Beautiful white sand beach and clear Gulf waters - Won't it always be this way?

Panama City Beach has been known since the 1950's as "The World's Most Beautiful Beaches." And that's the way I've known this beach my entire life (and that's been since the 1950's, too).

I took this photo, so I can promise you this is really what it looks like - gorgeous blue skies, white fluffy clouds, sugar white sand, and crystal clear water. Sometimes there are lots of intoxicating white-topped waves rolling in - and sometimes there's a little seaweed - we call it "June grass." It doesn't last long and it doesn't mess with the swimmers or jet skiers, or boaters.

It doesn't stop the kids from playing in the wet sand making sand castles and picking up beautiful sea shells.

This is what it looks like on a bright sunny summer day - like today. Won't it always be this way?

This is the city pier on Panama City Beach. It's right in the middle of all the fun places to see, if you're a tourist in the summer.

Local kids and adults spend a lot of time at those tourist places, too, but we don't admit it. We call them local hangouts.

Shipwreck Island water park, the fabulous new Pier Park - new shopping center with a huge theater and lots of restaurants.

This is the way I will always remember the Gulf of Mexico on the Northwest Florida Beaches. Won't it always be this way?

Today the beach is really busy - lots of friends and families enjoying a hot June day swimming, fishing, playing in the sand, racing on jet skies, and going out on the boat to meet friends at the Jetties.

When I was four years old, my dad and I were enjoying a day of vacation floating on the waves in these very same Gulf waters on Panama City Beach. A wave knocked me off the pink float that I was on - and it took him a long time to find me.

When you're 4 and under the salty water (and you can't swim) the gulf waves sound like a roaring train, and the sun glistens through the water - I couldn't see him, but he finally found me.

We sat on the white sand for a very long time that afternoon - not saying a word - just staring at those waves. I don't know if he ever told my mom that he almost let me drown in the Gulf.

This is "the strip" - where all the t-shirt shops, restaurants, high rise condos, and hotels provide fun, food, entertainment, and great places to stay when you come to the beach.

Some are nicer than others - the hotels, condos, and restaurants - but the white sandy beach and Gulf waters are always the main attraction - that's really why people come here for vacation.

Won't it always be this way?

This is a daytime west view - if you've been here you know it looks a lot different at sunset.

You can see for absolutely miles along the curve of the coast line on a bright sunny day. I took this photo in late winter from a condo balcony.

Today there would be a lot of people on the beach. If you want to see for yourself, click on this LIVE WEB-CAM LINK and you can see what it looks like right now - day or night - every day.

Won't it always be this way?

My family and I vacationed on this beach every summer of my life (my parents had been coming here for years before me). There are lots of things that I remember that aren't here any more like THE HANG OUT in the '50's and '60's, and Petticoat Junction in the '70's, and even my kids remember Miracle Strip Amusement Park - my kids and thousands of kids who vacationed here and grew up on this beach.

SUNSET

on

Panama City

Beach, FL

I know this photo is real, because I took this photo at sunset in February, 2008.

There have been thousands of sunsets just like it - if you've ever seen one - well, you know it's an unforgettable sight. And if you live here, sometimes you just stop whatever you're doing to go sit at the beach to watch the sun set. There are lots of great places to watch the sun set - Schooners Local's Beach Club (a big tourist spot) fires off a canon at sunset - or Laguna Beach with its 1.7 miles of dedicated beach.

My parents retired here in the early '80's, and they lived on Thomas Drive together for nearly 30 years. Of course I have friends who have lived here much longer - some have never lived anywhere else. Some moved here after retiring from careers in icy cold states that they only visit in the spring or fall now.

My husband and I vacationed at one of their condos for our honeymoon. Then we moved here a couple of years later with that "honeymoon baby" who has spent her entire 27 years on this beach. We had two more kids - now 21 and 24 - and they've spent their entire lives on this beach, too.

Today, we're all wondering if it will always be this way. Will we always have these white sandy beaches and clear Gulf waters? Everyone who loves these beaches - those who live here and vacation here, own homes and condos, or who are residents or investment owners - we're all wondering what the future will bring.

We never dreamed anything would soil our beautiful beaches. We've been through lots of tropical storms and hurricanes. We've seen storm damage, wind damage, flooding, and tornadoes. We've rebuilt from the ground up, we've seen condos, hotels, and beach front houses demolished - either during a storm or afterwards to remodel and rebuild something even bigger and better.

But we never dreamed that anything would come ashore like the oil in the Gulf that threatens our beaches.

We're praying that it doesn't. But we've learned new words that we don't want to know - like 'tar-ball' - we never dreamed we would be holding our breath worrying about tar-balls. We hope and pray that our beaches will always be pristine and beautiful like they are today.

If you think about it tonight, say a prayer for all the people along the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Say a prayer for the wildlife, the birds, the turtles, and sea life. Say a prayer for the people who live along the coastline whose lives, homes, jobs, and futures depend on the viability of the Gulf.

This is the sign that "proclaims" that Panama City Beach IS "the world's most beautiful beaches." Pray that it stays that way!

POSTED BY JAN EVETT, BROKER ASSOCIATE, CENTURY 21 RYAN REALTY, PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL - JUNE, 2010