Day 5 - 12/31/2004 - Transitioning years on the Gulf...

What a way to start the New Year - swimming in the ocean on a warm day in between highpoints!  It doesn't get much better.  Ft. Walton was a welcome sight given all of the driving we had done over the past few days.  We slept in, watched some TV, shopped, and went swimming at the beach.  The air was warm, but the water was a bit cold.  Hunter and I spent the late afternoon building a sand castle at the tide limit.  As the tide came in, it would start to wash away part of our fortifications.  We would rush to that side, hopelessly throwing sand on the wall.  At once, a big wave completely overwashed the castle.  We renamed it "Sri Lanka" (in honor of the tsunami days before) and gave up.  After showers, it was out for the infamous "all-you-can-eat" shrimp (apparently I'm too old to remember how painful this can be). I do love popcorn shrimp (that's "Calabash Style" to my friends in NC).  After dinner it was on to a movie ("Darkness" - wait for the DVD if you have to see it).  

At one point we had considered driving east for New Years.  We hoped to drive into the Eastern Timezone, celebrate New Years, and then drive back to the hotel which was in the Central Timezone and celebrate again.  After looking at the mileages, and considering the number of drunks that would be on the road, we opted for a quiet evening in the hotel.  We opened a bottle of sparkling grape juice and turned on the TV to watch Dick Clarke's ball drop (that joke never goes out of style).  3...2...1...Happy New Year!  We toasted, and turned in for a good night's sleep.  The next day would be a long one with a huge amount of driving.