Long weekends are awesome: Friday was "War Day", basically a big game that students like myself don't get to play in, Tuesday is Veteran's Day so we don't work, and Monday in between was "Wingman Sports Day", which is a day for the 325th Wing to hang out, do whatever because it isn't technically a holiday. So Friday I had to go to class in the morning and when I was done my truck was gone, missing, not where I left it. So my first thought is: "What the heck? Who in the world would sneak onto an Air Force base to steal a vehicle and decide that the '93 Chevy half ton with 221000 miles on it would be the one to take?" After a couple of angry minutes a friend located my wife's car which contained keys. So McKay had received her new couch and needed to take the old one away and needed a truck. She was going to leave a message on my phone about the location of my truck, her car, the keys to her car and how much she loves me. However as she dialed she discovered that my phone is in the truck as usual. The rest of the day I was not in communication with her so I didn't know where
she went or why she stole my truck. Saturday we went to downtown Panama City for the farmers market which turned out to be two farmers and a cart. We met an elderly couple with a 195 pound Irish Wolf Hound that made Gus look small (biggest dog breed in the world). We had breakfast at a little diner and finished off the day fishing at the marina. I say finished the day because it freakin' gets dark at 5PM. We drove down to Port St. Joe for Mexican food, BINGO, we found Mexican food, Ha Ha hA. Finally we live near good Mexican food that is not in danger of closing. Sunday we went to the boat store to discover that they ordered the wrong part for us to finish our boat, so one more week waiting. Monday started with a "fun run" down the runway and the chance to share my feelings with my fellow pilots until mid-morning. I temped McKay w
ith a road trip and she couldn't resist.
For the first time in four years gas is cheap enough that we can just go for a drive. We started going north to Wewhahitchka, home of the famous honey makers L.L. Lanier. We were expecting to find a happy place with a tour led by a jolly fat guy in a "Bee Wrangler" hat, where we could meet the bees and see production in action. Not so. Instead we threaded the truck through a thin drive way in the hedge with a very "Go home!" feel. We exit the tunnel into a clearing cluttered with sheds, 50 gallon drums, random engine parts, and some skittish dogs. Very, very redneck.
So this guy who looks like a Hawaiian linebacker with thinning hair trundles out of one of the sheds to call off the dog and then stares at us like we should know what to do. Hidden in the
overgrowth is a 1920's farm style house and a creepy old lady, also staring, standing at the door. This is obviously the place to go, but neither man nor creepy lady seems to welcome us, or help us, or even really acknowledge our presence. My wife, hoping to see the "bee tour", expectantly and politely fished for information from the creepy old lady. As it turns out the honey is special because the bees use nectar from a plant that grows only in the Chattahoochee River swamp, this is a really busy time of year for shipping the honey (hence the big guy), and they don't keep bees at the house, give tours, smile, or like other people. So we got our honey and left. Driving south we decided to see the swamp wh
ere the bees get the goods and driving down the dirt roads of back water Florida we found a bear, yes, a BEAR! He was in a hurry so we didn't get a picture, but he was a black bear about my size. We took the long way out to St. George's Island where we walked the beach and let Gus play fetch in the surf. We returned along the causeway to Apalachicola for their famous oysters. The downtown area is cluttered with historic buildings filled with cute eateries and antiques. We stopped for a cappuccino and enjoyed the seaside town ambiance. The area is a lot like Galveston would be if Houston was somewhere else. We then strolled down to the water front where Boss Oyster bar serves oysters that they just brought off their bo
at. We had a couple dozen raw oysters and watched the Chattahoochee delta fade in the sunset. Monday evening we joined the guys from school at Buffalo Wild Wings where during Monday Night Football they hand out free beer as long as no one goes into the restroom. They all had stories of greatness, "One time my buddy was here and nobody went to the bathroom until the 4th quarter was half over and the whole restaurant was trashed." After hearing such tales of greatness we were expecting a spectacle, but 3 minutes into halftime an old man who didn't even know about the contest walked into the bathroom to wash his hands and cut the night extremely short, and the whole bar was mad. But to put icing on the cake we had the worst waitress I have ever had. She couldn't remember who ordered what, she gave me (and charged me for) a huge beer because they were out out of the small glasses, for some reason I got my meal 30 minutes before the rest of the table even though I ordered last, and topped it all with a mandatory 17.5% gratuity. All in all it was a great weekend of relaxing adventure.
Long weekends are awesome: Friday was "War Day", basically a big game that students like myself don't get to play in, Tuesday is Veteran's Day so we don't work, and Monday in between was "Wingman Sports Day", which is a day for the 325th Wing to hang out, do whatever because it isn't technically a holiday. So Friday I had to go to class in the morning and when I was done my truck was gone, missing, not where I left it. So my first thought is: "What the heck? Who in the world would sneak onto an Air Force base to steal a vehicle and decide that the '93 Chevy half ton with 221000 miles on it would be the one to take?" After a couple of angry minutes a friend located my wife's car which contained keys. So McKay had received her new couch and needed to take the old one away and needed a truck. She was going to leave a message on my phone about the location of my truck, her car, the keys to her car and how much she loves me. However as she dialed she discovered that my phone is in the truck as usual. The rest of the day I was not in communication with her so I didn't know where 
she went or why she stole my truck. Saturday we went to downtown Panama City for the farmers market which turned out to be two farmers and a cart. We met an elderly couple with a 195 pound Irish Wolf Hound that made Gus look small (biggest dog breed in the world). We had breakfast at a little diner and finished off the day fishing at the marina. I say finished the day because it freakin' gets dark at 5PM. We drove down to Port St. Joe for Mexican food, BINGO, we found Mexican food, Ha Ha hA. Finally we live near good Mexican food that is not in danger of closing. Sunday we went to the boat store to discover that they ordered the wrong part for us to finish our boat, so one more week waiting. Monday started with a "fun run" down the runway and the chance to share my feelings with my fellow pilots until mid-morning. I temped McKay w
ith a road trip and she couldn't resist. 
For the first time in four years gas is cheap enough that we can just go for a drive. We started going north to Wewhahitchka, home of the famous honey makers L.L. Lanier. We were expecting to find a happy place with a tour led by a jolly fat guy in a "Bee Wrangler" hat, where we could meet the bees and see production in action. Not so. Instead we threaded the truck through a thin drive way in the hedge with a very "Go home!" feel. We exit the tunnel into a clearing cluttered with sheds, 50 gallon drums, random engine parts, and some skittish dogs. Very, very redneck. 
So this guy who looks like a Hawaiian linebacker with thinning hair trundles out of one of the sheds to call off the dog and then stares at us like we should know what to do. Hidden in the 
overgrowth is a 1920's farm style house and a creepy old lady, also staring, standing at the door. This is obviously the place to go, but neither man nor creepy lady seems to welcome us, or help us, or even really acknowledge our presence. My wife, hoping to see the "bee tour", expectantly and politely fished for information from the creepy old lady. As it turns out the honey is special because the bees use nectar from a plant that grows only in the Chattahoochee River swamp, this is a really busy time of year for shipping the honey (hence the big guy), and they don't keep bees at the house, give tours, smile, or like other people. So we got our honey and left. Driving south we decided to see the swamp wh
ere the bees get the goods and driving down the dirt roads of back water Florida we found a bear, yes, a BEAR! He was in a hurry so we didn't get a picture, but he was a black bear about my size. We took the long way out to St. George's Island where we walked the beach and let Gus play fetch in the surf. We returned along the causeway to Apalachicola for their famous oysters. The downtown area is cluttered with historic buildings filled with cute eateries and antiques. We stopped for a cappuccino and enjoyed the seaside town ambiance. The area is a lot like Galveston would be if Houston was somewhere else. We then strolled down to the water front where Boss Oyster bar serves oysters that they just brought off their bo
at. We had a couple dozen raw oysters and watched the Chattahoochee delta fade in the sunset. Monday evening we joined the guys from school at Buffalo Wild Wings where during Monday Night Football they hand out free beer as long as no one goes into the restroom. They all had stories of greatness, "One time my buddy was here and nobody went to the bathroom until the 4th quarter was half over and the whole restaurant was trashed." After hearing such tales of greatness we were expecting a spectacle, but 3 minutes into halftime an old man who didn't even know about the contest walked into the bathroom to wash his hands and cut the night extremely short, and the whole bar was mad. But to put icing on the cake we had the worst waitress I have ever had. She couldn't remember who ordered what, she gave me (and charged me for) a huge beer because they were out out of the small glasses, for some reason I got my meal 30 minutes before the rest of the table even though I ordered last, and topped it all with a mandatory 17.5% gratuity. All in all it was a great weekend of relaxing adventure.
1 comment:
scary but true: bears swim in the bay between the shore and barrier islands there!! Isn't that wrong? Not only do you have to watch out for sharks and jellyfish, but bears too?!!? That's so cool you saw one!
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