Panama City

Can I get some extra ketchup please? That’s right, it’s a ketchup and mustard day, but I’ll pass on the mustard. I’ve never been a big fan, mayo is more my style. Speaking of ketchup, for all you folks up north they have these great restaurants down here called Chick-Fil-A and they serve waffle fries! Pretty good waffle fries in fact, good enough to not need ketchup. But for the best waffle fries in the country you have to head all the way to Marquette, Michigan and stop in at Vango’s.

Yes, I had some Chick-Fil-A in Panama City, but that’s not all folks. Panama City is a place I didn’t know anything about. It became a last minute stop. It happens on the trip, things fall through in one town and come together in another. I found my way to P.C. through Nancy’s (Jenna’s mom, there have been several Nancy’s and they’re always the best moms, right mom?) friend Phil. I’ll have to keep in close touch with Phil and Nancy for future projects. They are both big Geocaching hobbyists and I’m pretty sure I’ll be tying that in to the next trip.

Panama City was short but well-lived. Most of my time was spent with Phil’s kids, Phillip and Katie who were both excited to share a part in the invasion. But before any of this went down I had some time to myself to enjoy the beach. Fantastic! I needed that… until I got stupid. Now a few days later I still look like a bright red tomato. Kind of embarrassing, so don’t tell anyone. That evening I joined Phillip and Katie and a fantastic group of people at their Bible study. It’s fantastic to see such a big group of people get together at someone’s house on a regular basis. Be it a Bible study, ladies in purple hats, a group of sport junkies, or a book club that is something I really hope to find once I settle down in a community. The community continued as I watched Katie’s softball game. To see that many people come out was fantastic. Maybe I was the bad luck, but after we left early (oops!) Katie’s team made an amazing come back for the win.

Thanks for the last minute help! And look for me on the road in the future with a big nation-wide Geocaching project.