Gulf of Mexico

We stayed at a posh resort (pricey) across the street from Carrabelle beach, which is on the gulf coast. They call it the forgotten coast. Not sure why. However, there was no evidence of oil spill that we could tell, although I was wondering about the number of birds as there was not that many as compared to other beaches.

Walked along the white sand beach, me, three other people and a very large dog. It feels of Mexico(except for the lack of people and resorts) There are palm trees interspersed with natural vegetation

This is definitely a summer beach area. Most of the homes are well kept and of a good size. Not any or many hotels where we were,

Drove to St. Georges Island, there is a 6 k. long bridge to get to this small island. The island is definitely a holiday destination spot with beach houses many of them large and for rent. The island is flat and about three blocks wide and 12 kilometers long. Had an excellent lunch of oysters in the shell and shrimp wraps at a small beach bar and grill.

The weather was beautiful (27) for our first two days and then turned cooler (20) on our third day.

The next day drove along the coast highway 98. (Emerald coast)

Some of the highlights include:

• driving past army and navy bases, familiar names like Tindal, Pensacola,
• Huge white sand dunes (looked like snow) at Navarre with dune buggies waiting to explore and drive through them.
• Wind surfing. (not us)
• Long bridges to cross over the ocean.

We drove through our first storm with a Tornado watch and thunderstorms and sheets of rain, It seems as if it is either pouring or dry… there is no in between. . The day started out hot and very humid. Today we are at a small rv park in Foley Alabama. Sun is shining but the temp is cooler.

great place for oysters

snow or sand?

Suwanee River

Way down upon the Suwannee river…

This is a neat little area that we stumbled upon. This southern river flows gently, and is very pretty, with trees overhanging the banks. Our campsite was quiet with lots of room to roam (played bocce). The campsite owner shared some, “local things to do”, ideas with us and we stayed a couple of nights longer than we had originally planned There are a few state parks close by and one of the parks is called Manatee park We didn’t get the opportunity to see any but we did do some other neat things. We drove about 40 miles to the coast and did a day trip to Cedar Keys. This was an area I really enjoyed. It’s curious how features strike you as comfortable or pleasing, or that you really like and others not so much. The atmosphere in this small coastal town seems pretty laid back. The ocean is gentle and there are small islands interspersed around the bays. The homes are generally nice looking. People drive golf carts to get around. We took a boat trip out into the bay and around a couple of Islands. Saw some dolphins. Ate Grouper (wonderful) and Mullet for the first time. It was a nice day.