Hi Slacker,
I grew up in Panama City; my father was stationed at the AF base there. Since my mother still lives there, I usually visit every summer.
No offense intended but if you think the VA Beach is beautiful, hold onto your socks. Personally I don't think VB cannot even be compared to PCB.
Although it is "off season" right now, you’ll still find plenty to do at the beach. A lot cheaper than VB too. What are your interests? Deep sea fishing? Swimming? Sunning? Drinkin? Droolin’ over hot womenz? Stripperz? Plenty of all that to keep you busy.
If you want to do some shopping, drive across the bridge into the city. That’s were the locals shop, you’ll find everything much more reasonable.
Have fun, I am sure you will enjoy yourself. Heck, you probably won’t want to leave :-)
-xm