1. View the July 5th Oil Spill Update ~ Click Here

2. View All Oil Spill Updates for Panama City Beach Florida ~ Click Here

It’s been raining here and there the last couple of days so I haven’t been able to shoot any amazing pictures of the beach… until now! I’m so happy that I was able to snap several (ok 65) pictures of the beach and the gorgeous sunset tonight. The weather, perfect. 83 degrees with some humidity of course.

I can’t believe that people are still canceling their plans to come down here. I guess I can understand though. I live here. I know what the beach is like every day. They live hundreds of miles away and only have what they see on the news as their resource. I’d be concerned too. Especially if I was traveling with little ones who want to play in the water and look for shells and build sand castles. So I guess I can understand, somewhat.
But again, I live here. I can go to the beach every day and see that there isn’t oil here. Yes we had some tar balls wash up on the west end of the beach. Yes they were cleaned up within an hour of the clean up crews getting there. No they weren’t found on every single foot of the entire shoreline that makes up Panama City Beach. Yes the water was and is safe to go in. No there is no oil smell in the air. I repeat… No oil smell in the air. Some people thought one day last week that they could smell it. My eyes were affected by what was in the air. But you know what it was? It was the paper mill. If you’ve lived here and actually paid attention to how this place smells… you wouldn’t jump to conclusions and immediately blame it on the oil.
I’ve also heard that some people are mad because they can’t get a full refund on their condo rentals because of the oil. The beaches aren’t closed. The water is clear. Oh wait… I’ve also heard that some people are complaining about the “June Grass.” It’s green, it looks like seaweed, it floats around in the water, it gets stuck in your swim suit… it is completely harmless. And I mean completely harmless. If there’s no oil and the beaches aren’t closed, put yourself in the condo owners shoes. If there is no reason to refund the money, why would you? We’re having thousands of people come to these beaches every day and leave happy… and without having a drop of oil on them. Or even seeing oil.

I am blessed to live close to the beach. I’m blessed to be able to open my door and smell the salt in the air from the salt water. I’m blessed to hop in my car and be at the beach in 2 minutes. I am blessed to be able to tell you how the beach really is. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow.
I don’t own a condo. I don’t have a reason to lie about what the water is like or what the air is like. I’m telling you what it’s like because you shouldn’t miss out on how incredibly gorgeous this place is.
Come! Have fun! and get a tan while you’re here too! :) If you have a question… please ask. Don’t go by word of mouth from news stations that aren’t here and that are hundreds of miles away. Take it from a local. A local who wants to share these white sand beaches with as many people as possible for as long as possible.

Panama City Beach Sunset from sand and starfish on Vimeo.

Panama City Beach June 23 from sand and starfish on Vimeo.

Tags: Panama City Beach, panama city beach oil spill pictures, panama city beach oil spill update, panama city beach oil update, the beach

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