After leaving Pensacola, we headed east and then south for a few stops across Florida. Everyone knows Florida is a big state, but that fact seems understated until you plan a road trip there. Thankfully, our first stop was just a few hours down the road.

Panama City Beach (PCB)

We were in Pensacola to housesit for Ace and Koi, and we met their humans in PCB to drop off their car so they could drive back home. In return they gifted us some nights in their luxurious vacation rental. Wow, this place is amazing! Thanks again for your generosity, Larry & Jackie!

With the balcony and incredible water view, it felt like being on a cruise ship – except nobody came into the room midday and left me a towel animal. As far as the eye can see to both the left and right is a long stretch of beautiful coastline. In fact, Panama City Beach boasts over 27 miles of stunning beachfront.

Of all the places we’ve visited, PCB feels like it’s the closest thing to our experience on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. And we loved our summer there! PCB featured water that was calm and clear, sand that was fine, and lots of beach front properties. 

The first morning we woke up and enjoyed coffee on the oversized balcony situated on the 21st floor. I thought I spotted a shark in the water, so I grabbed our binoculars (which were a nice and useful gift from my parents). Turns out it was one dolphin. Then I spotted a small fever of rays. 

Each morning after that I eagerly rushed to the balcony to see what wildlife could be spotted. Nearly every day a ray or two – or four – were seen swimming along the shore. After nature hour, Corey and I practiced yoga down on the sand. If we made it down to the beach early enough, we could practice with very few onlookers.

We went without a car in PCB and traveled to-and-fro on foot. It felt good to use my legs more. My daily step count really dropped after we arrived in the United States. Nearby the condo is Pier Park, a sprawling outdoor mall with lots of food and shopping options. We checked out that a few times when we didn’t feel like cooking in the condo.

One night we made up our own Front Beach Street pub crawl in hopes to visit many of the locally-famous joints along the popular strand. We tried our best but did not make it as far east as we wanted. We did get to Diego’s Burrito Factory (for margaritas), Sharky’s, Runaway Island, and a final drink and bathroom stop at Mehdi’s Liquors. At that point we called it quits and we were home by 9 PM. We’re old!

The week by the beach went by quickly but it was a great focus on health and rejuvenation. I hope we keep our daily yoga practice going-forward.

After our week in PCB, we rented a car to head east. The TMPS (tire pressure management system) light was illuminated, but when Corey brought it to the attention of the employee, he said it was likely cooler temperatures causing a change in pressure. The employee filled all four tires and we hit the road. We were on the road for about an hour when the light turned on again. The pressure reading was quite low in one of the tires. It continued to drop and we anxiously drove to the next exit which was about 10 minutes further down the highway. We crept into the gas station and called Budget Roadside Assistance, who lined up an exchange for us at Tallahassee Airport. This took us way out of our way but we felt it was better than waiting for a tow. While waiting we got a huge whiff of fresh fried chicken so grabbed a box of tendies to take on the road.

The tire was not doing great though and losing about one point of PSI per minute. This meant we had to stop to put air in the tire four more times before limping into the airport. We waited for a car to become available and swapped our luggage into the new car – a dirty unvacuumed Chevy Malibu. Frustrated and eager to get back on the road, we drove out of the lot. The windshield was filthy so Corey tried to wash the windows, which caused the wipers to emit an awful banshee scream. We pulled over one block from the airport and tried to adjust the blade. No luck. It was misinstalled so badly that the metal had left a gouge in the windshield! We turned around, parked the car next to the car we had just been in and walked back inside to get new keys from the counter. We had to wait again for another car to be made available and eventually we got the keys for a Mazda CX-30. But when we started the car, we saw that two of the tires had low pressure! Dilemma: ask for the tires to be filled and hope that fixes it or ask for a different car?

After the fiasco with the first car, we decided to march back into the airport to ask for a new car. The lady at the desk did not look happy to see us AGAIN so soon. We waited twenty more minutes for our third replacement vehicle to come up. One of the lot guys met us to inspect the Ford Escape together. We checked the tires and wipers and were good to go! We loaded all our stuff into our new ride and we were back on the road. All in all we lost several hours and ended up getting to our awesome rental just past sunset and in the pitch dark. Before we jump to our next segment here’s some car rental tips we have learned.

• Take pictures and video in well-lit areas and include the tires and the undercarriage in the front and rear.
• Use the right credit card for the rental: one with rental car protection and a bank that will support you in a chargeback situation.
• Trust your gut, don’t be afraid to ask for help or return a broken car.
• Nothing is too small. I wish I had taken photos of the garbage and uncleanliness of a vehicle we rented in Ireland.
• If something doesn’t work onsite, go ask about it. Our rental in South Africa opened up the rear hatch every time the engine shut off. This was especially dangerous when we were shutting down the car to watch herds of elephants or lions.
• Check the wipers! We’ve had two cars now that we had to return because the blades scratched against the windshield.
• Get a receipt when you fill the gas tank the last time, to show that you actually filled it within a short distance of the return location.
• Finally, if there are any issues with billing, we have found that the branches do not offer much assistance. It does not hurt to ask, but you will likely need to write an email to corporate customer service to ask for an adjustment. Make sure to specify the issues and what you expect as a resolution. This should always be done before initiating anything with your credit card company.

Danville

The next stop of our fun Florida road trip was a brief stopover at one of the most saved vacation rentals in Florida and has also been featured on several travel shows. Danville was created by a man named Dan – a retired plumbing contractor – with a big imagination and strong engineering skills to create unique stays.

We pulled up to the dark driveway and confirmed that we were in the right place. Our headlamps were like a beacon for every mosquito in the area. A thick cloud of bugs encircled Corey as he struggled to open the gate on the fence. We then drove up the jungle-like road to The Tree House.

As we pulled up, a cat appeared in the path of our headlights as if to welcome us to this incredible stay. Blue and green lights set the multi-level treehouse aglow.

We fumbled around a bit but easily got the elevator to take us up to the second floor. We immediately decided to not use the hot tub that night as the lights had drawn so many bugs around.

The unit itself was fantastic! A round yurt nestled between two oak trees. We had such a comfortable and cozy stay. The cat even joined us for most of the night. Once the cat’s snoring was too loud for Corey we kicked him out. We will be writing about our treehouse experience for Business Insider, so stay tuned for that. We will link to it here once that’s published.

Our second night in Danville was spent in The Man Cave. This is a special loft apartment connected to a hangar which now houses broken down cars and small planes.

In between changing apartments, we popped off property for lunch and then came back and killed time by driving golf carts around. With 25 acres and multiple lodging spots, there are trails and plenty of places to explore.

The Man Cave was filled floor to ceiling with antiques, aerospace memorabilia, and general Americana. The queen bed was upstairs and not quite as comfortable as the treehouse but the TV downstairs was great.

This rental also included a cat, named Finneas!

That night we grabbed take out and enjoyed pizza and beer in our own private Irish pub on Main Street. Our own little party for two was really fun since we had just been in Ireland.

Jensen Beach

Our Florida tour concluded in a small community at the Atlantic Coast just a little north of Palm Beach. We catsat a kitty named Sushi for a handful of nights.

Our stay overlapped with Halloween and we got to hand out candy to trick or treaters. So fun to celebrate that back in the States!

We got to visit with my friend and former ship roommate Lisa and her family. We met for some drinks and bites down the road in Jupiter.

The end of the road(trip)

It was a brief trip so we mostly enjoyed hanging out with Sushi, lounging by the pool, and packing up our stuff tightly for a flight to Mexico.

That’s right chicos, we will be south for the winter. Are we sick of all the sunshine and white sandy beaches? Heck, no! Wading in crystal clear waters has even more excited to explore Cozumel and other areas around the Yucatán.

This trip was our first time exploring northwestern Florida. A part of the country that often is overlooked or stigmatized as just a bunch of conservatives and rednecks. While Destin and PCB seemed to have a little more of that aesthetic, Pensacola and Perdido Key appeared more balanced. We really liked Pensacola! It felt a little like a lighter version of New Orleans in regard to food and architecture. The people were all really kind, the scenery and old oaks were gorgeous, and the beaches were spotless.