Old Panama City Beach welcomes you to our OPCB blog site. Here you will find interesting posts about the heyday of Panama City Beach, Florida.
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If you haven’t been to Panama City Beach, you still might want to experience the “beach life” through our memories and enlightening posts found in the OPCB Newsletter.
Any pix of the “Y” cottages during the 60’s..my memories of mom and and my 1 year old son was the best…hated to see them torn down…i sat and cried in Winn Dixie parking lot
cottages
Thanks for the comment, Dotty. I do have a postcard of the “Y” Cottages. I will post it on OPCB’s Facebook page. We all get a little misty sometimes when we think of precious PCB memories.
Do you know where the St. Regis Court owned by Veedie & Madeleine Halfacre in Laguna Beach used to be? Our family vacationed there in the late 60’s and I would like to know what is there now.
Thank you.
Sandra Nichols:
I don’t know the exact address. I’ll post this on OPCB FB page and ask if anyone knows the address or what’s there now. Thanks for visiting OPCB.com..!
Kenny Redd
I remember staying at the Monterey Hotel back in the ’60’s. Bill Simpson and his wife owned it. My dad would always stop in Chilton County, Alabama to pick up a basket of peaches for Bill’s wife. Times were so good back then. Does anyone remember Bill Simpson and the Monterey Hotel?
Greg, I don’t recall the Monterey Hotel. Was it on Thomas Drive? Too bad that today’s visitors ave no opportunity to get to know their hosts the way your family did. Thanks for posting your story..!
Yes!! I remember the Monterey Hotel well!
Three generations of my family stayed at the Monterey Hotel! My father began staying there as a teenager with his father and several friends as they would go deep sea fishing each year for several years. I have photos of all the men in khaki pants and white t-shirts hauling ( with glee) their catch in at Captain Anderson’s docks. Mrs. Simpson’s son was the charter boat captain. Once dad was grown and married and had us, we made the pilgrimage to the Monterey Hotel each summer for many years. One year we were allowed a family tour of a large Coast Guard vessel docked in the area. It was grand! We would also visit the old city of Panama City and eat out at a waterside restaurant and play goofy golf- classic.
We used to anchor our own little boat off the beach from the motel and swim out to it, fighting tide and waves, and take day trips to Shell Island and not encounter a soul all the day there! We rarely found shells on Shell Island but, back then, there were still good shells and sand dollars on the PBC beach to be found.
Once, Mrs. Simpson’s grand daughter came over to the motel. There had been a storm the night before so seaweed was in a long, fat line of the high tide mark along the beach as far as the eye could see. Flotillas of jelly fish were in the water, too- even purple man-wars!
We spent the day playing in the sand and building seaweed sandcastles. When we tired of the ocean, which we rarely did, we hit the pool. Mrs. Simpson’s pool was one of the best along the beach and it used to have a terrific diving board that we enjoyed doing tricks and flips on all day- except from 12-2 when we had to come out of the sun and rest so we wouldn’t get sunburned and “look like tourists”.
And of course, it wouldn’t have been a vacation without a massive Apple fritter for breakfast from the doughnut stand across Thomas Drive from the motel and a grand dinner for the family at Captain Anderson’s!
My hungry brothers could eat the entire basket of crackers and butter on the table before the waitress brought the iceberg lettuce and tomato salads covered in thousand island dressing. I’m not sure you got any other dressing options back then- or salad options- but we were hungry, tired, thirsty and so thankful! And boy! Didn’t we sleep well at night to the droning sound of the AC window unit blasting cold air on us, cooling our sun-parched skin! With a good night’s sleep, we’d get up the next day, eat a fritter, hit the beach again for new adventures. And our boat would still be anchored off the beach and the sand castle would still be intact, the sun would be shining on the rolling waves, taunting us to ride or fight them another day.
Looking for the name of the hotel that had a place called Bogies as in Humphrey Bogart attached to it…it might have been a cafe inside the hotel?
Danny, my memory is foggy on that. I think there might have been such a place on Thomas Drive, not far from The Treasure Ship…guessing really. Thanks for contacting OPCB.
Thank you so much for this video. I grew up in Ponce de Leon and we got to go one time a summer. I remember every location of the rides and the memories just came flooding back.
Gina, I am pleased that you enjoyed the video. Please tell your friends about OPCB.
Have seen your name on FB often, but was unaware of your blog until we had dinner at C Level mast week and enjoyed your video. Already enjoying your blog. Lots of good memories and history that I didn’t know.
Do you have any videos of the Panama City Bop being danced at the Hangout…..great memories
Charlene, there are videos of dancers at the Hang Out under the video tab on Old Panama City Beach Face Book page. Thanks for commenting.
Love you are doing the blog!
Thanks for saying that, Charlene. Be sure to tell your friends.