Checking off the must-do vacation adventures

Shell Island by Christy Woodrow

PANAMA CITY BEACH — What’s on your bucket list?

I ask, as the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau is celebrating (and promoting) tourism with a new campaign called “Real. Fun. Beach. Bucket List.”

The effort kicked off recently with a party at the recently expanded Harpoon Harry’s featuring five “family and adventure” bloggers, as well as the launch of a new interactive website that helps visitors explore Panama City Beach from end to end, throughout the year.

The site encourages visitors to click on photos to add items to their vacation bucket lists and qualify for prizes by posting photos of their visit. The prizes include CVB-branded towels, T-shirts, stickers, Frisbees and more.

Some of the suggested experiences on the list include: snorkel, boogie board, get a picture with a pirate, hook and cook your dinner, master body surfing, play miniature golf, watch a breathtaking sunset, build the ultimate sand castle, run a race, watch dolphins, gather seashells, scuba dive, and write a love note in the sand.

Reading the complete list, I can safely say I’ve already checked off nearly all of those items. That’s what it means to live in paradise, I suppose. Our same-old same-old is someone else’s dream vacation. Our day at the beach is someone else blowing their whole savings account.

The visiting bloggers included Jessica Bowers of “Suitcases and Sippy Cups,” Keryn Means of “Walking On Travels,” Kristin Luna of “Camels and Chocolate,” Christy Woodrow of “Ordinary Traveler,” and photojournalist Spencer Spellman of “TheTraveling Philosopher.” They spent a few days in Panama City Beach exploring and filling out their own bucket lists, and sharing their experiences with their multitude of fans.

The group has been “posting some great shots and video, and because of the number of followers that they have, they’re reaching a huge audience,” said David Demarest of the CVB. “A sunset photo one of the bloggers posted early in the trip quickly reached over 200,000 views, and that’s just one of the five bloggers sharing their experience.”

The term “bucket list” has always bugged me because it’s about trying to get some things done before you kick the bucket. I prefer Spellman’s use of the term “life list” on his blog, as that’s what it’s really about — getting the most out of this life.

When I remember to look at it from the outsider’s perspective, I realize again how lucky I am to live here, and I hope you feel the same.

Peace.

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(This is my Undercurrents column for PanamaCity.com and The News Herald this week.)

Where I Am Online and Why

My website got a makeover this year. It is here<< and it has lots of great info about all of my books, book trailers and more.

This << is my author profile page at Amazon, which lists all my books you can get through that source. I'm pretty happy to be there, and will be releasing more new books and products through this venue in the near future.

I tweet about anything I see that interests me here: Twitter.com/midnightonmars. I also have a twitter account for "official" use on News Herald websites, but I seldom use it. (I also have a third twitter account that seemed funny at the time, but I never go there any more. Don't go there.)

This where I lurk on Tumblr, reposting things that are cool, make me grin, or relate to my writing. Also lots of Doctor Who, Doctor Strange, Wonder Woman and Star Trek, which is what the Internet was invented for.

Facebook continues to be an obsession. I have this page for my fans, this page for my new book (Dragon Rising) and its subsequent series, this page for my recent zombie short story collection (Tales of the Awakening Dead) and its subsequent series, this page I participate on for the sake of Graphic Knowledge.

Speaking of Graphic Knowledge, you can download the app (and a free trial issue) here<< and you can check out our website and blog here<< where we talk about comics and geek culture.

My weekly columns for PanamaCity.com and The News Herald can be found by looking for any Undercurrents titles here<< (Some of these are rewritten/repurposed items from this blog, or vice versa.)

Here's my FourSquare page.

My Instagram.

My Linked-In. (Whatever that is.)

I'm on GoodReads, though God knows what good it is.

I still have a MySpace, though I seldom even visit there.

You can check out some of my self-published stuff in my "author spotlight" page at Lulu. (While you're there, click some review buttons. I'd appreciate it.)

I have a YouTube account as well. There's no telling what you'll find there, as it has been used for book trailers, News Herald work, home videos, short films and so forth.

I'm probably other places online also, but just can't recall it right now. If I've forgotten something, feel free to point out my pathetic memory in the comments.

Peace.

Station Identification

My buddy Chris Arrant did this recently on his Tumblr. Warren Ellis, comic book writer and novelist, does it regularly on his website. I say always steal from those you admire, so here are places you can find me:

I tweet about anything I see that interests me here: Twitter.com/midnightonmars. I use Echofon on my desktop to keep up with the twitter accounts I follow.

I have a tumblr that I still occasionally add to. I suspect it might see renewed interest in upcoming weeks. It's here<<

Facebook continues to be an obsession despite the recent changes and the fact that I seldom see posts from the majority of my friends any more. Facebook.com/midnightonmars (I've been wondering if I should create a Facebook fan page for my writing? Yes? No?)

My columns for the News Herald and random blogs appear here<< (Some of these are rewritten/repurposed items from this blog, or vice versa.)

My work with PanamaCity.com is generally uncredited. Bylined versions of these entries often appear on the Get Local page at NewsHerald.com.

I still have a MySpace, though I seldom even visit there.

You can check out my self-published stuff in my "author spotlight" page at Lulu. (While you're there, click some review buttons. I'd appreciate it.)

I have a YouTube account as well. There's no telling what you'll find there, as it has been used for News Herald work, home videos, short films and so forth.

This is me at Linked In. I have no idea what use this place is, and I haven't updated it in a while.

I'm probably other places online also, but just can't recall it right now.