Wednesday, April 4, 2018

North Florida

So, we all know that Florida has 1350 miles of coastline and that all the different sections of the coast have names - from the First Coast (St Augustine), to the Space Coast (Titusville), to the Treasure Coast ((Melbourne), to the Sun Coast (Tampa), to the Nature Coast (Crystal River), the Forgotten Coast (Keaton Beach to
Pier at Mexico Beach
Apalachicola) and lastly the Emerald Coast (Mexico Beach to Destin).  From Keaton Beach around the bend to Apalachicola (I love to say that word!) and on to Mexico Beach, tourism has not been actively promoted – until recently.  Each time we visit M.B. the rows of small condo buildings and the collection of small independent shops have multiplied and flourished.  By design, there are no chain stores and no high-rise buildings in this small beach town!  Rustic Sands Campground has stayed the same also – quiet and comfortable.  The campground is a half-mile from the Gulf and its white sandy beaches so when the cold front came howling thru, the winds in the campground were mostly just a strong breeze.

In southern Florida, when a cold front would come thru, the temps might drop a few degrees, it possibly could rain a bit, and then life would go back to normal.  This cold front in the panhandle was a real COLD front with high winds and rip tides and angry dark waves crashing to shore.   One day, as we drove out along the coast and onto the St Joe Peninsula, we watched as the waves grew in height and intensity.  The winds continued even as we moved farther west from M.B. over to Topsail State Park near Destin.

Topsail State Park was once a top notch RV Resort until the state purchased it and the surrounding area to preserve this awesome
Harbor Walk
land and keep it from being over developed like other seaside towns as Panama City, Panama City Beach and even Destin.  Each time we stay in the area we are drawn back to Destin and it’s tourist filled Harbor Walk, the white sand beach on the protective jut of land opposite it and the arched bridge that continues the highway to the west end of
the panhandle.  By the time we arrived and walked the beach and the boardwalk the winds had calmed and the beautiful blue-green waters had settled to gentle lapping waves.  The sun was shining and the tour boats were transporting guests in and out of the busy harbor. 

Topsail is a big sprawling park and the road down to the beach area is a half of a mile from the main campground loops to the dune area that line that white sandy beach.  And we had no bikes to ride!  Now that my eye was healed and not nearly as sensitive as before, it was no problem to walk down the winding blacktop road to the bottom and even out across the sturdy, albeit lengthy, wooden walkway that crossed those massive dunes. The red and purple danger flags were pulling at their sturdy masts so we didn’t walk far at the waters edge.  And we didn’t walk back UP that winding uphill road either!  We sat and waited for the free shuttle truck and
it’s two passenger wagons that obediently followed it up and down that hill all day long!  On our second trip to the beach we rode the shuttle both ways and H took his colorful kite along and finally got to fly it!  Do you know how hard it is to catch a picture of a bright colored fast flying kite that is zipping from one side of the bright blue sky to the other???

Our 3 days passed quickly but not without a drive up to DeFuniak Springs, the tiny town with a round lake/spring in the very center of it’s historic downtown.  We visited the visitor center, the museum housed in the old train depot and, of course, drove around the circle surrounding the lake!  The last time we were here was in a long ago December and the old homes were decorated for the holidays.  We also had the “All You Can Eat” Shrimp dinner that we fondly remembered at Fannin’s Family Restaurant!  It was hard to stand up and walk when we finally quit eating those scrumptious
Crustaceans.

Our next stop was north – as the crow flies only 10 miles but via H’s GPs and roads – 30 plus since we had to drive up and around the vast Choctawhatchee Bay!  Our destination for one more night was the Rocky Bayou State Park before really heading north and leaving Florida.  Oh look- a new Florida State Park bar patch for the arm of my jacket!  On a walk thru the woods that divides the
Deer Moss
camping loop and the picnic area, were large areas of pale green clumps growing along the pathway and throughout the woods.  We learned from the extremely friendly volunteers that these tiny golf ball sized clumps were called Deer Moss and is what model train folks use for trees in their panoramic displays!

Now, we’re really heading north, leaving the state of Florida and traveling up thru the state of Alabama.  We’re heading home – but we still have some new places to explore on the way!