For the last two years, we’ve taken February vacations to places neither of us has been before. Last February, we journeyed to Stone Mountain, Atlanta, and A.H. Stephens State Park in Georgia. We then visited Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. We had a wonderful time in each place, despite the unusually cold and stormy weather.
Now, writing this from my home office following this year’s sojourn, I’m giving serious thought to re-thinking our future trips at this time of the year. We are once again back home in white, bright, and cold northern Illinois after a week in Panama City Beach, Florida. We have seen more sun here at home within the past twenty-four hours than we did for most of our time in Florida’s Panhandle location! The wife and I have had some serious discussions regarding maybe taking our little February trips a bit later in the month—or even into March. We shall see.
Regardless, we enjoyed our week down there after driving through some seriously nasty weather south of Nashville.
Our friends, Bill and Barb, belong to a Time Share organization, and they were able to secure a week’s stay for the four of us at Marriott’s Legends Edge. They flew, we drove, and we timed our arrival there so that we could pick them up at the airport.
Arriving by mid-afternoon on Saturday, Carolyn and I located the place, checked in, and had time for a nice lunch of fish tacos at the golf club restaurant before heading to the airport. Our friends’ flight was right on time so we were off for them to check in and then explore the various parts of Panama City Beach.
Although it was cool and overcast, I still persisted in wearing shorts. Such a rebel am I! Monday was perhaps the most “Florida-like” of the week, with sun darting in and out of a gray cloud cover. The temperature was good enough for us to spend several hours poolside, soaking some sunshine into our winterized bodies.
Unfortunately, that was the only day we were able to feel good about any kind of poolside lounging. Of course, there were a couple of days of downright cold temperatures, where the long pants were in order, so I stowed my rebellious ways for the sake of being warm and comfortable.
And my grandiose plans to work on my writing fell by the wayside, as I booted up my MacBook Pro only once during the week. Neither was I in the proper frame of mind to write fiction, nor was there a good place to get away and write in peace and solitude as I prefer. So I made lots of mental notes and reminders of what I had to get going on as soon as I got back home.
On the other hand, I managed to get lots of reading done—The Billionaire’s Vinegar—a story about the world’s most expensive bottle of wine and the mystery surrounding it. Not much of a wine fanatic or devotee, I wasn’t all that enthralled with the book. But it’s for a book club discussion in the near future, so I plodded through it and finished it during those cold days in Florida.
Whatever else we weren’t able to do during the week, we made up for with our nightly dinners. Seafood was the order of our stay there, and we had some delicious grouper, seafood platters, and scallops, to name a few of our favorites.
In Panama City Beach, there are numerous fine places to get good seafood: Dirty Dicks, Sharkey’s, Harpoon Harry’s, The Front Porch, and The Whale’s Tail over on the beach in Destin. Nothing goes together like a cold bottle of Bud and a blackened grouper sandwich!
Our last night there, we had a wonderful dinner at Captain Anderson’s, a Panama City Beach tradition since 1967. It is one of those classic old-time restaurants, with lots of room and plenty of tables (all filled!) to accommodate hundreds. Our meals were well worth the cost, and it was a wonderful way to wrap up a fun—though chilly—week with friends.
The next morning, we packed up, checked out, and dropped Bill and Barb off at the airport and continued up the road for home, where we hoped to arrive right around midnight. But that is a story for my next post.
Down Many Roads... 
We went to Florida in February once. Ran into 40-degree temps for a couple days. But we made do, especially when we knew it was blizzarding back home. 🙂
Wish you could’ve had better weather, but it’s always nice to get away. And always nice to return home.
Despite the lousy weather there, it was still better than here at home, and the break “away” was nice. Lots of laughs, good food, and conversation with friends is never a bad thing–anywhere! And, as you say, it’s nice to be back home. 🙂
I wish it had been warmer for you, Mark! It still sounds like a wonderful ‘escape from reality,’ since chores and other responsibilities are always left behind while on vacation. I think I would contemplate a later vacation, while still not running into Spring breakers! ha ha! Those kids and even adults on Spring Break are wild!
I love eating at places which feature sea food and atmosphere. The larger venue, Captain Anderson’s reminds me of Der Dutchman. The food is delicious, the tables numberous and is a pleasant dining experience. Too bad you don’t have any money or investments in your restaurant with your namesake on it, Mark!
Robin: Believe it or not, at Captain Anderson’s we kiddingly inquired whether or not we were entitled to a discount that evening! Of course, that was laughed off (as it should have been) and we enjoyed a wonderful meal all the same. Spring break was just about to begin, and I think we got out of there just in time and back home to the cold and white stuff! 🙂