A Road Trip

#Panhandle#Panama City Beach #Florida#RumRunnersUSA#Bruce#PoncedeLeon#Alabama#GulfofMexico

Escaping Southwestern Ontario's winter took us on a long road trip travelling southwest thru the USA to the Florida Panhandle.

Our travels took us a different route and thru several areas of the U.S.A that were new to us.

Even a tiny village named "Bruce" ... that is our family name ...( located about a half hour from Panama City Beach )

 ... which had it had it's own Cafe and General Store. 

After two and a half days on the road ... We arrived at our intended destination to cloudy skies.

We located our condo on the Front Beach Road, we were too early for checkin so we oriented ourselves with the immediate area.

We enjoyed some light fare and refreshments at Rum Runners (at Pier Park more about this in another post)  before doing a quick grocery pickup and checking in to the condo.

The views from our condo ...

                  

A new place to discover ... 

I think we will find enough to keep us busy even if it is just long walks along the beach on the soft white sand.

A Magical Vacation

I'm excited ... we only just got home from our southern travels on Tuesday, leaving me enough time to do the laundry, restock the larder and pack again for another quick adventure.

I'm leaving later today with my son and his three previous young sons aka 3 of my grandchildren, my sister and niece ... we are heading to the World of Magic ...  and this Grandma has never in her sixty years ever been to Disney World.

Eventhough we have been travelling for many years to Kissimmee area staying within a mile's drive to the entrance ... I have not ever visited one of the parks.

I always said I would go one day with the grandchildren and experience "all the magic" through their eyes.

And now it is happening ...

Celebrate in Celebration!

What isn't there to like about the town of "Celebration"?

                

There are the walking trails that surround the lake that is home to many beautiful flowers and wildlife ...

There is the quaint Main Street lined with unique boutiques, restaurants and sidewalk cafés ...

             

If you are lucky to be here on an scheduled event you may be entertained at the Alfa Romeo Car Show ...

There is a weekly Sunday Market ... where you can buy fresh produce, fruits and vegetables plus all sorts of other food stuffs, garden whimsy, hand made craft items ...lovely way to spend a Sunday morning.

We acquired a little whimsy for our garden ...the "dancing sprinkler" ... actually will be much more fun for the grandkids than running thru the sprinkler!

And there is the interactive water fountain for the kids and young at heart to splash through on a hot sunny day ...

Don't you think this is a grand place to "Celebrate" any day?

The Colours of Travel ...

The contrasts of weather during travel time ....

We left Southwestern Ontario on a grey autumn day ... these colourful, beautiful trees a mere memory as they now stand naked after loosing their leaves. 

Normally on our travels south we see many kaleidoscopes of colours as the trees leaves change from bright green to various shades and hues of yellow, orange and reds. 

We drove through rain most of our first day of travel to West Virginia ...

We awoke to colder than normal temperatures on Saturday morning and as we left Summersville, West Virginia we drove for nearly three hours in an early winter storm of light snow and near freezing temperatures.

It was like we were part of an old "Black & White" movie ... 

It wasn't until we reached the North Carolina border that some colour was added to our travels ... eventhough the sky was still grey.

The sun finally decided to shine as we neared our second travel stop in Bluffton, South Carolina.

Sunday morning we drove our final five hours thru sunshine on the palm tree lined highways to our usual November escape ... it was cooler than usual, but there was a wonderful warmth in the sparkling sun as we made a pit stop at the "Sunshine State's" Welcome Center.

   Ah ... we are here!