TIME FOR THE BEACH

 I LOVE the beach. The sound of the waves, the smell of the salt air, the interesting wildlife: gulls, pelicans, dolphins, fish, seashells. Everything about the beach is wonderful to me. My husband, who has fair skin and blue eyes, is not a fan so we rarely go. 

A couple months ago, with new, much smaller swimsuits in my closet, I knew I wanted to go somewhere to SWIM. I suggested the beach and he agreed--if we could go to Panama City Beach, FL. Four years ago I taught there for the St Andrews Bay Quilt Guild for the second time. Hubby had one of his top 10 all time great dinners at The Grand Marlin restaurant and wanted to go back. So we did.

BOARDWALK BEACH RESORT CONDOS:  Royal American Beach Getaways

22 floors, we were on Floor 10

Husband waving from our Balcony

View looking out from our balcony

View looking down from our balcony

We enjoyed everything about this place and will return next year, for two additional days. It takes 7.5 hours to get there so I want a couple extra days to make the trip worthwhile.

Our condo had everything we needed and was clean and well-equipped. Check-in was very easy. The Military Discount was unexpected but appreciated. Two Bedrooms, two Baths, sleeps 6 if two use the sofa bed in the living room. It was perfect for the two of us:

I got in my power walk, at least 4.5 miles each morning. Walking on the sand isn't as easy as it looks. It was a glorious way to start each day and at 6:30 am there were few people out there:

AirPods in, ready for walking/singing on the beach

Can you see the Pier, way off in the distance? It felt as far away as it looks here:

That was where I turned around each morning

We ate great seafood. Dinner the first night was at Pineapple Willy's, close by the condo. I had Mandarin Walnut salad with grilled shrimp then ordered an additional 5 grilled shrimp for more protein and because they were delicious:

The next night was The Grand Marlin, I made reservations and I dressed up. We both loved our meals--I had Cioppino--and they brought us a beautiful, decadent, yummy dessert for our special occasion:

The next day we did some touristy stuff: Ripley's Believe It or Not for a few hours. I wasn't overwhelmed but hubby enjoyed it and it was a good way to get out of the condo for a bit. We did lunch out at Bayou on the Beach--I had fried shrimp and oysters with Sweet Potato Fries and he had Shrimp and Grits:

That evening we ate dinner on our balcony--salad, cheese, crackers, wine, and watched the sun go down:

The first two days had been overcast but the Gulf water was warm and I swam every day. The pool had a problem needing a part our first two days so the pool/hot tubs were closed. Swimming in the Gulf was fine for me. 

Thursday night was the Harvest Moon and I was eager to see it over the Gulf. Early it was cloudy so there wasn't much to see BUT at 5:30 am the next morning I was rewarded with a beautiful view of the full moon, so clear and crisp. My poor photo doesn't do it justice:

At 6:30 am it was still beautiful:

It was our last day and it turned into the PERFECT beach day, sunny, mid-80's, clear, wonderful and few people were on the beach. I did my power walk, then swam in the Gulf, and then we enjoyed swimming in the pool. Then lounging in the Hot Tub. Such a relaxing way to wrap up our too-short vacation.

Dinner the last night was at Captain Andersons. We both loved our meals but ate too much. I had planned carefully ahead of time but had not factored in the yummy hard rolls and butter before dinner, the hush puppies with dinner or the incredibly decadent huge dessert we shared. I know I exceeded my calories for the day with that one meal. 

I almost forgot the photo--here is some of my Oven Baked Crab Stuffed Grouper, and hubby had fried seafood:

The dessert we didn't resist, edible bowl filled with sponge cake, raspberry sauce, chocolate mousse and whipped cream:

On the trip home the next day we stopped at All Steak in Cullman, AL, about an hour from home. I had a lovely Pear Gorgonzola Salad with Grilled Salmon:

Hubby had Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes--he was over seafood by now:

It was such a great vacation, totally relaxing and everything I hoped it would be. The two new swimsuits were perfect. As usual, I brought twice the clothes I needed. With a washer/dryer in the condo I didn't need much:

Headed to the pool:

Out to dinner night 2: 

Going to see the sights, day 3:

End of the day, just relaxing: 

The first morning home I wasn’t surprised I was up one pound. Twenty four hours later, that was gone. A week later I was down two more. Very pleased that getting right back on my usual track does what it should. 

Back to real life, getting ready for teaching in Houston the end of October. The three boxes of teaching supplies were shipped last week. The guest bed is loaded with the rest of the teaching stuff I have to take. I hope there is room for 8 days of clothes too. I am able to mix/match all my wardrobe now so that will help.

I LOVE the beach!

Now, let's quilt.

Barbara