Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Panama City Vacation - Day 4

Now we're having fun.

Tuesday started off easily enough, we went to the beach for most of the morning, then back to the condo for lunch. Christopher played in the sand and the girls floated, swam and dug a few big holes.

During lunch the girls convinced me to go para sailing. So right after lunch we went down and paid for 3 people to go up. Then the wind storm started. While not quite a sandstorm, it was pretty bad, blowing umbrellas, beach toys, tents and even a few little kids around. The guys renting the beach chair/umbrella sets responded pretty quickly and got things settled down, even helping the people who had stuff blowing all over the place.

When the storm started, our friends were up in the para sail and told us they could see the lightning and clouds behind our building. So, our trip was cancelled until the afternoon. We went back to the condo for a couple of hours, then the weather turned nicer and we went for our ride.

Meghan was in front, I was in back and Courtney was strapped between us. Each had our own harness, so we could move ourselves. The first 'dip' into the water was a little rough and Meghan was dragged a few feet. She didn't mind, calling it the 'wildest thing I've ever done'. Courtney was great, no screaming or freaking out. Deb and I had done this on our honeymoon, so I knew what to expect, but the girls found the silence kind of weird.

After our ride we hung out on the beach for another hour or so, then headed up to get ready for dinner.

We had a nice dinner at a steak/seafood place (there are a few of those here!). I got to have sushi and a California roll while Deb passed her usual chicken meal and had a steak. Christopher devoured a cheeseburger, even Deb said it was the best cheeseburger she had every had.

While we were waiting for the check Christopher started to melt down, so I took him outside. We found a small pond which had a lot of turtles in it. Courtney of course was loving that.

After dinner we went to a mini-golf and maze place. Deb took our girls and the two girls of our friends to do the maze, while out friends took their son to do mini golf. Deb and I expected Christopher to pass out, so I was just going to push him around.

Well, he didn't fall asleep and got pissed he was strapped into the stroller. So I took him out and we walked around. He found the mini-golf area and grabbed one of the balls. He held it in his hand while walking around. We went backwards through the holes: 18 to 1, just watching people play. He was fascinated watching them hit the ball and watching it go into the hole.

Deb and the girls finished the maze in 19 minutes. The place had a 'top speed of the day' board and the top speeds for 7/7 were between 15 and 22 minutes. There is a good chance the girls will be a top speed for 7/8. We'll go back tonight to check on them.

At this point Christopher can barely keep his eyes open. We have one more stop: a one event race at to go-cart track. I stay in the car with Christopher, but park where he can see one the race tracks. He keeps pointing at the cars and making noises and cheering. Eventually he passed out. Deb and the girls had a great race (Meghan could drive, Courtney is too young).

We loaded everyone back into the van, went back to the condo and all the kids passed out. Deb and I sat on the balcony and just chilled for about 30 minutes, then went to sleep.

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