Fort Walton Beach to Panama City

Well, first I have to apologize to Fort Walton Beach—we did find a restaurant—the Magnolia Grill (no “e” so it was open on Monday). It was within walking distance of the dock and had a great dinner. The appetizer of sautéed crab claws and shrimp over toast points was fabulous and it went up hill from there. We got up early and left out by 8am in the cold and overcast—little did we know this was as warm as it got. For the next 7 hours we made our way to Panama City. It was really cold and we bundled under blankets on the flybridge. The jumping dolphins that led the way into Panama City’s West Bay made up for it. We got into Baypoint Marina about 3:30 and we had only passed about 3 other boats all day. The locals don’t need to go out on such yucky days. Our friends from Nashville, Leslie and Glen Story were having a small New Year’s Eve party and invited us over and even came to get us. It was a great, relaxing New Year -- just what we needed. Today, of course, is the best day of the year—football--we are set for the games today and plan to r&r. We are going to have to scare up some black-eyed peas (I forgot) but otherwise we will piddle around the boat and marina. Happy New Year!!!