wfooshee
O, Woe is me!!
For once I was at the office at lunchtime, and the sky is clear, the day is wonderful, and I can finally follow up on my plan to contribute my own lunch walk gallery. Monday, February 25th, 2008.
But I didn't walk, I rode a bit. Never got more than a mile from the office, but I couldn't have gotten to all of it within my lunch time, and still had any food. I don't skip food.
Pictures are clickable to get larger images, 1280x960.
Here's the office. I've been employed with this company since the beginning of Reagan's second term. I design and build networks and servers. Our customers range from single-attorney law or medical offices to one of the largest private banks in the state, with branches from Pensacola to central Florida. Office is kind of non-descript-looking, but we work outside of it, we don't expect people to have to find us. And it has a nice wide sidewalk on the side good for nothing but bike parking. Some fool co-worker rides that scooter that's behind my FJR, thinks a big bike would kill him.
So we head down to the end of Harrison Avenue, the main street through downtown. At the end of the street, where it runs into the bay, we have our city center, with the auditorium, a marina, and a really plain-looking rather ugly high-rise retirement center.
Also located here is city hall, where you pay your water bill. Nothing else important happens there.
Next to city hall is the public library, in the process of relocating and expanding.
Here's part of the marina itself, and a shiny V-twin I saw parked down there. In the background of the Harley shot, across the bay, you see gulf-front high-rises in the distance.
Now we head back up Harrison Avenue, away from the water. At the corner with 4th street, we have the Visual Arts Center. The old part of this building was once the police station. They put an artsy wing on it so we'd know it was an artsy place, for people like artists to display their "work."
Across the street is the Martin Theater, a 1920's-era cinama house, restored to modern stage theater with large side rooms for receptions and parties. We rented this for my wife's parents' 50th anniversary, had over 200 guests. Quite a shindig that was.
I then went a little bit east, where you encounter another marina on Massalina Bayou. This marina is mostly sailboats, a few working shrimpers, behind a drawbridge.
Odot, SkooterG, whichever one of you was in town, why didn't you call or somethin'?
From the drawbridge, this is a shot of one of our law office customers. They also have offices in Panama City Beach (which is a different town from Panama City), Destin, and a community called Watercolor. That's a brown pelican floating in the foreground, a descendant of birds relocated here from Louisiana back during the DDT days, when they were being wiped out along the Mississippi River. Some number of them were brought here, and now we have more than we know what to do with. They're fun to watch, skimming the water, then swooping up to dive for fish. They look like a cross between a B-17 and a pterodactyl.
Continuing east along Beach drive across the drawbridge, you reach Cherry Street, the main street through the section of town known as the Cove. here's a shot looking back downtown from that corner. You see the marina and back of the auditorium in this picture. I lived in the Cove for a while some years back, and this view was part of my morning drive.
OK, back onto Beach drive and go a little west of downtown. A little ways along its length is Lake Caroline, actually a bayou which is the outlet of some little creek. Always lots of birds here, and these I've never seen before, something migratory passing through. I don't know what they are. It appears they're used to handouts, though, they came right up when I stopped.
These really seriously ugly ducks are native and live at the lake.
A wide shot stitched from 4 frames:
Here is Beach Drive itself, looking east, then west.
Almost back to the office on Beach Drive, we pass another customer, Paul Brent Gallery. He's a well-known commercially successful artist, usually does water colors, and the upper floor of this building houses his studio, with the gallery on the lower floor.
That wraps up the tour for this afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Please feel free to browse the souvenir shop on your way to the exits.
But I didn't walk, I rode a bit. Never got more than a mile from the office, but I couldn't have gotten to all of it within my lunch time, and still had any food. I don't skip food.
Pictures are clickable to get larger images, 1280x960.
Here's the office. I've been employed with this company since the beginning of Reagan's second term. I design and build networks and servers. Our customers range from single-attorney law or medical offices to one of the largest private banks in the state, with branches from Pensacola to central Florida. Office is kind of non-descript-looking, but we work outside of it, we don't expect people to have to find us. And it has a nice wide sidewalk on the side good for nothing but bike parking. Some fool co-worker rides that scooter that's behind my FJR, thinks a big bike would kill him.
So we head down to the end of Harrison Avenue, the main street through downtown. At the end of the street, where it runs into the bay, we have our city center, with the auditorium, a marina, and a really plain-looking rather ugly high-rise retirement center.
Also located here is city hall, where you pay your water bill. Nothing else important happens there.
Next to city hall is the public library, in the process of relocating and expanding.
Here's part of the marina itself, and a shiny V-twin I saw parked down there. In the background of the Harley shot, across the bay, you see gulf-front high-rises in the distance.
Now we head back up Harrison Avenue, away from the water. At the corner with 4th street, we have the Visual Arts Center. The old part of this building was once the police station. They put an artsy wing on it so we'd know it was an artsy place, for people like artists to display their "work."
Across the street is the Martin Theater, a 1920's-era cinama house, restored to modern stage theater with large side rooms for receptions and parties. We rented this for my wife's parents' 50th anniversary, had over 200 guests. Quite a shindig that was.
I then went a little bit east, where you encounter another marina on Massalina Bayou. This marina is mostly sailboats, a few working shrimpers, behind a drawbridge.
Odot, SkooterG, whichever one of you was in town, why didn't you call or somethin'?
From the drawbridge, this is a shot of one of our law office customers. They also have offices in Panama City Beach (which is a different town from Panama City), Destin, and a community called Watercolor. That's a brown pelican floating in the foreground, a descendant of birds relocated here from Louisiana back during the DDT days, when they were being wiped out along the Mississippi River. Some number of them were brought here, and now we have more than we know what to do with. They're fun to watch, skimming the water, then swooping up to dive for fish. They look like a cross between a B-17 and a pterodactyl.
Continuing east along Beach drive across the drawbridge, you reach Cherry Street, the main street through the section of town known as the Cove. here's a shot looking back downtown from that corner. You see the marina and back of the auditorium in this picture. I lived in the Cove for a while some years back, and this view was part of my morning drive.
OK, back onto Beach drive and go a little west of downtown. A little ways along its length is Lake Caroline, actually a bayou which is the outlet of some little creek. Always lots of birds here, and these I've never seen before, something migratory passing through. I don't know what they are. It appears they're used to handouts, though, they came right up when I stopped.
These really seriously ugly ducks are native and live at the lake.
A wide shot stitched from 4 frames:
Here is Beach Drive itself, looking east, then west.
Almost back to the office on Beach Drive, we pass another customer, Paul Brent Gallery. He's a well-known commercially successful artist, usually does water colors, and the upper floor of this building houses his studio, with the gallery on the lower floor.
That wraps up the tour for this afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Please feel free to browse the souvenir shop on your way to the exits.
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I live out on Panama City Beach 
