PANAMA CITY - BEAUTIFUL WHITE SAND BEACHES

                                                                                     

                                                Shell Island- out in the bay       
         

Lots of giant souvenir beach stores

A busy place-  snow birds and the spring breakers.

The spring breakers all hung out at basicly one area of the beach.  There were still miles of beach totally empty.

Still haven't been in the water.  Neither the air or the water are warm enough.

                                                                     

channel markers all over the bay - really shallow outside them

bat ray next to the boat

They all have the same kind  and color of boat!

Met our very first loopers since we started back  6 weeks ago. We have been traveling alone this whole time. They left their boat card on our boat – and invited us over for docktails.  Fun to be “in the loop” again!

                                                                  

Took the dinghy over to Shell Island for the afternoon.  This is a beautiful sandbar in the middle of the bay with trees and vegetation on it. I didn’t take any shells home that had live crabs in them –  though I wanted to! Bill told me I have to go buy those shells at the store.

                                                                  

The bay was  root beer brown color. It looked like red tide. Really disgusting!  The rivers and streams flooded so much from all the rain that the runoff changed the bay color.  It is from all the pine needles and dirt.  It happens every year, but this year it is especially bad we were told. Last summer it stayed in the bay all summer.  Out in the Gulf, away from the bay and rivers feeding into it, the water was normal.
                                                            

brown streams feeding into the bay

This place gets a lot of rain and storms!  Last June and July they had 80 inches of rain!!!  Normally they get 60 inches a year.

Rode our bikes all over the place.  Bill rode 24 miles round trip finding his fuel filters to change the engine oil. I rode a different direction around the beaches.

Bill sent all day changing the engine oil on one engine.  He's very relieved to have it done! 

                                                                   

Took the dingy across the bay to “Schooners”, best ever locals restaurant/bar and had a great time.  It got dark too fast and we had to dinghy back across the bay (a long way!) through the channel markers by one waterproof flashlight. (thanks Bob H.  for the Xmas present!)