Panama City Beach - first annual beach party

This past week I spent three days at Panama City Beach with six friends from seminary - Tina, Doug, James, Richard, Carol, and Marshall. It was sort of a celebration, since all of them have graduated from SWBTS in the last year and a half (except me and Tina, but her husband graduated and she deserves at least half the credit for that!). We rented a cabin at Laguna Beach Christian Retreat - they give GREAT discounts to ministers - so the girls had a room, the guys had a room, and Tina and Doug had a room. We had a nice living area, and they brought a Wii to connect to the tv, so that was a big hit when we were indoors. There was a grill outside and a full kitchen, so we cooked dinner most nights and didn't have to eat out. It really was a lot of fun.

The best part was that the beach was just across the street. Panama City has a gorgeous beach with really white sand and clear turquoisy green water. That's where we spent most of our time - playing beach volleyball, walking on the shore, throwing the football, building sandcastles, swimming to the sandbar (well that was the guys only), and of course laying out and relaxing. Let me tell you, it was the life...
Tina, Doug, and Marshall had to leave early on Tuesday, so the rest of us spent the remainder of the afternoon at the beach and then cleaned up and went for dinner at Pineapple Willy's, a landmark restaurant on a pier at the beach. We ate outside, which was great for viewing the fabulous sunset, but it was WINDY! Carol and I were freezing. But it was worth it. We had a great time, and are already making plans for next year's beach party.