One night in Panama City Beach

Last week I took a solo road trip from Orlando to New Orleans. I stopped a little over half way through and decided to spend the night in Panama City Beach. I was only there about 12 hours, and only at night, so I didn’t get any actual beach or ocean time. I mostly walked around the pier area, had some food, decompressed from my drive, and worked on my masters degree thesis.

A black duffel made of plastic material with a zipper down its length and two black shoulder straps attached. It has a red and white letter A logo.
This is my travel bag. I can fit one week of my life into it. I’ve had it nearly my entire life. When I was a kid it was my hospital bag. I’ve taken it all over the US on dozens of trips since.

I stayed at the Days Inn right along the Gulf. The only accessible room I could get on short notice had three queen beds, but also had a beautiful ocean view. No roll-in shower available and I’d hardly call the bathroom provided as accessible, but I fit into it which is all I need when traveling alone. The hotel itself is rather dilapidated, parking is a pain, and you’re surrounded by hundreds of other people, but you can’t beat the price for the location.

A view out the back door of a hotel room overlooking a patio area with chairs and a table and a view of the beach and ocean.
View from my back bedroom on the first floor.
Panning left outside of the hotel room, a view of palm trees, white sand, and a calm ocean.
Left side view from outside my room
Panning right outside of the hotel room, a view of palm trees, grass dunes and white sand, and a calm ocean.
Right side view from outside my room

I drove over to Pier Park to walk around and find some food.

The shopping area at Pier Park with cars, palm trees and the entrance to a store called Cariloha.
The shopping area at Pier Park with cars and palm trees around an archway going over the street that says Pier Park and has a sun logo in the middle.
Photo of me smiling as a pose on the opposite side of the Pier Park sign
Me on the pier side
Two blue-grey beach wheelchairs are leaning against a blue wall as people walk by.
Beach wheelchairs I saw and assume are available to the public
Another view of the palm trees, stores, and benches at Pier Park
View of the Panama City beach with the pier on the right side extending far out in the ocean. There are people sitting on the beach and a grassy dune.
Panama City Beach pier
Sitting on a wooden deck with a large hotel in the distant view and a closer view of the Ron Jon surf shop store entrance. It is sundown.
Of course I had to stop by the Ron Jon store. I think this is number six or seven I’ve visited? I got a tshirt and a sticker for my truck’s collection.
Sundown view of Pier Park with cars driving down the road, shopping on each side, tall palm trees, and a colorfully lit ferris wheel in the distant background.
A wood fire made pizza in a box. The pizza has white sauce, chicken, bacon, red pepper, onions, roasted garlic, mushrooms.
The Great White Pizza from Great White Pizza – white sauce, chicken, bacon, red pepper, onions, roasted garlic, mushrooms.

The best part of my time in Panama City Beach was definitely the family of cats that live on the beach behind my hotel. I saw at least four skinny kittens of all different colors and one chubby mama tuxedo cat. They would scatter under the board walk and on to the beach if you approached, but people threw cheese and other bits of food off their balcony down to the boardwalk below and the kittens happily lapped it all up.

A skinny black kitten stands on the checkered tile boardwalk
A skinny black kitten tries to get inside a garbage can on the boardwalk along the beach.
A skinny black kitten stands in front of the garbage can on the boardwalk by the beach.
Three skinny cats stand in a group as I sit behind my laptop computer screen which shows the text of my thesis paper.
I worked on my thesis for a couple hours late at night as the ocean crashed in the background.
Two skinny kittens eating something off the ground.
Eating snacks thrown from people above.
Its the early morning and there's a view of my laptop with the text of my thesis displayed on it. My laptop has an orange shell cover and I am sitting on the patio boardwalk behind my hotel with the beach and calm Gulf ocean in the distance.
Woke up early the next morning and worked on my thesis a little more before hitting the road.

Author: Adam

I'm Adam from gogoadam.com

2 thoughts on “One night in Panama City Beach”

    1. I know! Its this really slippery plastic material which is great because it can stretch. The only weak part is the zipper. It only works one way. There’s a tag inside that says “Academy Broadway, New York”. I want to know its history lol.

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