Camp Helen State Park, Margaritaville & Tootsies Panama
City Beach
Pineglen RV Park
We are camping with
Pineglen RV Park 11930 Panama City Beach Parkway, Panama City Beach, FL 32407
Phone 850 230 8535 www.pineglenpark.com. $43- (including taxes) a night for full
hookup wifi & cable. While the $43 may shock you we are talking June on Panama
City Beach. A fancier RV-Park is a few blocks from here--Emerald Coast I think
their rates start at $75 before taxes. We usually stay at St Andrews State Park
when visiting Panama City Beach but we didn't make reservations this time and
the State Park was full--the State Park is around $25 for water & 30-amps.
Pine Glen RV Park has gravel/dirt interior roads and pads but is otherwise a nice
RV-Park that is well maintained with good looking RV's in the place.
Camp
Helen State Park
One
day we drove to the west end of the Beach to visit Camp
Helen State Park. Camp Helen is a relatively new State Park and has yet
to be developed to its full potential. Still it is a good place to visit.
Old
Lodge at Camp Helen State Park
This
is the "Lodge" circa 1932. At that time the Lodge was the centerpiece
of Camp Helen. Of course Camp Helen was privately owned at that time also.
View
of Phillips Inlet from Camp Helen State Park
This
is a view over Phillips Inlet to the southeast. The condo in the distance is on
the Gulf. This picture was taken from Camp Helen State Park looking back to the
east and the condos on Panama City Beach.
Cabbage
palm in Camp Helen State Park
This
is a cabbage palm the state tree of Florida.
View
across Phillips Inlet from Camp Helen State Park
View
looking to the southeast from atop the bluff at Camp Helen State Park. The Gulf
of Mexico is the dark blue strip in the middle of the picture just above the narrow
strip of white sand beach.
Nesting Least Tern
on Beach at Camp Helen State Park
We
walked down to the beach where a large area was roped off protecting a least tern
nesting area. Least terns nest in the open laying eggs in shallow depressions
amongst scattered shells. The small birds have to protect their eggs from the
blazing sun. Only a few minutes in this sun could cook them.
Nesting
terns at Camp Helen State Park
This
is a side view of one of those nesting least terns on the beach at Camp Helen
State Park.
Joyce walking from Beach
at Camp Helen State Park
Here
comes Joyce from her walk on the beach. The beach is that white strip you see
in the distance.
Pindo
palm at Camp Helen State Park
Pindo
palms like this one are not native to this area but there are a good number of
them in the State Park. I guess they are left over from the days when this was
a private property. Pindo palms are native to Brazil & Argentina and have
a reputation as a very cold hardy palm tree.
We spent the
day visiting Camp Helen State Park and visiting with my Mom who lives in Panama
City. But we headed out to look for an enhanced excitement level around 5pm. It
was no where near dark but that is time to start searching for food and entertainment.
Margaritaville,
Jimmy Buffett's place in the new Pier Park on Panama City Beach
We
wanted to dine a the new Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett's place in the new Pier
Park on Panama City Beach. That was what we wanted to do but there was a one &
one-half hour wait each time we got hungry. I don't do waits like that --15-minutes
is about the extent of my wait-tolerance. We attempted this exercise in futility
three different evenings around 5:30, one time they said the wait was 2-hours.
Margaritaville
on Panama City Beach
Margaritaville
on Panama City Beach is definitely a hit. It seemed that everyone on Panama City
Beach wanted to get a table in there.
Margaritaville
on Panama City Beach
This
is as much of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville as we got to see. If you are visiting
Panama City Beach you can find Margaritaville on Front Beach Road at the entrance
to Pier Park. Be forewarned you will not be dining alone. vbg
Tootsies
Orchid Lounge Pier Park Panama City Beach
One
place that did not disappoint us was the new Tootsies that also opened in Pier
Park just a block north of Margaritaville. Tootsies was doing a landmark business
as well -- just not as ridiculous as Margaritaville. Tootsies, the world famous
honky tonk, on Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee has opened this Tootsie's on Panama
City Beach. The music format so popular in Nashville is being well received at
Tootsies on Panama City Beach. While the music format remains essentially the
same, featuring musicians and bands that are on the verge of becoming top stars.
For the most part these musicians lean heavily on a Country Music format but also
do songs from the Temptations (My Girl), the Eagles and songs like Brown Eyed
Girl. Musicians of the talent level performing in Tootsies play to the audience
thus know a wide variety of songs from the Country & old Rock & Roll genres.
The artist and bands we listened to in Tootsies were performers we had
listened to at the River Front Stage at Fan Fair in Nashville several weeks ago.
Some of the band members and lead vocal artist were in the Nashville Convention
Center signing autographs right along with the likes of Sarah Evans and Alan Jackson.
If
you are contemplating a visit to Panama City Beach and Tootsie's you can count
on good entertainment. The "atmosphere" in the Panama City Beach Tootsie's
is MUCH more family friendly than the original Tootsie's in Nashville. When I
say the "atmosphere" has improved (my opinion) I am speaking of things
like serving food (we ate there two nights), the music incorporates more "beach/new
Country" than the more hard core "old Country/honky tonk" emphasized
in the Nashville Tootsie's. This Tootsie's is much larger than the Nashville Tootsie's
and much cleaner. Families bring children of all ages in to enjoy the music. One
night when we were there about 50-teen age girls visiting Panama City Beach as
part of a dance group dropped in -- they appeared to range in age from 12 to 17
or 18. These girls and their chaperones had a ball in Tootsie's, the musicians
had them dancing on the bar and on the band stage. The music quickly changed to
appeal to this "younger-age" group that appeared. Many of us were surprised
that the chaperones allowed this group of young girls to enter Tootsie's much
less dance on the bar when we settled down we realized that there was absolutely
NOTHING going on that was the least bit out of line. Many families with children
ranging in age from one year old to around 18-years came in and enjoyed the music
and food. If anything "out of line" would have happened I am sure these
families would have quickly exited. The inside area of Tootsie's is a no-smoking
area which is to our liking. Along the south side of Tootsie's is an outside bar
where smokers tend to congregate as well as many tables outside that seem to stay
pretty full of smokers. Bottom line, this new Tootsie's is much more family friendly.
If you are interested in some of the artist we enjoyed there check out
Anthony Orio's web site: www.myspace.com/anthonyorio
His band is the Goodfellers,
you can get a link to the Goodfellers band from Anthony's web site.
The
Goodfellers are also the band for recording artist Crystal Shawanda. Crystal wasn't
performing when we were at Tootsie's but was arriving the day we left for a weeks
worth of performances.
Jonathan Newton is a multitalented musician that
plays lead guitar, base guitar, fiddle and mandolin to name a few of the instruments
he has mastered.
Chris Griffiths is the Goodfellers base guitar player.
Lewis
Winfield is the drummer for the Goodfellers. He has performed with the Blues Brothers,
Leonard Skynard and the Nevel Brothers to name a few of the musicians he has performed
with.
Scott Colier is a lead vocal that was singing with the Goodfellers
band. Google Scott Colier to find out more about this great performer. He has
a CD out that can be purchased from his web site.
The Goodfellers Band has
opened for top acts like Travis Tritt, Montgomery Gentry and Miranda Lambert as
well as playing at the 2007 Canadian Country Music Awards.
Singer/Songwriter
Anthony Orio and The Goodfellers Band have brought a taste of Nashville to Tootsie's.
Their southern-rock show features a large variety of country and rock covers as
well as original tunes with a few “hollers and swallers” mixed in with
the music.
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Until
next time remember how good life is.
June 23-25, 2008.
Mike &
Joyce Hendrix
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