Greetings from Panama City Beach! (again)

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Straight, I love it here. I didn't want to leave, and I did enjoy Biloxi, Galveston, and Austin, but now that we're back here...

Yeah, I suck.

We have a terrific New England itinerary for summer, and I'm excited to finally see Boston, Bar Harbor and Montreal...but man, I gotta tell ya...PCB is my happy place.

Winter 2017-18 we'll be in Marathon (which I used to love) and Fort Myers (which my friend assures me I will love). I don't want to love anywhere else except PCB. Ex-loves and potential loves...I'm ready to accept PCB as my true love because I'm loyal by nature. I'll always love my hometown of Lincoln, NE but it just didn't work out, so now I'm committed to Panama City Beach and good with that. Everything else is a dalliance.

But I also remember when I was in love with Rapid City and Cody, so maybe PCB isn't the real thing. But...I think it is. I think when I'm done fiddling about, me and Panama City Beach (and Monello, of course) are going to be in a committed relationship.
 

black dog

Free America
I have a mooring for the this coming winter in Marathon in Boot Key Harbor.
I'll bump the sailboat down the coast this fall and goof off for a few months this winter.
I enjoy Marathon, lots of great sailboat folks to spend the winter with.
Probably hit the Wreckers Race in Key West in Jan.
My kid wants to do the intercoastal if possible with his College classes.
 

nutz

Well-Known Member
Diego's Burrito Factory was a fun place to go. They moved since I was last there, but friends have gone and say the food and drinks are still great.

15514 Front Beach Rd
Panama City Beach, FL 32413
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
We're baaaaack!

Poor Monello was a wreck when he got here because the storage door popped loose from the damaged wood it was screwed into. He did some emergency revisions, but it's not looking good for our traveling future. Which is okay because we'd already decided to look into coming off the road and making PCB our permanent home. Or the RV body shop guy might be able to fixee and we'll keep on rolling.... We were solid but might be wavering. We'll see what's what here with the park models and if they have one that fits us. And we don't even have to light here, we can go pretty much anywhere we want. BUT.....

It's still as terrific here as it was last time, and the resort has added a pickleball court to sweeten the pot. There's a nice Florida feel here that I like. ❤

After we set up we hit the BBQ joint for dinner and took a little drive. We didn't head down the beach where the action is (it's Bike Week here and there are like 8 million bikers reveling), but might do that tomorrow. Traffic is a bear during these things so you have to block out some time if you want to get in the mix. Tomorrow morning I'll go grocery shopping before everyone else is up and around.

Unfortunately Bike Week is ending, not just beginning, so all the cool stuff they do will be over tomorrow. They set up biker villages with shops and food trucks and drinking and live music, and it's pretty awesome. PCB has a lot to do anyway and it gets writ large for Bike Week - the city really rolls out the red carpet for them.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
New for 2021:

The Sun Resorts management appears to have lost its temper when it comes to guests not following the rules or mistreating the equipment. There are a number of finger wagging signs around that warn violators they WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE PARK should they flout the rules. There is one in the laundry room that goes so far as to bitch passive-aggressively about rule breakers, as in, "We have had to implement this policy because SOME people like to overload the washers and BREAK them!" Like that.

I'm not sure if crappy people who don't follow the rules read signs like that, and I'm not sure if onsite staff enforces them, but I do like rules and consequences. It just makes for a happier environment when people pick up their dog's crap, don't blast music until the wee hours, and don't break the washers and dryers. So if they kicked in some durhard's door in the middle of the night and marched them out at gunpoint for letting their baby chit in the pool, I'd be okay with that.

The biggest offenses I personally see are people who don't pick up after their dogs and don't keep their snarling vicious animal under control. Oh yeah, there's a nastygram for that, too - "If your dog so much as bares its teeth at another guest you will be FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM THE PARK AT THE END OF A BAYONET!" Something like that...

They should let me write their signs. I could dress them up with eyecatching graphics so people would be like, "Oh, how cute, a bunny rabbit!" and see the caption, "Flush the freaking toilet or we will send five supermax prisoners to give you a swirly in your own poop!"
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
It would appear that I have made the bed in the motorhome for the last time.

This time tomorrow, our living situation should drastically change. It has been a roller coaster of a ride. Especially lately. I have a deposit for the sale of the RV. They still need to come and test drive it. 53 minutes after I posted it for sale on facebook market place, the messages started arriving. The first people to contact me drove over to check it out. I wasn't about to disconnect for them to drive it around. But they wanted first crack at it, so they gave me a few bucks to hold it. If, after test driving it, they want out, I'll gladly refund them their deposit.

Honestly I wasn't sure how long it would take to sell. That's why I listed it before it was ready to show. It has been my faithful mode of transportation for the better part of 14 years. I'm a few miles short of 40,000 in the driver's seat. This rig doesn't owe me anything. I was uncertain at this point in my life I wanted another 6 figure depreciating asset. Sure it's a lot of fun. But it's also a lot of money. Then there are the issues that need to get worked out. That would require putting the rig in the shop for who knows how long. And we'd be technically homeless.

Here's a sneak peak at the park model upgrade.

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They sell them furnished, so what you see is what you get. All we need to move is clothing and toiletries. They did take the potted plants on the step. Closing is tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed the walk through goes as planned.
 

ontheriver

Well-Known Member
It would appear that I have made the bed in the motorhome for the last time.

This time tomorrow, our living situation should drastically change. It has been a roller coaster of a ride. Especially lately. I have a deposit for the sale of the RV. They still need to come and test drive it. 53 minutes after I posted it for sale on facebook market place, the messages started arriving. The first people to contact me drove over to check it out. I wasn't about to disconnect for them to drive it around. But they wanted first crack at it, so they gave me a few bucks to hold it. If, after test driving it, they want out, I'll gladly refund them their deposit.

Honestly I wasn't sure how long it would take to sell. That's why I listed it before it was ready to show. It has been my faithful mode of transportation for the better part of 14 years. I'm a few miles short of 40,000 in the driver's seat. This rig doesn't owe me anything. I was uncertain at this point in my life I wanted another 6 figure depreciating asset. Sure it's a lot of fun. But it's also a lot of money. Then there are the issues that need to get worked out. That would require putting the rig in the shop for who knows how long. And we'd be technically homeless.

Here's a sneak peak at the park model upgrade.

View attachment 157083

View attachment 157084

View attachment 157085



They sell them furnished, so what you see is what you get. All we need to move is clothing and toiletries. They did take the potted plants on the step. Closing is tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed the walk through goes as planned.

That is beautiful! I could live there...

Good Luck!
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Does it come with a washer and dryer?

Yep.

I'm going to have to get used to living in a house again and being somewhere permanently. Having my own shower where my shampoo and conditioner will always be instead of having a bath bag I take to the bath house. Although we'll be living here at the resort so I might use the bath house occasionally just for old times sake. :jet:

I already love our new home - it's perfect for us. We've been saying for years that when it's time to come off the road a park model in PCB is the way we'd go. So here we are. But I'm also sorry to not be traveling. To top it off some RV friends of mine are out exploring the west and southwest, posting pics to their FB of all my favorite places. 😥

PCB is gorgeous and the Gulf breeze is lovely in summer. The whole beach vibe appeals to me, even though I'm not a person who lays on the beach. But I like being around people who DO like laying on the beach, so that works.

Our resort has two pools, a pickleball court, nice walking/biking streets, and other recreational amenities. Also we have a firepit on our deck that we'll enjoy. As you saw we're right on the pond, stocked with fish so Monello can wet a line from our backyard. The house is quite roomy, even if you haven't been living in a motorhome for 5 years. If you look at Monello's second picture, that deck wraps around the back of the house so we can sit out there and look at the fountain.
 

PrchJrkr

Long Haired Country Boy
Ad Free Experience
Patron
What is that body of water in picture #2? Is it navigable and stocked? Species?
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
What is that body of water in picture #2? Is it navigable and stocked? Species?
It's a retention pond. There are 2 in the campground. They have bass and panfish in them. They also have about 150,000 turtles in them. It's probably about 2 acres of water. The other pond is about twice that size.

But a short 5 miles away is St. Andrews State Park. They have a fishing pier, boat launch, sandy beach, c store, gator pond and plenty of parking. When the wind isn't blowing, the water is really emerald green. It's been very windy the last 4 days, They had double red flags which means the gulf is closed to swimming. It should lay back down in the next few days.

I know I'm biased, but this is one of the prettiest places in the US. And it's a place we can afford to live. The Florida Keys are nicer but my pockets aren't deep enough to be able to afford to live there. The same goes for Sedona, AZ.

St Andrews little jetties
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The gulf side
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3 years ago we took a helicopter ride over this area. You could see the pods of dolphins & manta rays.

 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
I do not like people and it would drive me nuts having people watching my every move. And, I love my dogs.

?

What makes you think people will be watching us and we can't have our dog? 🤔

I mean, it's okay for you to not like our house :lol: I'm just curious about your reasons.
 

PJay

Well-Known Member
...
?

What makes you think people will be watching us and we can't have our dog? 🤔

I mean, it's okay for you to not like our house :lol: I'm just curious about your reasons.

Really? You will be fine there. Not me. Like grumpy Sneakers told me when I told him I didn't like his wall color.. "I do not live there" or something like that. Don't care. I truly wish you happiness there.
 
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