Last winter we went to Portugal for our winter trip (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/extended-trip-to-portugal-1711933/) , this winter we're going to our usual - Florida, but to a location we haven't been before, Panama City Beach.



This is what it looked at home when we left.

Our first stop was Dayton, Ohio.
The drive from Michigan to Ohio on I75 was straight forward and uneventful but somehow we arrived later than we had planned.

The National Museum of the USAF is definitely worth seeing for those that have an interest in military aviation.

The SR 71 is the crowning jewel of the entire collection in my opinion having seen it in flight - ageing myself .


SR 71

YF 22 notice person for size comparison

YF 23

Avro a failed attempt at a flight disk

The museum has a large variety including early airplanes, experimental airplanes, UAVs, missiles, ICBMs, space capsule from Appollo 15, flight simulators, etc.
The museum deserves a minimum of a full day to appreciate the collection.

Stayed at the nearby Springhill Suites which we enjoyed, clean , comfortable bed for a good night sleep.
Ate at Roosters, casual atmosphere, good chicken sandwiches, the waiter had a pleasant funny disposition, made us feel comfortable and welcome.

Thanks aulop for this trip report! I’m glad you included your stop in Ohio on the way south, a state I’ve enjoyed getting to know better in recent years.

Daniel _Williams
Thanks, it's going to be an ongoing report.

From Ohio we wanted to drive to Atlanta, Georgia but only made it to Knoxville, Tennessee due to stop and go traffic in Knoxville area.
Stayed at Hampton Inn, it was clean and comfortable, enjoyed our overnight.
Tried Steak and Shake for a quick bite, which we enjoyed.

Next morning we drove to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta unfortunately the parking lot was full , only those with prepaid parking were being allowed.
Drove around trying to find parking, all the lots were full, instead we saw a lot of homeless people ( it seems that every large city and some smaller ones that we visit has a homeless population).

Afterwards we decided to leave and try to visit the aquarium another time.
Leaving Atlanta the traffic come to a stop ( perhaps an accident) after a very slow stop and go we exited I75 at Locust Green, where we overnighted at another Hampton Inn that was clean and comfortable.
Ate at Shane's BBQ, it was ok.

Tip: if visiting the Georgia Aquarium purchase tickets AND parking for guaranteed entrance.

From Georgia we drove directly to Panama City Beach.
Panama City Beach has many hotels, rental apartment buildings and rental houses along the very long beach.


Our accommodation, road side view



Our view

Nice sunset on our first evening

Gets dark early so the pool is lighted for evening swims

Panama City Beach row of beachfront hotels and apartment buildings

Can you spot the building in the back? That's the difference between beachfront and ocean view

Row of beachfront homes, some are rentals

Some restaurants have beach patios for dining that offer a nice beach view, this one is Pineapple Willy's

Along the beach there are several beach accesses for those staying inland however we haven't seen public parking near the beach accesses

Public walkway to the beach

Public walkway to the beach, this one is part of Rick Seltzer park and has parking

Beach flag info

Sea creature washed ashore Sea cucumber? Sea slug?

Still don't know what this creature is

Small pen mussel intact

Full size pen muscle shell damaged

Jellyfish

Underside of damaged jellyfish

Colorful barnacle washed ashore

Todd Heredeen Theatre

We went to the Todd Heredeen Theatre for a dinner and show.
Met Todd and his wife Angel a few days before at the box office.
Very nice people, down to earth, friendly , made us feel welcomed.
The dinner and show consist of a fried chicken dinner with mash potatoes, gravy, green beans, bread, cupcake and soft drinks, it was actually quite delicious, the fried chicken was better than the big chains like KFC.
Todd and Angel put their heart into a great show from different artists, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Elvis.
Todd also interacted with audience with some jokes.
The band was good, quite impressed by the trumpet player and lead guitar.

Strongly recommend the show if you're in Panama City Beach.



Todd Heredeen Theatre

Inside the theatre

Decorations in the theater

The dinner is served semi buffet style

Todd and Angel Heredeen along with the band.

Unfortunately a tornado hit about a mile away from us, while we're ok others had their property severely damaged.
Fortunately no one was killed.


House lifted from foundation

Damage at trailer park

House damage

Commercial building damaged

Boat throwned onto the beach

Great photos! Thanks for sharing. I feel like I'm there!

FloridaLover7

Thank you for the positive comments, appreciate it.
We'll be in Florida for a while longer, I'll keep posting about it as we experience it.

Another fan here, looking forward to more.

Thanks for taking us along on your trip.

Brian_in_Charlotte

oldemalloy

Welcome aboard, hope my trip report will be helpful.

Ksowjanya5512

Thanks for the positive comments, appreciate it.

On a grey day we decided to do a day trip to nearby Seaside.
One of Seaside's claims to fame is the fact that the movie The Truman Show with Jim Carrey was mostly filmed in town.
On the way to Seaside we also stoped at Rosemary Beach, while the weather wasn't good for the beach, it was perfect for walking in town and appreciate the architecture.



Rosemary Beach, some of the architecture seems to have a European flavor

Rosemary Beach shops

Rosemary Beach fountain

Entrance into Rosemary Beach

Rosemary Beach road flanked by Palm trees



The iconic Seaside Piramid

Inside the Piramid

Seaside Beach

Seaside food trucks

Seaside post office

Seaside town interior

Seaside Paris cafe

Seaside white picket fence homes

Seaside interior park

Seaside park sculpture

Seaside Palm tree row on the main square

Supermarkets and fish markets

The main supermarkets that we use are Walmart, WinnDixie, Publix and Fresh Market.
There are also several fish markets, some with similar names, our favorite is Buddy Gandys, they have whole fish that they clean and fillet if requested, crabs, shrimp, scallops that they steam on request for a fee.
They also sell oysters.


Publix supermarket

WinnDixie supermarket

Fresh Market

Buddy Gandys our favorite fish market

Buddy Gandys fresh whole fish

Live blue crabs at Buddy Gandys

Buddy Gandys fresh caught shrimp, they have heads on or headless. We keep buying the large shrimp and Buddy steams it - delicious.

Whole shrimp steamed from Buddy Gandys

We eat the shrimp by itself or in our version of seafood pasta. Fettuccine, Marinara sauce, Shrimp topped with Parmesan cheese and Green Onions.

Doesn't get much better than this

Oh fresh head on shrimp. Get some and google for a recipe for Louisiana BBQ shrimp--preferably a sheet pan recipe which makes it super easy. You will never look back on a steamed shrimp!! Great pics. The seafood market is wonderful.

Gretchen

Thank you for your suggestion, I'm going to look for the recipe.
Buddy's seafood market told me that due to the cold water some fish are further south until the water warms up, but we're having seafood feasts with what's available.

Panama City Beach has several several attractions/activities for non beach days and beach stores if you forgot your beach supplies.


Pirate themed mini golf

Pirate themed mini golf

Pirate themed mini golf

Animal themed mini golf

Go karts

Rollercoaster



Themed beach stores if you forgot your beach supplies

Interesting store entrance

Another beach day with mixed weather, we took a relaxing walk on the beach and a day trip to Port St. Joe - where I hoped to see the shrimp boats with their long "arms" but none were in port.


PCB beach

PCB beach

" Homos Detectus "


Sand abrasion sculpted this piece of black wood

PCB beach mini sand cliff

This time of year is the off season, no lifeguards, their huts are stored inland

As we drove to Port St Joe we passed by Tyndall AFB, the road is somewhat desolate


Jet streaks from Tyndall AFB practicing


Mexico beach, Florida

Mexico beach was severely damaged by a hurricane some years back but most of the town is rebuilt


Mexico beach house on stilts, common feature in Florida's coastal areas

Mexico beach house rebuilding

Mexico beach house stilt remains

Finished our day back at PCB