Blogs from Panama City, Florida, United States, North America - page 2

Honky Tonk and High Rise After such a lovely day yesterday, we were looking forward to another fine day and it started out very well indeed. Route 98 from Perry led us along a lovely coastline with sugar white sand, passing St. George Island, a very beautiful place that we have visited before, through to Apalachicola and Port St. Joe. Apalachicola is a historic treasure, with wonderful architecture, restaurants, water front and bed and breakfast hotels. It’s a cool place to visit and stay a while. Port St. Joe is a unique little beach town also. My advice is that after you hit Port St. Joe, take 71 North and go up to Route 10 if you are continuing west. We didn't. We continued on Route 98 through Panama City all the way to Pensacola and ... read more

February 2 Monday Rain started in around midnight, we awoke to more rain. Weather called for a band of rain to move across our intended route all day, with temps in 40's We discussed holing up for the day, but forecast for Tuesday called for snow showers ! We loaded up and decided to tough it out. I really felt we needed to get south as soon as we could. We had a minor problem with the left tank pannier, the zipper foot had pulled out and it was not holding. Off to Wal-Mart for safety pins, straps and various Velcro pieces. I pinned the zipper opening closed and it looked to be a good fix. We took off at around 12:05p in the rain. My left heated glove was not operating, must be a jacket ... read more

Florida, with a population almost the same as Australia's, is a unique U.S. southern state. Being a haven for retiring Yankees from the north and Cubans and Mexicans from the south, it doesn't feel like the rest of its confederate flag-flying neighbours. Even the southern-drawl seems to disappear down here, where the environment turns to flat marshland and over-developed beaches. Being a surfer, people always ask if I'm afraid of getting attacked by sharks. I often state the fact that you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning. Well in Florida they have both the world's highest rate of shark attacks and people getting struck by lightning! So as we made our way down to our first Florida stop, St Augustine, Shazza was keeping a watchful eye on the rain clouds forming above. The ... read more

2/3/07 The next morning I decided to work my way into the Florida Pan Handle. Wasn’t sure where I would go. As I stopped at a gas station just north of Chiefland their was a truck that had a sticker on it’s windshield that said “REDNECKTIFIED” with the rebel flag on each side of it. This amused me and I wanted to take a picture, but was concerned the owner might think I was making fun of him. Stan, our manatee tour guide said this area of the country is the last of the wild frontier and the locals I met around town seemed to verify that thought. I looked in the store and it appeared to me the owner of the truck could have been any of the 5 men in that store. As a ... read more

It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end. --Ursula K. LeGuin . web sites Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort Locating a campground with wireless service is a find. So we moved from St. Andrew’s to Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort. Wow! What a wonderful resort. It has paved sites, manicured lawns, laundry facilities, immaculate bath/shower, pool, wireless, and more. This is a clean up day, while I hit the laundry room Bob finished up the travelblogs. Of course, we found time for a swim in the heated pool. Now we are getting ready for dinner out and a movie. Our dinner was at Shuckem’s Oyster House. We had a sampling of different cooked oysters in the shell. Both of us liked them. The ... read more