...Off to Alabama (for a wedding)

We're getting cleaned up. Taking showers and soothing sunburned shoulders. Hanging out at the beach for a few days is a wonderful simple pleasure. If there was a way to bottle up the seabreeze and sunshine combination, it would make billions.

I'm not normally the kind of guy that likes to sit around and cook myself in the hot sun. Normally, when I've done this in the past, it's involved a towel on the sand (pretty uncomfortable to me), and no umbrella. Personally, not my idea of a good time. From now on, because now I know, a beach chair and umbrella will be mandatory accouterments. It's amazing how some shade and comfy seating can change the whole experience.

I know I said it earlier, but I'm amazed by the qualities that Panama City possesses. It reminds me of Pinellas County when I grew up in the 70s. Waterparks, Putt Putt golf, go-carts, and great seafood. It seems to me that all these things have abandoned St. Pete, for big hotels and condos, and more big hotels and condos.

Unfortunately, I'm seeing much bigger hotels and condo projects here. If you're interested in visiting this area, you may not want to wait too long, and unless your 21 and under, I would avoid Spring Break in these parts.

Oh....going back to the seafood thing. I highly recommend Bayou Bills, and my new favorite low key fish market, Buddy's Seafood Market - check out their MySpace site at: myspace.com/buddysseafoodmarket - I wish St. Pete had a place like this one. If you know of one, let me know! These guys steam some spicy shrimp that will knock your socks off!!





As the title indicates, we are headed to Alabama for Donna's cousin's wedding. This ceremony will happen in a 100 year old church that Donna's parents and other local folks have refurbished and renovated. They pooled all their money together, and saved this historical landmark. I'll see if I can post some pictures of the church.

The reception will be outdoors on Donna's parent's property near the pond. Donna's Dad created the pond himself, 14 acres in all. Needless to say, he owns and operates some heavy machinery. The pond is stocked with plenty of fish, which makes it a great place to catch dinner, and have a few cold beers...



...Back to the wedding. I understand that there will be a large tent, and maybe even hayrides. I'll let you know, and hope to post some pictures and videos soon.

Have a great weekend!

~Frank

Panama City

Hope all is well with everyone. We're up in Panama City (Florida this time), visiting with Donna's sister Kelly, and her family (Bart, Christopher & Tyler). We are staying on the beach, in Bart's family's home, which is wonderful. I've never been to Panama City (even though I've lived here in Florida most of my life). I wish I would have come sooner - especially for Spring Break in my younger years. The water and the sand here rival some of the beaches we've been to in the Caribbean.

There's a lot of new development up this way. New condos, hotels, large shopping/entertainment centers. If I had to guess, this place is setting itself up for a pretty nice Casino destination when legalized gambling comes to Florida. Notice I said "when", not "if". Here's some pictures of the beach.





Anthony is having a great time, and taking in all the sunshine. On Saturday we'll be heading up to Alabama to attend a wedding.

A great rainy day!

It's been awhile since we've had the pleasure of a nice rainy day. Normally, I am not a big fan of rainy weather, especially on a weekend, but today is different. Our area has needed a good down pour to help replenish our water supplies, and freshen up the lawns and plants, etc., and there's no time like the present! It's a bit concerning, however, to think that we're having a Tropical Storm on the first day of hurricane season.I hope its not a precursor to a year of bad weather. Here's hoping we get just the amount of rain we need, and avoid any crazy hurricanes this year! Below is some video I took earlier this morning of our weather around 9:00 a.m:



Now for some odds and ends. Over the past couple of weeks, we've had some fun. Anthony and I went to the mall to buy Donna a Mother's Day present. To Anthony's surprise, there was a clown there making all kinds of balloon animals, etc., and he was lucky enough to get his favorite, a "Spiderman" balloon. Check it out!



Anthony has also started his part in doing some of the household chores. He gets to help wash the cars. But as you can see, he loves washing his car the most!



Jim's 36th Birthday

Last weekend Jim turned 36, and we took him out to Flemings Steakhouse in Tampa. It was a great time, and I must say, if you haven't been to this place, it's one of the better steakhouses in the Tampa Bay area. Everything from the appetizers to the famous Lava cake dessert was delicious! The service was great too! Happy Birthday Jim!



Since the weather last weekend was much nicer and warm, we enjoyed the pool a bit. Anthony's become a pretty good swimmer, and now he's working on his diving skills. Here's Aquaman himself.



As you can probably tell, I enjoy rainy days for more reasons than the water they bring. It gives me some time to sit back, relax, and look back at some of the things we've done and share them with you on the blog. It's been fun to look back at some of the old blogs, and see what we did a year ago, or so, and actually have some photos and video to look at.

Speaking of videos. Here's our version of Jaws we shot in the pool -- hope you enjoy it!



Looks like the weather is improving a bit outside, so I'll be checking my "honeydo"list to see if Donna has anything she needs me to work on. I hope all of you have a fun and safe weekend!

~Frank