Ahhh, finally a few days off in one place. We left Tampa, Florida on Monday morning and planned to take a leisurely drive along the coast to Panama City where we had rented a condo for 4 nights. I had never seen the Gulf of Mexico in Florida and Al told me it would be spectacular...he wasn't kidding.
We stopped and had lunch at a really cute waterside cafe called surprisingly The Crab Shack in Tarpon Springs which was north of St. Petersburg. The coconut shrimp were great, I had a fish sandwich and Al had the French Onion Soup.
We woke up Thursday morning to the sound of motorcycles, it appeared they were descending on Panama City...what was up?? Thundering groups of bikes came pouring into town. We bought a local paper and would soon learn that this was the first day of one of the biggest biker rallies in the south...nearly 65,000 bikers would be in town for the big event over the weekend....and our condo sat across the street from one of the 4 resorts hosting the event....oh my goodness, our lives could be in danger and our trip would surely be ruined..right?? WRONG!!! 
The fun was just beginning.
The bikers of today are more likely to be an attorney, doctor, or business owner who simply are escaping their everyday lives to enjoy the freedom and openness of the road on a Harley. As the bikers began showing up Thursday afternoon, some with dogs in tow.. the resort across the way had hundreds of bikes parked out front. We read an event schedule and learned that one of the hottest biker bands in the country would be playing at that resort and we decided to join in the fun and hang out with the bikers.
These people know how to party and are tons of fun...but we really didn't realize how wild they get until after we had been in the party tent for an hour or so waiting to hear the music. We noticed people gathered in one corner and walked over to see what was happening. Women were getting bodies painted....well, you get the idea. I just had to get some pictures, we listened to the band for awhile, the party was rocking when we went back to the condo, and believe it or not...it was only 8:30 in the evening...we had shrimp to cook so we left the wildest biker party in Panama City for an evening of Deal or No Deal and fish...are we getting old or what?
Our week in Panama City was restful, and fun and it was nice to stop moving for a couple of days and just relax. On Friday we drove up to Atlanta for a concert there. The following morning we headed out on the 1,200 mile drive to Boston where we have concerts next week. I hope all is well with everyone who reads this blog....we will be home later this month. I am looking forward to seeing New England.
We stopped and had lunch at a really cute waterside cafe called surprisingly The Crab Shack in Tarpon Springs which was north of St. Petersburg. The coconut shrimp were great, I had a fish sandwich and Al had the French Onion Soup.Our drive took us around the curve you see on the map which would be like the inside of the thumb of Florida. My gosh, you should see this place it is filled with thick and lush green trees and beautiful plant life. You see bear crossing signs, deer crossing signs, and the area is home of the Florida Manatee. Many small fishing towns dot the coast line as you move west along the Gulf, the highway we drove hugged the water and provided so many beautiful views.
We found a great produce stand along the way and loaded up on fresh fruit and vegetables as we had a kitchen in our condo and planned to make our own food, which is something we were looking forward to after too many restaurant meals. We arrived in Panama City fairly late and were pleasantly pleased with our condo, it sat across a two lane road from the beach, it was big and very well stocked with kitchen supplies and was very nice for the economic price we paid.
I woke up early Tuesday as sleepy head rested and walked over to the beach. Wow, the brilliant white sand on these beaches is stunning. I had coffee, read and relaxed for a bit before returning to the condo. This week was going to be a nice break as we planned to do some normal things that we rarely get to do when we travel. We went to a movie and then on a shopping mission to find fresh Gulf shrimp and seafood. We were directed to a place where the boats unload fish every morning which was about 10 miles from our condo. The selection was terrific, we loaded up on Huge fresh shrimp, crab legs, talapia, and some crab cakes & key-lime pie too.
We ate shrimp cocktail every night. One afternoon we went to the local dog track, we also sat on the beach nightly, one evening we saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in my life.
We woke up Thursday morning to the sound of motorcycles, it appeared they were descending on Panama City...what was up?? Thundering groups of bikes came pouring into town. We bought a local paper and would soon learn that this was the first day of one of the biggest biker rallies in the south...nearly 65,000 bikers would be in town for the big event over the weekend....and our condo sat across the street from one of the 4 resorts hosting the event....oh my goodness, our lives could be in danger and our trip would surely be ruined..right?? WRONG!!! The fun was just beginning.
The bikers of today are more likely to be an attorney, doctor, or business owner who simply are escaping their everyday lives to enjoy the freedom and openness of the road on a Harley. As the bikers began showing up Thursday afternoon, some with dogs in tow.. the resort across the way had hundreds of bikes parked out front. We read an event schedule and learned that one of the hottest biker bands in the country would be playing at that resort and we decided to join in the fun and hang out with the bikers. Al, looked sort of like a biker in his musle shirt, but his skin is so white and untanned that he jokingly told people he only "rides at night." One of the couples asked us where we were from and we said "Colorado" to which they replied..."did you ride or trailer down?" Our answer was...we Chevy vanned down!
***Authors Warning: Please do not read further or view if you are offended by scantily dressed biker girls at a biker party...I had to share a couple of pictures to give you an idea of what we stumbled into..but please don't show these to the kids or get the wrong idea...however, Alan is seriously talking about buying a Harley and learning to ride a motorcycle after his biker experience which I am not sure I understand what that is all about!*****
These people know how to party and are tons of fun...but we really didn't realize how wild they get until after we had been in the party tent for an hour or so waiting to hear the music. We noticed people gathered in one corner and walked over to see what was happening. Women were getting bodies painted....well, you get the idea. I just had to get some pictures, we listened to the band for awhile, the party was rocking when we went back to the condo, and believe it or not...it was only 8:30 in the evening...we had shrimp to cook so we left the wildest biker party in Panama City for an evening of Deal or No Deal and fish...are we getting old or what?
Our week in Panama City was restful, and fun and it was nice to stop moving for a couple of days and just relax. On Friday we drove up to Atlanta for a concert there. The following morning we headed out on the 1,200 mile drive to Boston where we have concerts next week. I hope all is well with everyone who reads this blog....we will be home later this month. I am looking forward to seeing New England.
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