We’re through with Wednesday here at the beach, and rapidly approaching the midway point of our little vacation. It’s been a fun ride so far.
We checked in Sunday and had time to unpack and take a quick walk down to the water. Travis set foot on the beach for his first time and absolutely loved it. We took lots of pictures of him and Hallie playing together in the sand. After that we got them to bed and then promptly did the same, as we were quite exhausted from the travel.
Monday was our first full day. We spent the morning getting ready for the pool, but it didn’t open until 9 so we went to the beach instead. It was a hot, breezeless day on the beach, with a yard of seaweed on the beach at the water’s edge and several yards of it in the surf. We stuck our toes in the water for a little while before packing up and heading back to the pool. We spent a good long time swimming there and getting noisy. The kids loved it.
Soon after the kids began their naps it began raining, dumping so much water that Thomas Drive flooded in many places. The weather didn’t bother the naps, fortunately, though it did limit Kelly’s exercise options. Like lots of storms in Florida, it soon blew over and gave us a chance to get some dinner at Pineapple Hallie’s, er, I mean Pineapple Willie’s. We then returned to the condo for a surprise birthday party for our neice, Hadley. Lots of fun was had by all.
Tuesday brought a chance of pace as Carl arranged for us to use his daddy’s boat. My family and Jeff’s family piled onboard the catamaran boat for a trip to nearby Shell Island. We were doing fine until I somehow steered out of the channel and got us temporarily grounded in the shallow lagoon. After that inauspicious beginning, our trip to the island went very well.
The island was one place not suffocated in seaweed. We ran the boat up on the beach, hauled the kids and toys to the Gulf side and went for a seaweed-free swim before packing back up and heading in for lunch.
After the kids napped, we got cleaned up and headed to Triple J’s for dinner. In spite of being a party of ten descending on them at 7 PM, we got seated immediately and had our dinners before we knew it. Kelly and I finished up the day by watching The World’s Fastest Indian on the DVD player, a delightfully good movie.
Morning came early for me this morning as Carl invited my dad and me to go fishing. Up and the crack of dawn, we motored to a spot a few miles off a coast full of high-rise condominiums. Less than two minutes from dropping my hook into the water, I caught a nice-sized snapper, the first of six for me today. One nice one tipped the scales at ten pounds. Dad and Carl caught the remaining six allowed by the game commission rules, including another ten pounder Dad reeled in. We motored back to shore with a cooler full of snapper and smiles on our faces.
Lunch and naps here were followed by a visit from all the Andersons. We watched fishing film before waking our kids up for another trip to the pool, their second today. We changed clothes and then went for dinner again, this time stopping at Schooners for dinner. Schooner’s has always been down at the less-populated end of Thomas Drive but is now visibly crowded. A 20+ story condo building was built within 7 feet of the “Last Local Beach Club,” providing the most visible contrast of the old Panama City Beach and the new, booming, high-rise one. Their dinner isn’t spectacular (its bar food obviously), the beer is lousy, but the atmosphere is the best on the beach. We ate quickly so we had more time to watch the kids dance to the live music.
Tomorrow we take our beach pictures in the morning. Then our local relatives come to visit. We’ll have a cookout here at the condo and visit for a while. Should be nice. The rest of the week is open for whatever we decide to fill it with.
So far its been a very enjoyable vacation. No matter how much it changes appearance-wise, I’ll always have a fondness for this beach.
