Panama City Beach

Do the local bands do a cover of GNR's "Paradise City" with the town's name instead?

For our first summer event, we went to PCB for 6 days and 5 nights. Ape got us a great deal on a townhome rental walking-distance close to the beach and big enough for the five of us. So, Saturday afternoon, we packed the van full of people and luggage and drove the five-odd hours there. Before I go too far, during this trip I used the heck out of Mjollnir's GPS, and it was awesome, except for finding a Dunkin' Donuts.

Highlights for now, details later maybe?

Saturday: Creature slept almost the ENTIRE way here. We got into town in time for dinner and met SIL and her crew at a place called Pineapple Willy's. Meh. While it *was* on the beach, there wasn't anything special about the food or the service.

Sunday: I had to work so Ape took the kids to Sis's place (a 14th-floor condo on the beach) to hang out and to meet some friends of ours from Alabama. They used to live close by and Ape watched their kids often, but promotions in the husband's job meant a relocation to 'Bama. I was supposed to meet them later on but timing got messed up and they had to leave.

Dinner at Red Robin and shopping at a place called Pier Park - think Town Center but super-close to the beach. Met a FFXIV player at GameStop when I asked the girl at the counter about the collector's edition. She was a font of info about 14 - maybe it's not so broken at this point.

Monday: Most of the day was spent in Destin and Fort Walton. Found another Town Center shopping area and had a nice time looking around, although Elder managed to slice his toe open whilst texting and walking >< Dinner later then a nice fishing village/shops area with a great feel to it. Open air movies playing (Wall-E), fishing boats coming in, a "large bird" photo stand, and more.

Tuesday: I need to check my notes, but I think today was go-carts for the boys, a trip to an arcade, and one of the worst dining experiences ever, at a place called Dirty Dick's. Supposed to be good steak and BBQ but it was anything but. SIL and Bro's steaks were overcooked, and too thin for their tastes. Ape and Younger's food arrived after everyone else had eaten (and Younger's order was wrong on top of everything else). Service was poor as well.

I called for the manager who was not very helpful and we left very dissatisfied, though I wisely passed on the food. I wound up with Zaxby's most delicious Sweet & Sour chicken sandwich. Later, when I went looking for their entry on Google Maps to put in my review, I couldn't find one. Younger was quick to theorize they deleted it to hide their lousy reputation.

Wednesday: The boys met SIL & Co. for a day at the water park. Ape, Katie and I went to Panama City proper and its mall for more shopping and walking about. Later, we had professional beach pics taken. Then, I finally got to see their condo - *amazing* place! I'd have left the front door and patio open most of the time just for the breeze and the waves! Elder and I watched an ep of South Park, a pretty good one wherein Mr. Mackey directs a kindergarten play.

Oh, the Dunkin' Donuts thing. On the map, I could see where I needed to go but was unsure of the street names. So Ape and I punched up Sally, my GPS friend and proceeded to drive in a large circle, ending up at a construction site next door to SIL's condo. To Sally's credit, the satellite never locked in for some reason, so I can forgive her. And other than that, directions to several places around PCB and Panama City were spot-on!

Thursday: Before leaving, we finally stopped by the dune buggy place to see if it was worth my time. The track layout was very well done, and long. But the cars were anemic power-wise. I was roped into taking Younger around so with two of us on board it wasn't much of a driving challenge. Solo, or with proper power, their place would rock!

On the way home, we stopped in Tallahassee for dinner and, you guessed it, more shopping. Din was Longhorn. We'd had enough of local fare after Pineapple Willy's and Dirty Dick's. And it was /excellent/. Shopping was a mall that time forgot, with many shuttered storefronts, but somehow featuring TWO places offering tabletop gaming. Dessert was DQ.

I had to work Friday, and since we got in so late. I was bushed. But it went pretty well and led into a three-day weekend!

Our trip was fantastic and Creature traveled very easily. We had a great time, for the most part with few problems. We'd definitely go back, but we'll need a good local fixer to connect us with decent local restaurants!

...And Small Furry Creatures From Alpha Centauri...

Courtesy of IMAlive's Twitter feed, this nugget of wisdom. Whatever my thoughts were on the subject, I'm willing to consider that I may have been wrong, or expressing them poorly.

To wit: Real Women, written by Hanne Blank.

Father's Day

Wouldn't have been a sweet surprise to get a trip to a salon for a mani-pedi and some much-needed hair styling? Even if only for the day? /sigh

Rumbling Hearts, Concluded

After RH disc 2 went back, I got Ghost In the Shell: The Music Videos.

Point. Less.

I was hoping for something AMV-styled from the great Studio I.G. and instead I got 5 songs set to three vids. More or less. And I'm sorry, but the songs were just not working for me. So off it went, to make way for...

Rumbling Hearts, the Conclusion!

I finally got around to watching it, having planned to watch it over the weekend and trade notes with LK. I was tardy watching, and even tardier with my write-up here. I can only assume he's already seen it.

So. I'm conflicted. And a little confused. I /think/ I know what happened but I'm not sure. And if I'm correct, I'm not sure I like the outcome.

Even still, it was one of the best stories I've ever seen, and a great find. As I mentioned before, I love the J-drama, especially school or work life drama. Those settings seem to really focus on character development and interaction, rather than using magic, tech, aliens, what-have-you to advance the story. Not saying any of those things is wrong, but when all you have is yourself...

I Need A New Prescription

I try so hard to empathise with people just trying to do their jobs. I just wish the fine folks at my CVS would try a /little/ harder.  To wit:

Last night, we dropped off Elder's ADHD scrip. At 9:57, we pulled away with a 15 minute ETA. Not wanting to go all the way home and back, we pulled into a nearby parking spot. Creature began chatting up a cutestorm ^^  Just over 15 minutes later, we drove back to the pharmacy window.

We had to wait behind another car so by the time our turn came, it was 15 minutes *past* the ETA. And by the time someone came to the window it was a few minutes later. And surprise, surprise. Our order wasn't ready on time. Or at all.

Without exaggeration, I think they blow their estimates by a material amount 3 out of 4 visits. Most of the time, we come back a little after the specified time, only to wait some more whilst they fill it from scratch. This waiting in line for a time to wait in line sounds familiar... Ah yes, Fastpass! But without a cool ride at the end ><

We were handed our prescription 38 minutes after we had left the window. More than once I've lamented to Ape about going there at all. Publix and Target are much better about delivery times.

Busy Busy Weekend!

Saturday: Racing in Ocala

What a difference a bit of weight loss makes! Today actually marked Day 3 of Silly Aunt & Catch's visit. The plan was for half of us to go racing and the rest to go shopping. With the Springfield Connection stuck working to restore his Joplin datacentre post-tornadoes (it was /really/ bad!) we were one short, but for the first time, one of the Clones joined us. Elder came with while Younger declined.

To make this shorter, aside from 4 hours on the road and some well-earned Subway, we had almost two hours of racing excitez (please don't sue me LK ^^). Catch and I ran 3 races and Dad and Elder took two trips. Having my own helmet was nice, but next time I need to bring a hairband to control my mane.

My dad and I are ridiculously competitive when it comes to motorsport. Ask him about the Mercedes Invitational smart car race he owned, and the almost-bigger than a smart car trophy he got -.-

This time however, I was 20% lighter. Making me a leaner, meaner Mithran racing machine. I won all three of my races, against our group as well as the others filling out the grid. Only Catch and Dad were able to give me what-for, but not for long!

Also, my dad is Alan-oblivious when it comes to anything not in front of his car. Course marshals, flags, track markers, nada...

Sunday: Creature's Christening

Ape's been working herself up over this and today she gets the payoff! We got to church on time (for once) and had good seats. I think we had at least 20 people in our party. The service was a usual one, and I missed a lot of it having to comfort Creature outside. But then it was showtime. Joining us on the altar were my sis and, filling in for the Springfield Connection (stuck in Joplin rebuilding his datacenter), my BIL.

Also up there were two other families and their little ones. Father did an awesome job, and we even got a great pic of him holding Creature ^^ She didn't scream or anything when she got dipped. I think when it came my turn to apply the chrism on her forehead that I Crossed her upside down...

From there we all caravaned to a new spot for us, a local diner that has been getting rave reviews (and a little national attention) for its breakfasts. We had a bit of a wait, there still being close to 20 of us. But we got in before the heat claimed any of us. Did I mention it was hot? Really, really hot? I was glad to have brought a change of clothes, which went on after church.

Shortening this story: Some "relative" stress at the noise and tight confines, but I thoroughly enjoyed my noms. And I wound up getting some pancakes from one of the kids (my meal had biscuits instead) and they were fabulous. *Everything* was fabulous! I had enough left over for later that night. Which was another family game night, as is our usual thing.

Monday: First Class and Last Pass

I went straight from work to meet Ape, mom, Sis, Catch and the boys for X-Men: First Class. "Firstly", this movie rocked. From start to end. But I'm not sure why they keep calling it a reboot. I'm no comic book nerd, so maybe I'm ignorant of the backstory subtleties here, but I didn't see anything that would prevent X1, X2 and X3 continuing the story arc. No matter, it was awesome!

From there, we went to Chick-Fil-A for dessert and goodbyes. Sis and Catch had to leave early Tuesday to return home. It sucked not having SC here but we're just glad none of our relations was killed or injured in the tornado rampage that nearly decimated Joplin. His on-site pics are bizarre and disconcerting. Without sarcasm or mockery, it was a lot like going into Promyvion for the first time. The /wrongness/ of it all...