The beaches just keep getting better in Northwest Florida. Our last stop on this journey takes us to Destin, Florida. Not as crowded with college kids as Panama City Beach, and the beach looks more like Hawaii or the Caribbean.

Making our way from Panama City Beach to Destin, we took 30-A which took us past some amazing places along the beaches of South Walton County. And, if the beaches were not enough, we came upon Justin Gaffrey’s Gaffery Art Gallery on 21 Blue Gulf Drive in Blue Mountain Beach. Justin’s work will leave you breathless. A very humble and warm man, he lets his art speak for itself.

One of the reasons we came to the Florida Panhandle was to enjoy my favorite food groups—crab, shrimp and oysters. We were quick to learn, there is an endless supply of all of the above.

In addition to purchasing all sorts of seafood to cook in our room, we stumbled upon a local treasure—Pier 77—a wonderful place that served all matter of local seafood delicacies. Indeed we were probably the only folks there without Southern accents (not to mention Auburn t-shirts and hats).

So far, the main negative is the deadly traffic on and around the beachfront area that crawls at about .5 miles an hour after sunset. It could be just because it’s a holiday weekend and today everyone will return to their homes in Alabama and Georgia.

Who knew it would take more than three hours to get from Pensacola to Panama City Beach? It’s kind of a  choppy ride—part semi-freeway, part regular road and part tourist traffic. In fact, using Google Maps as our guide, the last five miles took a full hour as we snaked our way through some stop and crawl traffic (cruising kids) along Front Beach Road here in Panama City Beach. Sadly, we could have done it in about 15 minutes if we looked at a real map.

But here we are—Panama City Beach. Gorgeous white sand, warm water and a ton of seafood shops that sell fresh shrimp, crab, tuna, crawfish, etc… As I imagined, it’s Cancun, but in the U.S.; the question that needs to be answered will be if it’s worth the haul to get here. Indeed, we could have gotten to Cancun (or the Caribbean, for that matter) much easier.

If only I could persuade United Airlines to fly here…

First of all, we’re not totally sure how we got here. We had to wake up at 3 am and take one long and one short flight to get to Pensacola, It’s hot, humid and the smell of seafood and magnolia trees fill the air. It’s only the second or third time I’ve actually been in “the South” (not counting Orlando or Miami Beach). The pace is slow, the folks look at us funny (they reckon we’re Yankees) and my wife is actually wearing in NY Yankees hat into the Marina Oyster Barn.

So, one hour after landing, we’re eating and drinking it all in as hicks on the road in Pensacola.

Mike and Allen discuss the implications of theYahoo-eBay partnership announced this week.  Is it a partnership that could have been forged awhile ago or an alliance necessitated by today's circumstances.

They say you learn from life lessons. One of the biggest, if not biggest life lessons my wife and I ever had was running (and failing at) our own business. We owned a few stores in Seattle that sold informational videos, audios and books. It was in the late ‘80s, and the store was called “The How To Do Anything Store” (later changed to Info to Go).

We sure as heck went in with good intentions, but what we knew about running a retail operation was not enough to be a success.  It was a good idea that was poorly executed and was ahead of its time. We moved on.

Here’s a look at the site of our former venture.

Finally, I was headed home. To my surprise, I discovered that the Seattle-Tacoma Airport (Sea-Tac) has a great food court in the Alaska Airlines terminal. At lunchtime, it was packed and folks hovered over tables waiting for those seated to finish. I like the people who brought their own food and camped out at a table for an hour, frustrating the paying customers.

The second to the last stop of the tour took me to the Seattle area. I lived in Seattle from 1980-1989, and got sick of the weather (among other things). Some 26 years after first moving to the Northwest, I am stuck by two things--the traffic and the strip mallification of  The East Side (aka Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc..). People think LA is bad, but you cannot go two blocks in the East Side without seeing some cluster of shops. Needless to say, it does not add to the area’s natural beauty. And, as we see here driving over the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (aka 520), from Bellevue to Seattle, traffic is heavy at 11 am in the drizzle/mist/light rain.

I was able to take some time out of my Seattle tour stop to head over to Capitol Hill and see the house on E. Republican where the horrific post-Rave shootings took place. Needless to say, this was an even of intense magnitude that impacted both the community and my family; the son of my wife’s cousin was among those killed. Senseless…what else can be said.

In this installment, Mike and Allen talk about Yahoo in Google in the wake of their respective analyst/press days. 

Earlier this year, I created a controversial video called “Why I Hate LA.” Who knew so many people were so passionate about LA? Well, I lived and worked in the Bay Area from 1993-2001 and loved it. I still do. So, in my NoCal versus SoCal clash, here’s my short homage to San Francisco. Take that LA!

Two new cameras in my life--one purchased, one on loan. Here’s a shot of our new vegetable garden which is the handiwork of my wife/-in-house farmer. Note the creative use of AOL discs as they create light beams from the desert sun to scare away the birds.

One of the highlights of my career was being instrumental in the founding/launching of The Gate. I joined The Chronicle in 1993 in the evolving new media group and was assigned the task of building out an online presence. Long story short, we became the first daily newspaper on the Web in 1994. I have quite a few insider stories (most of which I cannot share). I guess I can say I was there when it all started.

Warm weather means music outside, and here’s a dude playing the fiddle on the corner of Market and Ellis in San Francisco.

It’s challenging being away from your family on Mother’s Day. While my mother has been gone for more than 23 years, I enjoy the day with my wife and daughter. Ironically, one of our most memorable Mothers Days was spent just a few blocks from my hotel off of Union Square. The memory of that day will hopefully get me through this day of my tour…

The first stop on my Road Trip was hosting a panel at the TieCon 2006 Conference held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Maybe I hoped it would bring me good karma, but since it was the site of my first big technology presentation, more than 12 years ago, I figured it would be good for my soul. Plus, I had to come to the Bay Area for four nights of a company conference, so it seemed cost efficient.

 

The panel was really good. We talked about “stories from the front lines” of media convergence. We were one of the last panels of the day, but had good flow and good energy. Folks I know from Grouper and Akimbo were on the panel and they shared interesting tidbits that should be of value to those looking to start in the media business.

 

I found the conference interesting in that it’s a giant VC-start up matchmaking event. You could just smell the money changing hands.

So, right about now, I feel like a bad rock act on tour: Six plane rides, five cities, five hotels, etc… On a newly restricted diet, the challenges are somewhere between ridiculous and impossible. But, luckily for me, in Northern California, there are places like Draeger’s, gourmet supermarkets that go the extra mile with freshly baked items (sourdough, my life saver), salad bar, olive bar, soup bar, etc.. Being in a hotel with its own kitchen will get me through the next few days.

 

By the way, Google Map’s (formerly Google Local) gave me the wrong directions from my hotel to the Draeger’s in Los Altos. It was big enough to see from the main highway, so I was safe, otherwise I might be halfway to Half Moon Bay. Speaking of Draeger’s, Mike has always talked about the big Draeger’s in San Mateo. Could be worth a trip later after my work event.

My video inertia is about to end. I have broken down and ordered a new camera. Better zoom, remote mic capabilities, low light capabilities and even HD. Stay tuned!

Napster, the company that essentially revolutionized digital entertainment, now has a free service that allows users to hear five free plays of a song before forcing a purchase (or subscription). What I like best is this Napsterlink feature that allows you to embed a player in your blog that allows you to share a particular song you like. (see below). You have to be a registered Napster user (it’s free to register) to access the song.

Hanging By A Moment