So... we just got back from our vacation in beautiful Panama City Beach. But let me start from the beginning (or what I think is the beginning).
About 2 years ago, we bought a timeshare via Bluegreen. Their system works with points instead of a set week in the year at a set resort that you can exchange or whatnot. Anyway, it's a good deal. We had not used the points in the past years but had accumulated them. Well, this year, we used some points for a mini trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, for my tribe sister's wedding... and we fell madly in love with our timeshare thing. And, actually, earlier than that, I checked into going to Florida for my birthday, which didn't work (because there was no availability as it was too close to the date) and then looked into potentially going to Florida for Jeff's birthday, which was the week of Thanksgiving (and that was available). So, after seeing how awesome the resort was in Pigeon Forge, we were even more excited about going to Florida!
Now, Jeff's birthday was going to happen while we were in Flordia so I decided to throw him a surprise birthday party since the last surprise birthday party was 10 years ago and this was a round age number (I won't mention what age). I used a web site (evite.com) for the invites so that the responses would not come to my e-mail address and there was less chance for Jeff to figure it out. I didn't plan much until like the week of the party. We did manage to surprise Jeff, which is a feat in itself. It was a great party! Lots of friends! And, for the record, our house has many things that need improvement but one thing that is way awesome is that there were lots of people yet it didn't feel crowded! Sweet!
Now, at the party, I drank too much so I was somewhat drunk. I'm sorry for the people who had to see me in that state. Of course, the next morning, it was painful to get up and get ready to leave for Florida with like a 12 to 13-hour drive ahead of me. Ow! I ended up forgetting a lot of things, most of which could be bought, thankfully.
Interestingly, driving wasn't as bad as I thought that it was going to be! But lemme tell you that Alabama is a hell of a big state! The thing is that, to get to Panama City Beach, we drove on I-65 S for a looooooooooooooooong time. So, in reality, we drove somewhat southwest... meaning that we had to drive southeast at one point, which is what we did while in Alabama. Per Mapquest, we had to take US-231 S around Montgomery AL to do that. Well, a US road is not a highway... so we had to drive through every freakin' little town and, of course, while in those towns, the speed limit was lower.
Towards the end of the trip, it felt like we were really not going where we were supposed to. And then we got to Panama City proper and it started to look like a town... and then we had to drive over a bridge and, tada!, here were the big hotels! Oh... My... God... Huge tower hotels/resorts. Ours wasn't too big.
We checked into our hotel and then we went to our room. Man, that room looked exactly and I mean EXACTLY like it did on the web site. One thing that's for sure with Bluegreen (so far, meaning that it's 2 in 2 now) is that they don't pretty up the pictures: what you see on their web sites or brochures is really what you get. So if you want to see what our room looked like, you can go to www.bluegreenonline.com/explor...il.aspx then click "photos". We didn't have a corner room so the lay out is slightly different but not by much.
While in Panama City Beach, we did nothing. Really, nothing. Well, we went to the gym twice and took daily walks on the beach. We did go in the ocean nearly every day, if only to wet our toes. I didn't practice any belly dancing. I guess that maybe I needed a full break. I did do yoga once. The meditation that I did with the waves as background noise was awesome! The first few days were rather cold but there was no rain so we could still walk and enjoy the beach. Bottom line, it was much better than if it had rained.
That beach is really awesome. On the pic, you can see the white sand. It has the texture of flour. It was really nice. And the water is turquoise and so clear! We did like the fact that it was not the uber high touristic season. We don't like crowds all too much so that was perfect. We're thinking of going back next year, probably around the same time.
Of course, I didn't want to come back from my vacation! I wanted to stay there. *sigh*
We got back in Indy around 1 am in the night from Saturday to Sunday.
So, yesterday, I played lots of World of Warcraft. Raquy and the Cavemen were playing in a bar not far from our house. I didn't feel like going: I felt rather antisocial. I think that I was not really ready to talk to people. I was all decided to stay home and not go to the show but then Jeff asked me enough times whether I was going to regret it and he nudged me and so I decided to go. Of course I was happy with my decision.
It was so nice to see many people that I know and that I could tell them that I would rather be in Panama City Beach still instead of Indianapolis and they hugged me and said that they understood. I (heart) the Il Troubadore guys and Dale! Thanks for the hugs! I needed them!
Oh and thanks Dale for the comments on me slimming down. I really needed to hear that!
So Raquy and the Cavemen gave an awesome show, as usual. My only complaint is that I wished that they would have played for longer!
Oh and I squeeled again! (I tend to do that when I'm happy and excited. No, wait... that didn't come out right! lol) When Liron announced that they were going to do an encore and it was going to be "Nubian", I squeeled because that was the drum solo that we did for the RenFaire. So, of course, I danced the choreography because there was no point for me to attempt doing anything else: that is what my body was going to want to do because it's in body memory now! lol But then they modified it so I went in improv mode then. And, man, my shimmy has really improved! Jen had told me that it had but I didn't see it in the mirror. I did feel it last night, though.
And, what's with me and getting pushed into a corner when there is open dancing? That happens nearly every single time and happened again last night. Thankfully, I know lots of moves that I can do pretty much in place and while turning in a small space and I can have my arms high and low... I maximized my little space. ;o)
So I'm now back at work and it sucks. I hoped that the vacation would perk me up for work but it doesn't seem like it did. I have theories as to why I don't like my work right now but I'm not sure if they are right and, most importantly, I don't know what to do to get back into my usually chirpy mood for work. I shall ponder on that.
Oh, btw, it's crazy to think that, in about 3 to 4 weeks, we will be knee deep in snow when, last week, we had our toes in the sand! *sigh*
Comments I had received
From Alhena:
Wow! What fun! I <3 reading your blog! *hugs*
From Amanda:
Sounds like soooo much fun!
From Stella:
It looks so beautiful there. I can see why you would want to stay. D. and I thought you looked slimmer too. Hugs, S.
From me:
Oh yeah it was all a great time! And thanks S. and D. for noticing my change in shape! It's so good to hear that my efforts are showing!
From Haifa:
Sounds like you had a fantastic time! Yay for warm weather!!!
From Akilah:
*g* I used to live in Fort Walton Beach...about an hour's drive from PCB. And I did my undergrad in Troy, Al...about an hour's drive from Montgomery. It is very lovely down there. I have an aunt and uncle who live in PCB. You picked a good time to go down there because in the summer, it is super crowded. You may not believe this, but I actually prefer living up north! Most of my teenaged/early college jobs were in the service industry (read: waitress/dishwasher) and that turned me off to the whole tourist-trap thing. But if you can time it right, the beach is one of the best places to be. If you guys make it back there and you like flying kites, give it a try. There's always a breeze on the beach.
From Molly:
Oh that sounds like so much fun! Reminds me how badly I need a vacation! I'm glad you had a great time.
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