Panama City Beach, Florida

We left the hotel this morning at 11:30. We got in the car and headed to the famous St. Louis Cemetary #1.

The cemetary was once featured in the movie “Interview with the Vampire,” starring Brad Pitt. Even during the day and with many other people there, the cemetary had an eerie feel to it. We took lots of pictures of the different crypts and mausoleums. One of the most famous tombs we found supposedly belonged to Marie Laveau, a Voodoo priestess of the early 1800’s. Surrounding her tomb were various offerings and “XXX” markings on it. These were said to invoke the spirit of Marie and allow her to grant any wish one desired. Many of the tour guides that were giving tours there said that was untrue and that to desecrate the tomb would be disrespectful. I had to agree. May her soul rest in peace.

We got back on the road toward Panama City Beach after our visit to the cemetary. We stopped at the Sonic to grab a bite to eat and then headed East. We drove through two states today - Mississippi and Alabama.

What should have been a five-hour drive turned out to be a NINE-HOUR drive! This was due to the severe thunderstorms and downpour when we drove in to Florida. Apparently, Panama City Beach has not had any rain since anyone can remember, much less this much rain! By the time we arrived at our beachfront hotel, it was 9:15 p.m. (Central Time)! We put our things in our room and went next door to Sharky’s Beach Club Restaurant. For an appetizer, we got two dozen raw oysters. Zac then got a fish and chips entree while I got the stuffed crabcakes with rice. Delish! Before we headed to the beach for a nightly stroll, we got some drinks to enjoy.

It was beginning to feel very romantic with the two of us walking on the beach with our drinks and the moon shining above when it started to rain again. This time, it was as though the skies opened up and dumped all of its pent up moisture on us. We were soaked! We thought we would make it back to our hotel next to the restaurant but we were wrong, so we headed back to the bar in the restaurant and waited until the rain subsided.

After an hour-and-a-half, the rain finally died down enough for us to run back to our hotel room. We cleaned up a bit and then got to relax. What a rainy night; hope tomorrow will bring us some sunshine!