Most Amazing Weekend, Part 1

Ever since October, when we found out that we were only 3 hours away from Panama City (the closest I've ever lived to a beach), I've been wanting to go back there even if just for a day trip. I really wanted us to go for the weekend after my birthday, but the money was really tight. Then a fellow blogger wrote about their wonderful trip to Panama City Beach, and by then I was absolutely dying to go. There was still the money issue though, so it looked like it will have to be a 1-day thing, if we got to go at all. And then, within 2 days I got 2 phone calls offering me small temp jobs this coming Friday and 3 days next week. It meant we could go and actually spend the night!! I told Shon in the morning, that I will call the Bed & Breakfast my friend was so taken with and see if they had rooms on the 22nd or the 29th. Well, it turned out the only time we could come was that very day! As soon as Shon's got off his Triumph, I asked him if he wanted to go now (I've already packed the bag!). On hearing yes, I called Penny and booked a room. By 5.30pm, we were there.

The B&B was cozy and private. Penny, the innkeeper, was very sweet. I definitely hope we will get to go there again some time.

One of the best things about the place - and the trip! - was the couple we met. What are the odds of diving into a 3-hour-long conversation with complete strangers you meet at the breakfast table in a small B&B in Florida? I say "diving" because the conversations were deep. It wasn't small talk! What are the odds of these people sharing the same views on things varying from Christian music to immigration laws to homeschooling? It was beautiful, and refreshing, and simply fun. We both hope we will stay in touch.

And then, of course, there was the beach. Shon isn't too much of a beach person. He is the mountain person. I always thought that I love the mountains and the beach equally. This time, however, I realized the it was not so. As much as I miss the mountains, as much as the Smokies make me want to cry, it is the ocean that keeps tugging at my heart. It's to the ocean that I always want to go to. Simply seeing the waves, smelling the ocean air, tasting the salt on my lips, and feeling the sand between my toes unties knots inside of me. It is a religious experience for me, too... It was so powerful to go to the beach at 6.30 in the morning, alone, and to be the re alone. Just me and the nature, and God, of course.