Ally Pally (Our new furry friend) .... and Swimming in the Gulf!! December 15th

Ally Pally (Our new furry friend) .... and Swimming in the Gulf!!  December 15th 

After a long journey from Nashville, we arrived at our destination late yesterday afternoon. We had Skyped with Helen, our hostess, a few weeks ago, but it was great to meet her in person. We hit it off straight away, and were quickly introduced to the beautiful pussy cat that we'll be looking after for the next couple of weeks. Ally Pally (a.k.a. Alexander) is a lovely ginger cat who is 17.5 years old and very affectionate. He loves to be fussed and brushed, and we're looking forward to spoiling him while we are here. 

 

We hope he is going to get used to being petted by four hands at the same time! 

Ally has a splendid back yard which he is sharing with us. It's spacious, shaded, and it's great to sit out on the swinging bench while taking in the quietness.

  

Helen took us out for a lovely meal last night and showed us a few of the places of interest in the area. We also met her friend, Amy, who is our 'go-to' person, should we need her. Another person to appreciate!

This morning, we took Helen to the airport for the first leg of her journey to the U.K. to spend Christmas with her family. We continue to attract the nicest of people into our lives. Helen is wonderful, and we soon felt that we'd known her for a long time! We're not just saying that because she'll be reading this blog... it's meant from the bottom of our hearts!!!

After we left the airport, we shopped for a few groceries we felt we would need over the next few days, then took a mini-trip over to Panama Beach City - a short, 20-minute drive from where we are staying in Panama City. Unable to resist dipping our toes in the water, we couldn't believe just how warm the water was. 

  

It took very little persuasion to hurry back to our 'home' to collect our swimwear. We're thinking that our ventures in Lake Superior (with its sometimes numbing waters) has prepared us to thoroughly enjoy swimming in the Gulf. The air temperature was 74 degrees, with 45% humidity, and the water was refreshing without causing even a brief shiver. Helen had reminded us to take note of the Beach Warning Flag. 

The flag that was flying was yellow, and so we totally enjoyed jumping the waves as the surf crashed around us. Mind you, I was waiting to see if it changed to white after Mark entered the ocean!!

Alan venturing out into the waves

Mark - in up to his shoulders

  

After about an hour of splashing around and laughing our heads off, we went for a walk along the white-sand beach. There were quite a few sandpipers who entertained us with their quickstep movements over the sand, while the waves licked their feet. 

  

There were some others in the water, and one young woman was paddle-surfing. We managed to film her catching a wave that brought her in close to the shore. 

It felt strange to have our winter coats and boots in the back of the car, to know that it was only 10 days before Christmas, to be hearing carols and Christmas songs being played in the stores, and yet being aware that, here we were, soaking up the sun (safely coated with sunscreen) and thrashing about in the sea! Weird - and awesome!!

We stayed to see the sun begin to approach the horizon. Another time, we'll go out a little later to catch the sun actually setting across the water. 

On the way back to our 'home', (and it does feel like home, thanks to Helen), we took a back road and noticed some Spanish Beard hanging from the trees at the side of the road. We had first seen these on our trip to Savannah. 

We were happy to see the place mats on the kitchen table, complete with bear and moose - talk about being home from home!! 

The cool thing is - after a terrific day, we get to hang out with Ally and cuddle up to him while watching the final of the Voice!!! What could be better than that??