>
OMG, I love it down here! We’re staying in Gulf County, Florida, on the Panhandle below Panama City in the area of Port St. Joe. We’ve rented a place 1-1/2 blocks from the beach which is deserted except for us, the dog, and occasional flies, gulls, and dolphins that dance in the water. Every night, the sunset is better than the night before!
There’s not a McDonalds or Walmart within 30 miles, I think, probably one of the reasons it’s so lovely and we love it! (No offense, you two global giants of commerce, but the less people, the better…)
The mornings are filled with walks on the beaches with the dog. And I mean LONG walks (at least by Smokey and I… David tends to lag behind and relax in his own way). We explore. She sniffs and meanders and I tredge purposefully along the surfline in one direction and up by the dunes and grasses on the return trip.
Today, we actually snuck out leaving “daddy” behind to sleep and drove to one of the beaches at Mexico Beach. As we walked, the dolphins escorted us along the coastline. I got loads of great shells, and of course, Smokey had a grand ole time! I shot pictures of the sun as it rose and plan to paint some of these gorgeous scenes at some point.
We arrived back home to a nice breakfast and are planning the day as I write. I haven’t yet tackled the plein air painting of my ambitions yet but think today is the day. We have a cart to wheel all the gear down to the beach with and I’ll spread out a blanket and have a chair as well. Can’t wait!