I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. I ended up going down to Panama City Beach, FL. Why Panama City? 5 reasons!
- PCB has always been a popular beach destination for Atlantans. It is an easy drive from Atlanta – less than 5 ½ hours.
- There is no oil!
- Weather was great barring a few showers (which were cool to watch from our balcony)!
- I LOVE seafood!
- Fireworks at the beach are awesome!
I had been looking forward to this trip for months and months and was very fearful that the oil spill and then Hurricane Alex were going to ruin it. Luckily, the winds of fate (literally) were on my side. We stayed at Aqua Resort which is on the west side of PCB. It is a really nice resort, has two pools, great workout facility, and close to some great landmarks.
If you ever wondered why they call it the Emerald Coast, wonder no more.
One of the things that I HAVE to do when I go to the beach is eat SEAFOOD! On Friday night we went to the Back Porch Grill at Pier Park. Pier Park is a huge shopping, entertainment, and restaurant complex that is less than a mile from our resort. It is where the old Miracle Strip Amusement Park used to be for all of you that went to PCB for Spring Break in high school. I ordered a bowl of gumbo (best in PCB), and the Captains Platter which included fish, shrimp, oysters, and crab! It was scrumptious – thanks for dinner dad!
There was a nice balance of chillaxing on the beach and spending some time with the fam for the weekend. During the rain showers we were all up in the condo playing games together. By the way, if you have never played MatchMate, I highly recommend it. You do need to have a significant other as well as another couple to play. The best way I can describe it is that it is like the Newly Wed Game with some twists. The “sensuality” category is always a favorite!
Finally, the Pier Park fireworks show is by far the best 4th of July fireworks display I have ever seen. Man do they drop some money on that one. Best part about it is that we didn’t have to leave our room. They shot them off from the end of the pier and we all watch in amazement from our balcony!
What a great trip….can’t wait for our next beach trip to Hilton Head in a few weeks for the Cohen Family Reunion!
Till next time –
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