Orange Beach to Sandestin to Panama City Beach

Tis' the Season...

December 15, 2022






We left Ocean Beach, Alabama to go to Sandestin.  It was our plan to be there 3-4 days.  After the 1st night it was clear, we could not stay.  The direction of the wind throughout the night, made us feel like we were in the belly of the whale with very bad indigestion and reflux!    I told Danny we needed another solution.  The marina was very understanding and we decided to try to get to Panama City Beach.  Needless to say, it was a very good decision.  

 The marina had recently reopened after being closed for 4 years following its destruction from hurricane Michael.  People were very nice and it was within a condo neighborhood so walking trails and the beach were right there.  Our timing in arriving on Friday afternoon was good too as the condo association was having their Christmas golf cart parade and party.  You can enjoy the golf carts decorations above.  We enjoyed the parade and went to eat afterwards.  Had a fantastic meal at Grand Marlin in Panama City Beach with Danny having Grouper Picante and I had Shrimp with pesto and pasta.  The menu included crab cakes and I asked the bartender what she thought.  The first question- where are you from?  I said, Virginia.  She quickly responded, no you will not like them.  I asked, why?  She said people from Maryland and Virginia want lump crabmeat in their crab cakes and ours don't have that, although they are still good.  Glad to know some people know what constitutes a good crab cake!  Near the marina, we saw the US Naval Diving and Salvage Training.  We did not see any activity but that sounds like it would be an interesting job for sure.  Panama City Beach has certainly changed ALOT since I was a kid and would come to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins back in the 1960's and 1970's.

We have continued to have dolphins entertain us on our trip on our way to Panama City Beach.  I continue to see Eagles, Ospreys, Royal terns, Lesser terns.  I did get to see 2 Belted Kingfisher late last week which was pretty cool.  They are so pretty.












While in Panama City Beach, I got a rental car and drove down Route 30A.  This is the road following the beach where there are no chain stores but about 2-4 miles away running parallel is US Route 98 where you can find some brand name stores.  I have read and heard about these small beach towns and wanted to see them.  I drove furthest west starting with Santa Rosa Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Seaside, Watercolor, Graydon Beach, Rosemary Beach, and Inlet Beach.  I liked Rosemary Beach the best.  None of the beaches are very easy to get to blocking every attempt to get to the beach with special key cards only.  I just stood by the gate waited for someone to go down and followed them and waited to come back into town for someone else to either enter or exit.  The sand at Rosemary Beach at least has the same foundation as that of Siesta Key.  It is almost 100% quartz from about 12,000 years ago from the Appalachian Mountains surface being broken down after the last Ice Age.  The sediment as the ice melted drifted down to the Gulf Coast.  I did find out while visiting this area that the state of Florida has renewed the moratorium of not allowing offshore oil drilling in 2020 for another 10 years!  Happy Days! 

  This is the hotel, The Pearl at Rosemary Beach.  Beautiful! And a view of the beach looking down the coast.  When I saw the Post Office, I thought, this must be the most beautiful Post Office in the country.  Also you may be able to make out just to the right, there was going to be a wedding later that afternoon.


















Leaving Panama City Beach, we came up north into St Andrews Bay into the East End of the Bay.  The Gulf Intercostal Waterway coming out of the East Bay going further east to Apalachicola is not very wide at all and is a lot of forest land.  I still did not see any alligators but we did see quite of lot of destruction, I would assume from, Hurricane Michael in 2018.




                                                                                             Yes, he is real!

As we approached Apalachicola in an area called the Double Bayou, we saw 2 areas of what looked like black dots.  We thought for sure they were cypress stumps but as we got closer, I saw movement and used my binoculars to see hundreds of Redhead ducks (scientific name Althea Americana).  Apparently they spend their winters down here and further south.


                                      TOTAL MILES TRAVELLED   692.3 miles
                                                          TOTAL DAYS  35


                                                                         

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
                  The Mighty Mississippi...  October 11 - 18, 2023                       Danny on the banks of the Mississippi River from both the north and south. The Mississippi River runs 2340 miles from Minneapolis, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.  The river starts in Lake Ithaca, Minnesota where you can walk across stones.  The Ojibway people named the river meaning big river.  From a navigation standpoint, it is broke up into the upper Mississippi (Minnesota to Cairo, Illinois) and lower (Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana ).  We will travel the Mississippi until we get to Cairo and turn on to the Ohio River.  While the Mississippi River has flooded before, the worst being 1993, the river is exceptionally low this year.  Last year was low and this year is worse.  According to the data accumulated and released October 16th, the river is...
Read more
Image
The Ohio River to the Cumberland River to  Cross the Finishing Line at Grand Rivers! October 18 - 19,  2023 Our traveling down the last 7.7 miles of the Mississippi River were uneventful.  Clear skies remained with us throughout the day.  At Cairo, Illinois (pronounced Karo, like the syrup), we turned onto the Ohio River.  At this point seen in the picture, it is considered the lowest point in Illinois.  At one time, Fort Defiance stood here in the Civil War.  There was a great deal of activity on the water comparable almost to St Louis.  Barges coming, going, and loading.  Not that Danny isn't but, definitely had to be vigilant in what was going on in front and on the sides of your boat.  Above we are turning off the Mississippi on to the Ohio River. Saw another casino no longer operating just pushed up into the shore.   We made it to the Olmstead lock and dam and they lifted The Other Woman and Beach House up 30 feet.  Beach ...
Read more
Image
Clearwater and St Petersburg, Florida... January 9, 2023 We talked with our fellow loopers before we left to pick up words of wisdom before we were off to St Petersburg.  I would have liked to go on "the inside" or intercoastal waterway but we went on "the outside" or the Gulf of Mexico.  There were a few shallow areas that concerned Danny on the intercostal.  I'm sure I would have seen more birds and wildlife on the inside but we did see this couple checking their stone crab pots in the Gulf.       This beautiful pink structure is the Don Cesar Resort where I had gone to a conference years ago. Just prior to turning into Tampa Bay, we came across a HUGE cargo ship,  we stayed back until it passed.  I got pictures as it came between our boat and Egmont Key.  I will talk about this Key later.  Our view from our slip at the St Petersburg Municipal Marina.  On our arrival into our slip, we met 2 young guys to the left of us.  When...
Read more