This is our winter home. Nestled along the stretch of coast line from Florida Panhandle to the Alabama State line.
It is a gated resort of first class homes and contains basketball nets, tennis courts and children’s playgrounds to keep every one amused.
The Bell Tower cheerfully chimes the hour between 9am and 9pm and adds a delightful variety of well-known tunes.
The homes are not only on the ocean but some of them surround a lake. You can take paddle boats out on the lake to visit the statue of a frog leaping from the water or you can cast your fishing lines out and catch many good sized fish. However this lake has a return policy attached to it so all must be put back into the water.
Besides the pristine white sandy beaches there are four outdoor swimming pools. The west pool is only round the corner from the home we rent. This pool is always heated to about 80C. The beach pool looks over the beach and is easily accessible to and from the beach. The east pool is on the edge of the lake. The large pool caters mainly to the two large blocks of condominiums ‘Sunrise & Sunset’ but is used by all.
The resort also has a small meeting house which serves as a small chapel for Sunday services and conducts weddings. On such days the village green becomes the home of a huge portable marquee where caterers and bands set up for the day.
Temperatures in February are in the high 60C’s and by the time we leave at the end of March it has climbed to 80C. The ocean is a little cold to swim in when we first get there but after a few weeks it has warmed up. I love to swim in the waves that roll up on to the gorgeous beach. You can access the beach from the homes via many walkovers. These are to protect dunes where from May to October turtles make there nests in the sand.
There is also another community built on our stretch of beach called Pinnacle Port Condominiums where golf tournaments, shuttle matches and various other games are held.
There are souvenir shops and a bar, along main street, within the resort itself and just across the road there are grocery stores a pharmacy and fast food restaurants.
Just fifteen minutes away is a large shopping complex called Pier Park. At the foot of the actual pier is a doggy beach as dogs are not allowed on the beach at the resort itself.
Further on towards the town of Panama City, itself, are several golf courses, cruise operators and fine dining restaurants of every variety you can imagine.
It takes us two days to drive here from Toronto because we stop as the daylight starts to dwindle. We usually stay the night at a motel in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
