Top restaurants in Panama City Beach FL

May 12, 2015 – 03:01 pm

Day 129 & 130 Panama City Beach to Fountain FL. 34 – Miles

1/8/2015

Panama City Beach was a stop filled with great people. It would have been great to arrive at a time when school was in session. The beaches I ran past were ghostly due to the weather. When I ran on the sand, I saw only one set of footprints. They were mine. The muted sound was the perfect symphony for my leisurely run.

The morning had started out with word that NBC news in Panama City Beach would be doing an interview about our mission. The momentum of this run was slow to build but as with all organic growth, there is more longevity. Like a marathon versus a sprint, the mindset had to be on completing one step at a time. The interview with reporter Kelly Baumgarten was thorough. Both Crystal and I were impressed at how much information she acquired. We conducted the session on the beach and quickly realized the temperatures were dropping. I was glad to have the day off. By day off, I meant I would just run a fun nine miles to the Courtyard Marriott from the news station.

I ran past the local college and into the actual Panama City. Next to the college, I jumped over the hitch between two trains because of a call from nature. It was rather urgent otherwise I would have waited until I reach a store. After things were settled, I heard a sound like hydraulic pressure leaving a tank. It seemed to be coming from the boxcar which I had jumped. Did I accidentally push something? I jumped back over and started running to find someone when the train began to move. I sighed deeply before returning to my stride. The rest of the road was much like every city I had run through. The same retail stores and the same fast food chains peppered the landscape. My view was pedestrian by all standards.

I was happy to find a bathtub with extremely hot water. Of course I would soak my body several times before leaving. The rest of the time was assigned to relaxing. Crystal and I lounged around our room in the Courtyard Marriott and waited for the news broadcast. When the five o’clock news aired and we didn’t see the report we wondered if something was wrong. Crystal read my face and saw the wheels turning in my head. It wasn’t until we caught a glimpse of the upcoming report that my body relaxed.