Monday, November 21, 2011

Monday, November 21, 2011

Photos added (11/22/11).
Today was a Florida Chamber of Commerce day--the sky was blue and the temp was already at 69 degrees when I got up at 6:15.  Eventually it got up to 81 degrees.  Just perfect!

We decided to take the dinghy over to Panama City.  Joe did a scouting run first while I did some house boatkeeping tasks.  He picked up a map of the area and ice for our cooler as well as checking out "Bayou Joe's" on the waterfront.  It's a local dive...you know, as in "Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives".

After he got back we had an early lunch, did a couple more things, then I got to ride down to the swim platform on the davit,

and we headed to town in the dinghy. 
















We went to Bayou Joe's first and pulled right up to the covered seating area with its open walls, you can see the tables and people in this photo.  The other customers watched as we tied the dinghy to the pylons that hold up the front of the restaurant, and I handed my crutches to Joe who had already climbed inside.  I climbed up on the inflated "tube" part of the dinghy, turned around and sat on the deck of the restaurant, then swung my legs up onto the floor, got my knees under me, and stood up with some help from Joe.  As Joe handed me my crutches, I noticed that all these other customers were watching us, so I smiled, spread out my arms, and said "TA-DA!!" It must have been pretty comical watching the whole process, and one of the women there said she felt like she should applaud after seeing the effort that went into my getting out of the boat and up to the seating area.  =0)
Since we had already eaten lunch we only intended to have a beer, but we ended up each having two beers and an appetizer.  While we were enjoying the excellent onion "strings" that were enough for 4 people, we noticed that many of the patrons were locals--always a good sign.  We could tell they were locals because of the ID tags from various businesses that we saw them wearing.  Reading the menu made my mouth water and wish that we hadn't already eaten lunch.  I'd especially like to go back and try this dessert--"Drunk & Ugly – Gently stewed peaches in a splash of rum topped with a cheesecake topping and baked in a graham cracker crust…served warm with ice cream…may not look pretty but it's to die for!!! $6.99"   Oh, and their LandShark on tap is only $2.00 for a big frosty mug!!  We'll certainly be making this place a regular stop when we're in the area.

Panama City has a good bus system that runs from the city hall which is located right by the municipal marina through














the historic downtown shopping area and out to the community college and shopping malls.  We had hoped to use it today to get some supplies, but we stayed too long at Bayou Joe's and we wanted to get back to the boat before dark.  Now that we know the routes and bus numbers, we're going back tomorrow to pick up groceries and the device I need for transferring our photos from the camera to the PC.





We got back to Paradise and sat on the aft deck having happy hour and relaxing until it was time to make dinner.
Air force jets fly over all the time during the day--they're pretty fast and pretty loud, but it's fun to watch them.




We will stay here until Wednesday morning, when we leave for Apalachicola.

1 comment:

  1. MaryJo and Joe-

    I just finished reading your blog,I really enjoyed it and all of the pictures. Sounds like you are having a wonderful adventure! Can't wait for more installments.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you both,

    Jean Bellecourt
    PS
    That poor pelican!

    ReplyDelete