Saturday in Panama City Beach

Sadly, our time on the gulf is winding down and we decided to leave the car parked and just enjoy the condo and the beach, despite the chillier than normal weather.

Hey, it still beats the 20 degree wind chills we had at home.

One of the ways we decided to save money was to eat breakfast in.

Yes, this is a frozen breakfast croissant.

And yes, it certainly lacks in the flavor and texture department, no matter what that smiling sun on the commercials will tell you, but when you have this kind of a view while eating this?

Priceless.

The entire time we were down here the Beach Warning Flags were at Medium Hazard, which means there are moderate surf and/or currents.

As in many things, yellow means caution.



The seagulls seem rather used to the human invaders.




Saturday saw cloudier, windier weather and one could clearly see currents in the gulf.

It's that time again, folks.

Time to head down to the beach to await the sunset.

Click on the photograph to see the sightseeing helicopter better.

Apparently sunset means good fishing because the pelicans were busy getting their dinners.

We just had to laugh at their landings.

Yes, I know that they do that in order to get their food, but it's very funny to watch.

The surf was up just a bit today.

And now I will let you enjoy the show.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words.

I don't think a thousand and one words could sufficiently convey just how beautiful this experience was.

Truly this evening's sunset was better than the past two evenings combined.






After sunset, we decided to return to Sharky's Beach Club & Restaurant that was just across the street.

After all, the Foodie Daughter did have homework and studying to do still.

Once again we ordered the Caribbean Fritters as an appetizer.

Then we started on our entrees.

My dinner started out with the house salad.

I ordered the Raspberry-Poppy seed Dressing for my salad.

My husband ordered the Grouper Martinique

which was described as being "A flaky fillet of Grouper stuffed with our own special crab meat stuffing (redundant much?), broiled to perfection & topped with a Garlic Lemon Butter sauce."

Gotta love that random Capitalization.

The husband did enjoy his meal very much.

The Foodie Daughter ordered a basket of fried shrimp.

She once again enjoyed the freedom to be able to eat shrimp without having to worry about endangering her boyfriend's health.

And I?

Well, I decided to be adventurous, but I also wanted to hedge my bets as it were, in case I really hated this new food.

After reading Rosie Hawthorne's many loving tributes to the lowly oyster, I was determined to try this homely little critter.

Thus, I ordered the Island Trio which the menu decreed: "Fried or broiled Gulf shrimp, bay scallops & oysters make this a local favorite."

Obviously I chose to have these fried as I was really worried about those oysters.

The verdict?

Well, I quickly learned that oysters are not something that one takes a bite out of and then looks at.

Just. Don't. Do. It.

Some things are better left unknown.

However, the oysters ended up being my favorite thing on the platter and the Gulf shrimp were my least favorite.

In the end, there was just too much food here.

I really wasn't expecting enough food to feed all the people on my floor of the condo.

Really.

There must have been over a dozen shrimp, a couple dozen bay scallops and over a dozen oysters.

Who could possibly eat this much in one sitting?

Sadly, not this girl, and as this was our last night down here, I couldn't take any with me for later.

And that was a shame, my friends.

The restaurant has an aquarium with some friendly fish.

See what I mean?