Florida!! January 23, 2011

Sunday, January 23, 2011
We had a nice visit at Laura and Derek's.  The boys, Brody, 3, and Rylan, almost 6, are
such fun to be around.  They're busy with their own pursuits, but take time to give Grandma
Gena a needed hug once in a while.  Brody asked me, "Is that YOUR Mr. Dan?"  "Yes, he is!",
I answered.  Dan fit in well with the group at the birthday party yesterday, especially
with the guys...stories, guns, dogs...you get the idea.
Today, we took our leave and are headed to Panama City in our quest for warmer weather.  We
stopped for lunch in a charming town, Colquitt, Georgia.  There are murals all over town,
funded by the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts a few years ago.  One, a 'ginormous' one
(grandson Declan's word) is being painted right now, by a man on a cherry picker.  It's on
the side of 4 huge silos joined together, several stories high.
There were several restaurants on the town square, but every one of them was closed.  Our
last resort was an old hotel that had a few cars parked out front.  Sure enough, we walked
in and smelled good food.  But, the lady at the desk said they had just closed at 2:00 (it
was about 10 minutes after 2). But, seeing our dismayed faces, and being asked questions
like "Is there ANYwhere else in town to get some dinner?", she kindly relented, took our
money, and allowed us access to their beautiful buffet lunch.  Collard greens, creamed
corn, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, blackberry AND peach cobbler, pecan pie - oh my!  So
much for my desire to lose weight on this trip.  Tomorrow is another day.
The weather today is lovely, sunny, clear, and now about 52 degrees.  We still haven't
stowed all our winter clothes, but the coats are definitely not in evidence this afternoon.
Had a great visit and dinner with one of Dan's Navy buddies in Panama City this evening.  Tomorrow, Pensacola Naval Base where we have reservations for the next 5 days.