When we went to Georgia in March, all of you know that we had a big celebration for Mema (my grandma). We are big on birthday celebrations in the Nomad Family. But, turning 90 kicked it up a notch.
Some of you may know this and others may not, but…Mama Nomad and I love the beach! She loves to sit on it and I love to play on it. When we visit family in Southwest Georgia, we are 2 to 3 hours away from a beach in Florida. One of my sisters, JJ, was staying in a condo that belongs to our parents. She had my nephews with her and my boys have a big time when they are with their cousins. So, we could not resist and had to jaunt down to Panama City.
We left most of our gear in Georgia, grabbed a few items and went southern bound. A leisurely drive through the South Georgia countryside, a stop off for some chicken along the way and a short drive into Florida had us arriving at our destination. We had barely grabbed our gear out of Ebony and sat it down in the condo before The Nomad boys and their cousins were in the pool and making some noise. Come on…5 boys…a pool…warm weather…noise is a foregone conclusion. But they had a big time while Mama Nomad, Sis and I had cocktails on the balcony. Relaxation is all I can say about that.
The next morning, we all grabbed some breakfast. JJ was kind enough to cook up a feast for us. Then we were out the door on the way to the beach. We did a detour for about an hour to a local shop to pick up some new swim trunks and t-shirts. Great little shop where you walk through a shark’s mouth to get inside.
Now, fully prepared, we went to a private beach, setup our beach chairs and plopped our butts down. The boys, all of them, went off doing what boys do on the beach. JJ, Mama Nomad and I just sat there enjoying the sun, surf and scenery. Most of the time I am up playing and swimming. This time all I had on the brain was relaxation.
We stayed there long enough to play, eat lunch and play some more. But, sadly, The Nomads had to get back to Georgia and we were northern bound the next day. However, before we departed we had to eat due to pretty big appetites all around. Fired up Yelp and found a family favorite (type of food) within a few miles from us. In downtown Panama City there is a little hole in the wall called Manila To Go. It serves Filipino food. And let me tell you, it was absolutely delicious. Reminded me of the food I ate in the Philippines. It was so good, we ordered seconds. Definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.
You will read about this in a future post, but, within 4 days time we were knee-deep in snow in Northern Wisconsin! Imagine that…shorts and flip-flops on a beach to winter jackets and boots in the snow in one week. The crazy lives of Nomads. Safe Travels!
