Criteria for Picking a Great Beach Motel

Whenever Liz and get to a new beach, the first thing we do is take a ride about. We look first at places on the water or at least across the street from it. Then, we want to find a mom and pop place with one or two stories.

You can usually tell that the motel is a good place if the landscaping and exterior or in top shape. You never know for sure what you're going to get with a mom and pop. Sometimes, we will ask to see a room, but usually if the outside is good, the inside is good as well.

Next, we want to see if there are nearby bars and proximity to any place we want to go.

If it meets these criteria, it's a go.

We found just such a place in Panama City Beach, the Driftwood Lodge, dating back to the 50s with he same family running it. Even better, nightly rentals are $55 to $60 during the off-season, which is now in the Florida Panhandle.

We have a room just across the dunes from some of the whitest sand you'll ever see, and, then there's that water. I'm typing away right now at a picnic table overlooking the beach. Makes for slow typing above and beyond my two-finger technique.

Across the street, we have a place with NTN and $1 pints of Coors Light and a locals bar called Donovan's Reef, the same name as our favorite place in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, out home NTN bar.

Thinkin' We Just Might Stay Awhile. --RoadDog