It’s Monday. My week of living on margaritas and seafood have sadly come to a close. I’m back home in Illinois again having left the white sandy beaches of Panama City Beach behind. We had a really nice time and look forward to returning in October.

On our way home we came across a Buc-ee’s near the Tennessee/Alabama boarder. I’ve heard about Buc-ee’s from many of you sending in your beaver sightings, but I had never experienced it myself until now. First of all, holy-crap is it big! It probably didn’t help that we pulled in around dinner time, but damn was it ever crowded. Secondly, what didn’t they have? Everybody was moving very fast, so I quickly grabbed a BBQ brisket sandwich, some Buc-ee’s homemade potato chips, a giant drink, and for some reason, a box of mixed-flavored fudge. The brisket was extremely fatty but it tasted pretty good. I liked the chips, those were mighty tasty. Not sure about the fudge. I had one piece that I think was supposed to be blueberry and I wasn’t impressed. Oh well, probably should’ve got the beaver, eh?

Anyway, now is the hard part—getting back to the grind. I have a bad feeling that it’s going to be harder than usual. I don’t know why, it’s just a feeling. At least the weather is supposed to be nice today. That was a surprise.

-keep

It’s Friday! Spent most of the day yesterday being lazy out on our balcony. Did some reading while soaking up the sun. Down below the endless gentle waves came in off the Gulf. It was just a perfect do-nothing type of vacation day. We had some dinner down at the pier and once again my belly was happy.

Today is our last day here in Panama City Beach. I’m looking forward to one more lazy day out by the pool with plenty of margaritas and seafood. That should wrap things up nicely before returning to the chilly conditions back in Illinois.

-keep

Oh, almost forgot to mention the double babes & double jokes!

It’s Thursday. The sea was angry yesterday, boys! It was so damn windy yesterday that it was churning up 7 to 10-foot waves here in Panama City Beach. I was watching people who went out on the beach and it was like seeing the weatherman trying to broadcast while out in a hurricane. It could literally knock you off your feet. After seeing that, we decided it would be a good day to take a ride up the coast to Seaside and Destin. Seaside was nice but rather crowded. After doing some shopping we got back on the road and went to Baytown Warf. We did some more shopping and started heading back.

We were getting hungry on our way back to PCB and we both wanted something different, something not touristy. We found exactly that at the Down Island Gulf Seafood restaurant on US-98 in Santa Rosa Beach. We knew we found the right place because while parking we noticed their herb garden in the back. Fresh herbs are always a good sign. This chef-owned and family operated eatery was small but had an interesting menu filled with fresh seafood. Both of us absolutely loved our dinners. If you’re in the neighborhood and get the opportunity, I highly recommend checking them out.

-keep