We all take for granted what we see every day. And after living in a vacation town for more than a decade, it’s fun to visit other places and ask the locals there about what they enjoy and how they like being in a vacation destination. Believe me; I’ve heard some funny stories.
So if you’re talking to one of us locals here, remind them how lucky they have it. I remember talking to my brother-in-law in Maine one winter and he just got done shoveling the snow off his roof. HIS ROOF! I moved away when I got tired of shoveling my sidewalks! Cuz gets shaky on a six foot ladder!
I’ve spoken to people who have traveled all over the world and they tell me that nobody has our beaches beat here on the Emerald Coast. I can certainly believe that. I used to go the Jersey shore growing up and the sands of the Atlantic, even in Florida, are brownish and the water color just doesn’t pop like the Gulf of Mexico here.
Fall is beautiful in Panama City Beach. My favorite time of the year. The sun comes up in the eastern part of the gulf and sets down in the western part creating some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life. I normally bring my Dad down in October. They have to pry him out of his recliner and dust him off. But we send him home refreshed and with a farmers tan. He brags to his friends about how nice a view of the golf course he has in my back yard. I like to call my backyard “Cuz’s Forth Hole and Grill”. It’s pretty convenient too. If you’re in the pool and you run out of beer, you can always wave down the beverage cart girl… “YO! Budweiser! And a Bloody Mary for the Lady!”
One consolation prize for missing out on actually getting on the beach itself is all the water front restaurants we have to choose from. It’s fun taking Dad out to eat. He is the only guy I know that can get mayo on the back of his ear when he eats a sandwich! Amazing! And I always enjoy his goto line when he doesn’t hear what you said… “Your what hurts???”
Sometimes I’ll take a stroll through Pier Park in Panama City Beach and hit my two favorite places: the Crocs Store and Buffalo Wild Wings. Ain’t nothing better than comfortable feet, some hot wings and cold beer! I’ll catch a football game and Mrs. Cuz and I will walk over to the Pier to watch that wonderful sunset. Love the aroma of the salt air!
Occasionally, we will finally brave the beach. I love the days the gulf is like a sheet of glass. It’s so quiet and you can see the bottom. Every once in a while a school of fish or baby sting rays will go by. Finding shells is so much easier than trying to dig with the waves pounding your forehead into the sand. Plus in my case, body surfing is a no-no. Gulf World winds up gets too many phone calls about a whale in distress. Guess I got to switch to lite beer when I’m downing those wings!
On second thought, we should probably just sit on the beach chairs and enjoy our own little Corona commercial. Hey Lisa, pass me a beer!
