Best Life

We have made it to Decatur, Alabama.  And what a road trip that was!  We chose back roads for most of the drive.  Everything was green. there were plenty of hills (some even had warning signs that the hill blocked the view of the road so - HINT - be careful) and strange sightings.  We even saw a guy changing his gas price sign while wearing a holstered gun.  I guess you never know when you might need it!  Par for the course down here.  We also noticed the only out of state plates were from Tennessee.  Not a tourist hot spot for sure! Towns came with names unlike any I had ever heard - Arkadelphia, Smoke Rise, Sweet Gum Head, Opp.  And the commercials!  A definite red state.  Every politician had a gun or rifle in hand and some even shot at objects.  Very, very red.                                  In all fairness these girls were...

  Barely 70 degrees with a wind chill in the mid 50s - we essentially had the beach to ourselves this morning.  A few kids in the water with parents huddled in blankets.  Some dog owners.  Siri had no rain predicted but I had my doubts.  Our destination - the pier just over a mile down the beach. The pier - super crowded with very dedicated people fishing.  The wind was even stronger up high and most were wearing multiple layers.  We didn't stay long. Across from the pier is the tourist trap - The Pier Park.  Surf shops, restaurants, candy stores and a ferris wheel.  There were more people wandering than I would have guessed in the cold, and now drizzling rain.  Being early Sunday morning though many shops were not even open yet. A lazy afternoon watching movies since even the heated pool could not entice us. Another brilliant sunset on our last night in Panama City Beach. The plan - tomorrow we start the inland drive towards Tennessee....

  We ended the day by sitting poolside watching the sun set and listening to LIVE music!  Pretty cool.  No swimming though since the heated pool was COLD!  What's up with that!  Back to the room for hot showers.  Wait.  No water!  What?!?  Then my phone goes wonky and I cannot send messages and my hotspot doesn't work.  What is happening? My phone has been rebooted and seems to be okay.  Still no water.  UGH! (Water back on by 8pm!) This morning we went to Man Of The Sea Museum.  Cool stuff!  Having just learned to scuba dive last year, I find it amazing that anyone would be a guinea pig for this equipment!                                                                      Creepy doll like mannequins!    ...

 Because we had hours to kill until check in at our next stop, I planned our morning route meticulously.  The plan was to follow coastal route 98 through to our destination.  First stop - Carrabelle and The World's Smallest Police Station.  So small we drove by twice before managing a photo! Then Crooked River Lighthouse where the "museum" was smaller than the condo we stayed in and warranted a pass for us. Cape San Blas Lighthouse in Port St Joe.  Cute little town where we managed to walk a bit around a boat ramp.  (With nice clean bathrooms!) Lots of bridges over the many lagoons and bays. Then a stop at Windmark Beach.  Nice walkway initially. Then a very long and hot path to the gulf. It had nice soft, white sand with only a couple people but it was HOT with no shade anywhere.  I let Paul sleep for an hour while I wandered. And then we crossed the time zone.  What?!?  So with all my meticulous planning - we were too early for check i...