Panama City Beach

PCB was the beach destination of my youth way back when.  Most of those strip motels are now gone, replaced with lots of high rise condo units, just like Destin, Orange Beach, and Gulf Shores have become.

Lots of similarities to those places:  Got the same sugary white sandy beaches.  Got the same emerald green waters.  Got the same kind of high rise condos.  And, they have the very same traffic gridlock, if not worse.

The best thing to happen to the Emerald Coast Line was the relocation of HWY 98 further inland.  This has pulled the drive through traffic out far enough to free up the old road lanes for us tourists taking up residence along the shoreline.  But for most of the day, from June through mid August, it is bumper to bumper traffic.

PCB has gotten a bad rap from the activities that occur in the spring.  MTV's arrival for spring break did nothing but put a black eye on a great location.  After Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach shut down the 24 hour party atmosphere, PCB took up the slack.  The City Council is supposed to put an end to the alcohol abuse next spring.  We will see....

If you are looking for a tourist destination, put PCB on your list.  Be mindful of the traffic during prime summer season, but its like that all along the coast that time of year.  The old Miracle Strip amusement park of my youth is long gone, but there are plenty of other attractions to take up the slack where the sun and surf leave off.

Pier Park is a major tourist attraction, with plenty of shopping and quite a few dining options.  There is now a Dave and Busters for you to enjoy.  They fill up your tummy and empty your wallet at your kid's delight!  There are also Walmart, Target, Publix and other retailers in close proximity to were we stayed.

For us, it helps that we have friends that live and work in the area and this cuts down on the decisions we have to make.

As most of you know, I-10 travel from June to mid August is murderous from west of Mobile to the Loxley exit.  Same can be said for the Mid Bay Bridge going into Destin.  For us, the best travel times are before June, and the third week of August and beyond.  Most families still have kids in school during these times, Thank God!!


This weekend ends our summer beach runs for 2015.  The spousal unit's cousin at Navarre Beach my put up with us a time or two before winter.  I've already got new umbrellas and chairs at the ready for 2016 and I've got my buddy Clearance looking for a new beach cart, wide wheels of course!

More blog posts will be on their way soon because tailgating season is just 30 days away!  Stay tuned!