The Panhandle of Florida – Jan 25, 2014.

Last night shortly after 6pm we pulled into a State Park near Port St. Joe, Florida. Now we are on the top of the Gulf of Mexico rounding our way to start our westbound leg of the trip. The name of our new home for four nights is St. Joseph Peninsula State Park.

Double click the photo to see where we are. 

I admired the Patriotism of the Americans and their flags.
So, we have our own flag now too!

It was a nice 4 hour drive and as we got farther north the grass started to turn greener. I don’t know why? Perhaps they get more rain here or less of the drying winds. 

The last part of yesterday’s journey was on a smaller highway with lots of curves hugging the northern Gulf coastline. Lots of pretty homes on the sides facing the waters and most of them seemed to be quite new.

As we got closer to our destination the sands turned to snow white. In fact the sand is so white I’m not even sure I have seen it this bright as it glittered along the edges in the setting sun. 

This is a beautiful part of Florida with a lot of tall pine trees. I don’t know what kind they are but they remind me of the Ponderosa Pines of the Radium BC area that we sometimes visit near our home.

We turned down a small highway heading down onto the Key where our campground is located. A very quiet and peaceful drive with a few little villages and a small store or two along the way. My mind couldn’t help but to wonder what this must be like in the summers when the crowds come in. 

It certainly wasn’t very busy on this day leading me to believe most of these homes were perhaps summer homes? Sitting high on their stilts these homes come in all colors shapes and designs. The views of the Gulf must be incredible up there but I am glad I am not the one to haul the groceries up all those stairs! barb suggested we would get one of those "Dumb Waiters" if we ever bought a home down here. I replied we would need a Dumber Waiter to carry me up too.

As with some of our other trips we knew the state park office would be closed when we arrived. This time of year they close either at 5pm or dusk so Barb called ahead to get the gate’s pass code. Most state parks here have electric gates. We as usual registered ahead of time so they provide the code when we tell them we are coming in late.

Pulling in with the Dunes on the right side.

As we arrived we un-hooked the car from the motor home once inside the park gate. Barb takes the car and leads the way in. As the sunlight was nearly gone I could just see as we rounded the roads past the campsites that we were surrounded by large sand dunes. This is a great park as most State Parks are. We found our site and backed the rig up right into our stall. 20 minutes later we were all set up and ready to relax.

Our home is here for the next 4 nights.
We hit the road again on Tuesday.

It’s been a while since we have driven 4 long hours in "Bounder" and we were tired. I guess we are getting out of practice.  It used to be that we were known by many of our friends as crazy drivers. Not that we weren’t safe but because we would drive hours on end to get to a selected destination. 

If you like camping amongst the Palms this is a nice place to be.
I can hear the waves crashing on the beach from here.

There have been times where I have driven from home to Las Vegas or home to the beautiful Oregon coast. One time we had 11 days off and drove to Los Angeles and back just to go to Disneyland! 

I think as we age, we begin to slow down and do shorter trips. Much more enjoyable I think and much more scenic as we don’t buzz by all the sights with only one thing on our minds – getting there! As the driver I actually get to see some things along the way now too!

Waking up this morning I was amazed as I was last night that there were no winds. After spending a week in the windy area of Cedar Key it was a nice change. I don’t mean to say that Cedar Key is always windy but I do know it is not uncommon down there. People here actually have their awnings out and pagodas set up on their patios. We haven't seen that in quite some time.

After making our pot of coffee this morning I was able to sit out and enjoy a couple of cups of Joe while sitting on the patio and oh, what a nice change. I hope it stays this way for our entire stay! The weather is due to change again tomorrow though and they are calling for another cold front. Yes we even get nasty weather down here. Thankfully it isn't as bad as the northern states or back at home.

As I write this I am sitting here looking out at the sand dunes that divide us and my view of the Gulf. The sea oats are plenty with a smattering of shrubs and palm trees. Last night at 1130pm I went outside and could hear the noise of an animal. 

In hopes that it was a friendly one (there are bear warning signs around here) I took out my flashlight to see a mature white tail enjoying the oats and brush too. Something we can both enjoy in different ways. I can feel the peace settling in. Another place I would highly recommend on your travels to Florida!

Barb shooting photos of a Red Cardinal.

This afternoon we took the car into the town of St. Joe. A quaint little town along the coast. It was quiet, seemed like it was mostly locals out and about and not many tourists. Perhaps its the un-seasonable cold weather?

After touring around town I went over the the local McDonalds to get some free WiFi. I must say it was quite the burger joint. Set up in the McCafe style it even had a couple of tables with Mac desk top computers for customers to use. I have never seen that before!

After a couple hours in town we decided to head back to camp. A nice drive along the coast again and very enjoyable. We stopped at one beach. I watched the guys fishing and Barb wandered the beaches looking for shells. One guy was in the water up past his waist pulling his net in. He had netted about 15 x 8-inch fish. I am told they are Mullets. 

Like everyone else on the continent it seems we are having un-ruly weather. Although I would rather be here or southern California than anywhere else. We have been watching the news and weather forecasts. The mild winters of years gone by didn't return this year! Our weather has been cold and windy. We have had several nights of freezing with below zero temperatures. We know many of you have been braving the cold nasty conditions back home. 

THE DAYS GET LONGER!

For all the right reasons the days are truly getting longer. It wasn't all that long ago that it would be dark by 530pm est. Now it seems the sun stays up with decent light until 630pm. I am in my happy place with long periods of daylight for a number of reasons. :)

TIP of the DAY!

If you are travelling in your RV and are camping where you can plug in make sure to bring at least two small electric heaters. One for the bedroom and one for the living area. These work much better than burning up all your expensive propane with your RV furnace!

Make it a GREAT Day!