't. After a week and the half, the pool heater broke down. And that was that.
We do some of the usual things: walk the beach, hike at PCB Conservation Park, etc.
 |
| PCB Conservation Park |
It's cool in early Jan., but that will change. We also try to observe most of the sunsets. Some are pretty darn spectacular, like the one on January 6.
 |
| Beachside Resort from the balcony |
 |
| January 6 Sunset |
 |
| Watching the sunset |
There is a whole bunch of wind today, January 9. So much so, that there were two different tornado warnings, with several tornado touchdowns, including one in Panama City Beach.
 |
| Big storms a-coming |
 |
| Lots of wind |
 |
| Lots of wind |
As of the end of January, we're ready to bring February into the fold. We did a few new things, but very few. One is the discovery of some more great seafood. After some of the usual places, like Hunts, Back Beach Barbecue, etc., we found Mike's Oyster House and as mentioned, Reel-time Fishers (told ya we'd be back).
Another new thing was the Lynn Haven Bayou Park. We went on the way to Aldi and got a nice, quiet walk in.
 |
| Lynn Haven Bayou Park |
One more thing happened in January. Besides my usual running, I drove to Gulf Shores, AL to run the Big Beach Marathon. You can read about that experience by clicking here. In case you didn't want to go there, here's a pic.
 |
| Big Beach Marathon Finish |
We see lots of our old friends here at Beachside Resort. In fact, we can't miss them - they're all around us! We sit around and talk a lot. Here is a photo of some of them. It's from last year since I don't have any more recent ones.
 |
| At Dee's Hangout (I think this is from last year) |
I run a couple of miles on the beach now and then, but most of my running is on the roads and the trails at Conservation Park. The other day, I took my camera for my beach run.
 |
| The Shadow Knows |
Found another nice park: Eden Gardens State Park. It's close by, and, as the name implies, there are nice gardens there. We meandered around the peaceful flowering plants and trees, then took to the nature trail. It was all quite enjoyable.
 |
| Eden Gardens State Park |
 |
| Eden Gardens State Park |
 |
| Eden Gardens State Park |
For our final couple of weeks here at Beachside Resort, they finally have the heated pool working. I say I will go in every day, but only make it that far once in a while. It's pretty nice, but it's always cold when you come out. The weather has been seasonable, with highs usually in the 60s. Lady Adventurer has managed to stay completely out of any body of water.
We've settled on our favorite restaurants for quite a few of our regular dinners: Schooner's for grouper with their weekday half-off sales, and Hammerhead Fred's for the mahi tacos on Sundays. And of course you can't beat Captain Anderson's, although that place is expensive.
 |
| Hammerhead Freds |
Did I mention the sunsets? Oh, I did? Well they're as great as ever, and they're the highlight of every evening. Here's one more.
 |
| One last sunset |
 |
| Okay, this is really the last one |
