AT BROTHER TOM'S AT PANAMA CITY BEACH



TOM, JEAN AND BOB - 3 Crane sibs

Linda & Bob with Tom's dog Zoey

Large alligator on island in St. Andrew State Park

Along a trail in the park

Lots of surfers waiting for the perfect wave.

Around the break-water to the left is the entrance to the bay from the gulf.

Nice beach.  Notice the kite-boarder to the right.

2011 Mon. March 7

Relaxing morning, lunch here, then we went to get groceries at the Winn-Dixie. After unloading them, we went to an outdoor mall called Destin Commons. It reminds us of the Coconut Point mall in Ft. Myers (except on a much smaller scale) in the sense that it has a street down the middle of the stores making it like the good old days in a small town. I think this mall will take the place of Celebration, with a similar feel, but not quite as nice. And it has a Starbucks! Yeah! We both had hot tea today and a scone, and we sat outside in the sun and watched the people go by. I notice one lady get up from a table and leave her cell phone behind. Then, when she came out of the store, she went to a bench. She was looking through her purse for something, so I got the phone and took it to her. She was very, very appreciative and explained, with tears in her eyes, that she had just received some bad news, so her mind was elsewhere.
We spent lots of time at a Books-a-Million store. It’s just like the big Barnes & Noble, etc., and has a nice snack place with some soft chairs (but no Starbucks!). Lots of magazines also, along with games, etc. Home for supper.


FL WEATHER: High 61, low 45. Cool but sunny all day, more pleasant than yesterday.

FL NEWS: Spring breakers not afraid to get their hands dirty
More than 40 students visiting the area from Illinois State University got their hands a little dirty on their first full day in the area. The group is part of a wave of students that have opted to spend their spring break helping the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance create oyster reefs in Choctawhatchee Bay. “This is just our little help in the big effort,” said junior Katie Zaleski as she gestured toward her peers. Armed with shovels, gloves and mesh bags, the group dug into a mound of fossilized oyster shells stacked by the water at Boat Marina on U.S. Highway 98 in Fort Walton Beach. The Illinois State students broke into groups to accomplish the task. Some people were holding the bags open while others shoveled in the shells and another group carried the bags onto a waiting boat that was going out to the artificial reef location in the bay. The reef will serve three main purposes, said Alison McDowell, the senior grant manager for CBA. It will not only create a habitat for oysters, it will also prove a home for smaller creatures such as crabs and juvenile fish. The reef will also help slow erosion. The students got involved through a program at their university called Alternative Spring Break, which sent students to five states this year to volunteer over the break.