I am back from vacation. Contrary to what we were told on the phone, our condo did not have Internet access.

[RANT]
Technically it did have Internet access. By this I mean if you plug your modem cable into the phone jack on the wall in the kitchen, and you already have a local ISP. That is not what I expected when I was told they had Internet access.
[/RANT]

We stayed in Panama City Beach. Compared to the Destin area, this place is pretty run down. Perhaps I should take that back. The Destin area probably doesn't exist anymore. There is a lot of new construction going on right now. I suspect a year or two out this will be a very nice/new/popular area.

We stayed at a resort called Edge Water. Our room was on the tenth floor of Tower I. There were three towers. The view looked out over a very large lagoon style pool as well as the beach.

I have decided that I prefer staying in a building that is not quite so big. The condo's we normally visit in Fort Walton are just about right. With the bigger resort you have to deal with more people, more cars, etc.

While we were there we played on the beach, and in the pool. We also played mini-golf and rode go-carts. A trip to an arcade was also mandatory so that ski-ball and wac-a-mole could be enjoyed. The guy who came up with the idea for games dispensing tickets to be traded in for trinkets was a genius. He should also be hung.

We have worked out a great plan for riding go-carts. Because the kids are too small to drive we get the two seater carts. The real fun is not in leading but in passing. While racing, as soon as we pass, we move to the outside lane. This allows us to pass 3 or 4 times per laps. The kids love it because there is lots of action. The cars behind us can't figure out what we are doing. Why would anyone leave the line intentionally? The trick is to get back to the inside ASAP so the next car back doesn't pass you also.

We dined at three restaurants while in Panama City Beach. Each night we went out early, about 5:30 pm, to beat the crowds. We were successfull with this strategy as we never had to wait for a table. There was usually a line though be the time we left.

The first was called Sharky's. We sat outside. The food was decent but I didn't really care for the green plastic table. I had a broiled seafood platter that reminded me of butter flavored rubber. The kids had popcorn shrimp. It was very good. Ginger had the seafood alfredo. It was very good. From this I learned while in Rome, eat like the Romans. No more broiled seafood for me. Bring me the fried stuff.

The second night we went to Captain Andersons. This place was recommended to us and was huge. We sat inside here. This time I had the fried seafood platter. This is the obvious choice of someone who doesn't want to make a decision. Jordan had popcorn shrimp again. He was shocked to discover that they still had the tails on them. The tails are a bit crunchy. I thought popcorn shrimp always had the tails removed. Brianna had Mac&Cheese caught fresh in the gulf that very day. The cocktail sauce was very good here. Plenty of horseradish in it.

The third night we visited Pineapple Willies. We dined outside here. The kids both had popcorn shrimp, again with the tails still attached. I had shrimp, fried. Ginger had BBQ ribs.

Night four, back to Sharky's. It was very windy so we chose to eat inside. This time I had the seafood alfredo, the kids had the popcorn shrimp, no tails, and Ginger had the fried seafood platter. We both nearly broke a tooth on a hush puppy.

All of these were definitely tourist traps complete with plastic souvenir cups and beach buckets. Of the three I prefered Captain Anderson's the most and Sharky's the least. I think Ginger's preference was just the opposite. I felt the service, food quality, and atmosphere were all superior at Captain Anderson's.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home. For reference, I think the service and food quality here were on par with Captain Anderson's. What does that tell you?

I am glad to be home.