In late June, we made our annual pilgrimage to Panama City Beach, Florida with Laura’s parents, sister, and her brother and his family.  The trip mainly consists of hanging out at the beach and pool and eating, so it’ll be an abbreviated report with pictures of the highlights!

Sunday June 23

We got up early and flew down to Panama City Beach on Delta.  We had lunch at The Craft Bar, which has one of my favorite salads (seared tuna), and always a good tap list. Once arriving to the condo and greeting all of Laura’s family, the afternoon and evening were spend at the pool and on the beach.  We got family photos as the sun was starting to set.

Monday June 24

After a four mile walk on the beach and hanging out with the family a bit, I headed over to Hunt’s Oyster Bar in Panama City for a couple dozen raw and fried green tomatoes. Tasty meal!  We hung out on the beach and at the pool most of the afternoon, and had pizza for dinner.  We also celebrated Linley’s birthday, who turned six that day.  We had cupcakes and she opened gifts.  We ended the day with a nighttime beach walk.

Tuesday June 25

I started out early driving around a bit, and had a delicious and healthy smoothie bowl and one of my favorite places in town, Finn’s Island Grub.  After that, I headed to St Andrew’s State Park, where I rented a kayak for a couple hours.  I first paddled around in the lagoon, but soon headed out toward the gulf after seeing sharks in the lagoon!  Lunch was dumplings and gimbap (similar to sushi) at a Korean place I’d visited previously.  After a quick beer pickup at a local store, I spent the rest of the day with the family back at the condo, and finished with a grilled tuna BLT and a couple tasty beers at Fish Ale Taphouse with the whole gang.

Wednesday June 26

Not much happened this day besides napping and eating.  Lunch was solo at Holi Indian Grill in Panama City, where I had lamb samosas and gobi Manchurian (fried cauliflower with spicy sauce).  Dinner was Red Robin with just our family, and as I napped plenty, I was up late and went out after everyone was in bed for a late night meal at Waffle House and beers at The Corner Pocket & Craft Beer Emporium in Panama City.

Thursday June 27

After a lazy morning and lunch in the condo, I ventured out solo to the best brewery in the area, Idyll Hounds, about 30 minutes away.  As soon as I returned, the whole gang headed to J Michael’s for an early dinner.  It’s a very popular seafood joint that we all like that, as do many other people, so getting there early meant no wait.  I had a fried seafood platter which was delicious.  We got some obligatory annual pictures of the girls (and me) being eaten by the shark outside.  After a stop for ice cream for the girls on the way home, we spent the rest of the evening at the condo.

Friday June 28

Laura’s dad had wanted to take Nala to a nearby zoo – ZooWorld Zoological and Botanical Conservatory, to pet a sloth, one of her many obsessions.  So he, Laura, myself, and all three girls headed there, a few minutes from the condo, after breakfast.  They all had a great time seeing all the animals, and Nala was thrilled with having a close encounter with the sloth.  For lunch, I grabbed a seared tuna crunch wrap and ceviche to pair with a beer back at the condo, and spend the afternoon on the beach with the girl, who got to go on a scavenger hunt that Laura and her sister set up.   We spent the evening packing up for our departure the next morning.

Saturday June 29

Not a year goes by that we don’t have trouble either getting to or from Florida, and this year was no exception.  There weren’t enough seats on the first flight to Atlanta for us, but we had lunch while waiting for the second and all got seats on it.  Flight to Indy had gone to the crapper, so we ended up flying to Louisville and renting a car to get home.  Positives that came out of this was that it was a beautiful evening, we passed a car on I-65 that had a Santa in both the driver’s and passenger’s seat, and we stopped at one of our favorite places for beer and pizza, 450 North Brewing in Columbus, Indiana.  Overall, not a bad trip, but maybe next year we’ll buy tickets.