There was a Grizzly loose on the beach!

Okay, so Griz finally took a lil vacation & had a good time! Some Bodybuilding.com pals had been planning a meet & greet shindig in Panama City Beach, FL to coincide with the city’s wine & music festival, as well as the planner’s birthday! I wasn’t positive I was gonna make it down for the longest time but in the 11^th hour managed to pull it off! Unfortunately the city’s fest got canceled but then again that may have improved things since it wasn’t packed & wouldn’t have been rock & roll anyhow LOL! Now also, before we get into any incriminating evidence to follow keep in mind #1 I HATE cameras & #2 I’m not tanked in ANY of these shots but rather have eyes which are sensitive to light, flashes especially! We didn’t consume anywhere nearly enough alcohol of any type to get this silly!

So after a 9 hour drive, thinking I’d NEVER get out of Alabama once I entered, I finally arrived at the hotel where we were all staying only to find my room was on the ground level & only had a boardwalk between the patio door & the bay’s beautiful beach!!! The event planner Lavona, AKA Steely or Palomino Steel, had flown in from Canada the day before & she was on the 3^rd floor with an awesome view. The locals, Rick & Mylissa AKA Flabouy or Marine & Mylissa1 or Myl, who acted as event hosts live very nearby so it was all good! Once I got out of the car & vertical I walked around the hotel & who do I run into heading for the pool but Steely! Now keep in mind all of us have been cyber pals for ages, years more or less, but hadn’t ever “met” so of course from her pics I knew it was her in an instant but the voice & accent is ALWAYS an experience! You feel like you know folks but when you “hear” them for the first time, do they EVER sound like you imagined? NOPE! Here’s this gal from the far Western reaches of Canada sounding like she just had tea & crumpets with the Queen or some shrimp off the Barbie from down under maybe LOL! After a big ol’bear hug we sat by the pool & chatted for a while, awaiting the arrival of the locals to head for dinner before the arrival of my roomie flying in from OKC. The locals arrived & Myl sounded pretty much as expected, knowing she was a Texan where I have family kept the imagination pretty close there then Marine walks up…dude looks even slimmer in person & yet again, for some reason the imagination had this gruff drill sergeant voice in mind but NOPE, just a smooth normal dude! We chat for a bit & head out for some dinner as Myl had been messaging me that she was starving as I’d crossed the last 2 counties of AL! We hit a neat place for dinner that had awesome patio seating & some really good grilled mahi mahi! As you’ll see later Marine ISN’T 7’ tall but is rather standing on something to tower above the gals LOL!

After dinner we booked out to the airport to pick up my roomine, Bret AKA balanc or BAC, & headed back to the hotel to check in, unpack & plan the evening’s festivities! We all met up in Steely’s room since she had a kitchenette & an awesome view for a couple celebratory libations to kick off the weekend then set to deciding the night’s upcoming events. As the sunset I could just tell the tempo of the day was about to take a steep turn upwards LOL! And BTW, what a gorgeous sunset it was!!!

 At the stroke of Midnight Steely donned her she devil horns as it was officially her birthday & those horns NEVER came off until that day was DONE, she claimed to have even slept in’em LOL! We had settled on hitting the largest club in North America which is just 15-20 minutes away BUT upon arrival we didn’t pass their dress code! Here this is, a beach bar & they don’t allow certain types of shorts OR tank tops so we went next door to another place that turned out to have a really good live band so all was well! Steely decided before we tore into any drinks we needed to burn off a few calories so we latched on & did some quick lifting before settling in!

After we’d chatted about all sorts of things poor Steely was getting stiff, prolly from being treated as a barbell, so I decided she needed a neck & back rub as her b’day gift & after her initial OUCH! She settled in & seemed to enjoy every minute of it, telling me that this entire engineering gig has caused me to miss my true calling! I’m pretty sure she liked her gift but judge for yourself LMBO! (Have I mentioned I HATE cameras?)

So now, after the girls had been out dancing for a bit while Marine, BAC & I discussed various relationship issues, challenges & opportunities that we’ve been battling this year Marine proceeds to prod me to get dancing, BAC as well. Bret didn’t take any coaxing but I’m NOT a dancer PERIOD! I can weave & bob with the best of’em but that’s it! Eventually Marine said, “Get off your fat @ss & get out there!” So, I complied!

We eventually had enough of the club scene & headed back to crash somewhere around 3AM & poor Bret found out what a tired Grizzly sounds like, snoring an entire chorus solo! I have sleep apnea but when I’m traveling for just a few days leave my pump behind & MAN did HE regret it! I awoke about 8AM & noticed BAC was already getting around so I said I hoped my snoring hadn’t bothered him & his VERY first words were, “Dude! Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea?!?!?” I explained the deal & he said, “Well the snoring was bad enough but the stopping was worse! You’d stop & I’d wait & wait & finally you’d fire back up!” to which we both laughed about at several points during the day! We got around & headed to a local greasy spoon b’fast buffet then came back & hit the beach where Bret finally realized that apparently the devil that sits on my shoulder & tempts me had made the full trip however the angel from the other shoulder had apparently gotten burnt out & bailed somewhere crossing AL! Bret later mentioned he thought maybe Steely had simply drowned the angel to keep me from being a total wet blanket 5^th wheel all weekend!

After spending some time on the beach we began to think about lunch & I thought I’d dig something up but imagine my surprise! Actually one of Steely’s b’day wishes was to be buried in the sand so BAC & I had dug her a nice spot then covered her up for a while until Marine & Myl arrived!

Steely & Bret had tattoo appointments in the afternoon but Steely, Myl & Marine kinda hung out & did their own thing for a bit while Bret & I visited several local tee shirt & souvenir shops then we all met at the tattoo shop. While Steely & Bret were getting inked Myl & Marine worked a photo shoot for a local breast cancer motorcycle show & poker run. I hung out at the tattoo shop so Bret & Steely wouldn’t be stranded if they got done before M&M returned. Everyone had been trying to get me to join in & take a permanent ink memory home with me but I HATE needles plus hadn’t budgeted the $300 cost of the ONE appropriate tat I found that I really liked so maybe that’ll be Christmas, time’ll tell!

As evening came on we hit Hammerhead Fred’s for a seafood b’day dinner for Steely & it was GREAT! She had her heart set on a fresh slice of key lime pie as her b’day “cake” & Fred’s had the ticket! I’ve loved cooked oysters of nearly any kind since I was a kid & theirs were outstanding! They also had a pina colada cheesecake that was sinfully delicious! Bret, Myl, Marine & I all even sang happy b’day to Steely & her ears are prolly healing nicely by now!

Saturday night, knowing the dress code, we had come prepared & hit Club Lavela, supposedly the largest club in North America with a fire marshal capacity of like 7,000 & when we arrived the line went nearly 1/3 of the way across the parking lot but Marine &/or Myl knew some trick or secret handshake so we cruised right in! Because it was SOOO big it really didn’t seem that busy, having several different “rooms” within, that each had a different kind of music or theme. We hung out in the rock bar for a bit waiting on the band then walked around and sat by the pool for a bit. They have a large “open to the sky” area in the very middle with a pool & a stage where they hold concerts sometimes. The rock bar band that night was an Alice & Chains knock off that was pretty good but as with any bar, as the night went along SOME of the patrons were WAY over served & got really annoying! The dude standing immediately behind us was so tanked he could barely stand & kept spilling his drink on Marine’s feet! We eventually decided to depart & realized Bret had stepped out so I went one way & they went the other looking along the way, planning to rally by the pool. I walked into the adjoining room where they were playing techno tunes & had bikini clad gals dancing on the tables so I was SURE I’d find BAC in here somewhere but after just ONE lap (I CAN be a good boy) I departed & saw the crew waving from poolside where BAC had actually dozed off in a beach lounger by the pool listening to the waterfall / fountain! Apparently when they found him he was rudely awakened by an industrial wet willy administered by SOMEBODY whom Bret had screwed with earlier! Anyhow, after lots of long discussions about life, love, relationships, happiness & torment we decided since Bret’s flight home was to depart at 7:30AM we’d best head to the hotel. I ask BAC what in the world he was thinking booking a dead AM flight back after the night he KNEW we’d prolly have & he just assumed we’d drop him off at the airport on our way back to the hotel LMBO! So, after enjoying one more gorgeous moonlit night over the bay I settled in for about a 3 hour nap but this day BAC’s snoring woke me up, just as the alarm on my phone began to chime @ 6AM.

We arose, packed & headed for the airport but of course it all looked a bit different & missed a turn, getting him to the airport 10 minutes before his flight but they had NO sense of humor so he had to rebook later flights anyhow but by that time I was fueling up & nearing that miserable Bama state line.

Now, after all this craziness I pointed the commutermobile’s nose NW & proceeded to spend 9 hours alone with my thoughts, which is never a good thing. Time on my hands & mind always lead me to dark places these days, thinking back over all the fun times, both recent & more distant past but somehow that practice always ends up in parade of what all’s gone wrong making those moments SOOO rare anymore. SOOO by the time I finally made it back to the Grizzly den about 5PM I just wanted to crash but the weekend will not soon be forgotten as a string of many of those rare & fun moments shared with pals & several of the conversations have given me further food for thought regarding the hope of a better future if I can ever manage, as Marine so adeptly put it, to “Get my head outta my @ss & move on!”