PCB City Pier Update – Boardwalk a comin'!

 Most of the new City Pier on Panama city beach is up and running. But I’ve been noticing as I’ve wandered about Pier Park that there is some construction happening at the foot of the City Pier. So today the weather was a bit warmer I took a stroll just to see what was going on. What follows are some of the photos I took.
Continue reading “PCB City Pier Update – Boardwalk a comin'!”

Panama City POPS Orchestra – “To Our Heroes” on PCB

Whoever said that Panama City Beach lacked a cultural touch clearly hasn’t been to a Panama City POPS concert held at the Arnold High School Auditorium! Demand for the Panama City POPS Orchestra has grown so much that the orchestra now holds all of its performances in Panama City Beach, with the next performance  happening on Saturday, March 13th. Continue reading “Panama City POPS Orchestra – “To Our Heroes” on PCB”

The Skinny on Appraisals in Today's Market

How exciting you have an offer on your house and on to close you go!!! But we have one more hurdle to master…. the big appraisal question. Will it appraise and what in the world do we do if it does not? Well in good ole yesteryear people were fighting over property so they would just up the ante and away we would go to close. Today however that is not the game and even cash buyers are putting a clause in their contracts, “property must appraise” So for all of us lay folks our there here are a few things that are involved in appraising your home. Continue reading “The Skinny on Appraisals in Today's Market”

Seacrest Wolf Preserve provides safe haven for displaced gray wolves

Preserve dispels myths, educates the public on this fascinating carnivore

Mystic, a British Columbian alpha female wolf. Lori Ceier/Walton Outdoors

Cynthia Watkins, owner of the Seacrest Wolf Preserve has been fond of animals as long as she can remember. A show breeder of Siberian Huskies early on in her career, she became interested in the conservation of wolves in the 1980s. In 1995, Cynthia became involved with the Yellowstone National Park Wolf Reintroduction Program where she experienced her first physical contact with a wolf.

“The experience stoked the fire of conservation in my heart,” Cynthia said beaming with enthusiasm for the animals.

What started off as a small conservation effort in 1999, Cynthia and her husband Wayne now care for 25 pure gray wolves along with several other animals at their preserve.

Click here to continue to Walton Outdoors story and video

Mr. Youngblood Goes to Washington…

Shawn is 37. He is well traveled, but until last week he had never visited our Nation’s Capital. Having toured a museum or two with him, I was surprised. I knew he would be intrigued and inspired by what he was going to see.

He started thinking about the trip in late January. He had begun doing research on “Catch Shares” and the impact they could have on coastal fisheries, especially those in our area. It was alarming to Shawn and many others. As he can tell you, if you live or work on the Gulf Coast… or anywhere along the 88,000 miles of coastline that encompasses the United States… Catch Shares, IFQs, Bag Limits, and shortened fishing seasons affect you. If you eat fish, they will impact you. If you like to fish, they will affect you. Continue reading “Mr. Youngblood Goes to Washington…”

Miracle Strip at Pier Park – almost here!

Classic engineering of a classic Ferris Wheel
I dropped by Pier Park yesterday to tell a vendor there that their picture had run in an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. I had my camera so I took a short walk over to the new Miracle Strip amusement park to see how it was coming along. You can see from the pictures below that the rides are almost 100% ready to go. The developers, Ted and Jenny Meeks told me that they were about a week away from opening the mini-amusement park.

Continue reading “Miracle Strip at Pier Park – almost here!”

Panama City Beach CVB Targets Spring-Breakers with New Online Planning Guides

It’s right around the corner – and this Spring Break, the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitor’s Bureau has taken a slightly different approach. Aimed at sending a serious message in a fun way, the CVB has created new online guides for the thousands of college students heading to Panama City Beach and its warmer temperatures, beautiful beaches, and action-packed nightlife. Continue reading “Panama City Beach CVB Targets Spring-Breakers with New Online Planning Guides”

Real Estate – Appraisers are not the Culprits

There have been a lot of anecdotal stories lately about how appraisals and appraisers contributed to the real estate meltdown and are currently preventing the market from recovering.  Your friends at www.condosaletrends.com (A certified general/certified residential appraiser in Colorado and Florida with 25 years of experience) would like to clear up some misconceptions. Continue reading “Real Estate – Appraisers are not the Culprits”