Good Trip

[soFlaNative]

Despite being born and raised in S. Fla neither MizAnna nor I
had been to the panhandle but for trips west on I-10 so when
she suggested a road trip I began to search and found St. George Island,
across a causeway from Eastpoint which was east from Appalachicola across another causeway.


Except for about 30 mile on I-75 from around Bushnell to Ocala
we drove state roads from Lake Placid north. Easy drive but long.
Plenty to see and taking my time after 5 hours with a bit left to travel after gassing up
near Chiefland I had a smoke and a beer checking maps to catch US98 on the first try.

Made it to the motel about 2hrs. later, ribeyes courtesy of Piggly Wiggly.

Taken thru the salt spray grimed window, meat was perfection.


Headed west the following day past an Eglin AFB experimental unit (?) to Cape San Blas,
looks like a mirror image of Cape Cod except with nice, nearly deserted beaches.

 

[Bald1]

Cool. My son did some water rescue training at Elgin.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Nice! When dad was stationed at Hurlburt Field we lived in Crestview where it rained while the sun shone, chiggers and doodle bugs outnumbered sand grains and toilet paper hung from trees.

Every time I spoke I heard "you ain't from around these here parts, are ya?"

 

[Murphy's Law]

All the reasons I love Florida. Once you can accept the heat & humid your batting a thousand. When others get 5-6-7 inches of snow, we just get more "sand" on the beaches.

 

[Onomea]

I like how you took your own portable grill with you and bought steaks at a local supermarket.

 

[soFlaNative]

The stop near Chiefland to refuel and reload was about as far
north on the west side of the state I'd ever been. Levy county
and the April canoe races on the Wacasassa were the extent.

One day we headed west, not even out of town we stopped at
an estuarine reserve (salt water marsh) with a semi secured
boardwalk to the beach. Bad knee and all Marianna cruised.

Some high ground near the start of the boardwalk would have
made a good spot to pitch camp amongst the slash pines had
it been further off the beaten path and not so much fire ants.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I stayed once at a motel outside of Chiefland. It was like going back to the '30's style. The toilet ran all night and the Fire ants ruled the parking lot.

 

[soFlaNative]

The drive from LP to St.G was Sun, June 2 our 40th anniversary.
We started our lives together in a mobile home in downtown Davie, Fl.
The home was on the park's perimeter laid out end to end and ours was
second to last. A canal in the back had been previously filled so
there was a bit of room to breathe. Our neighbor on the end had a
20ft. sq poured pad with a storm drain that made a good enough
dance floor which worked fine because he built a huge, partially
covered ell shaped deck complete with jumbo hot tub. With a good sized
bar and entertainment system under a chickee the space served well
when they offered it's use for our nuptials.


The couple has since long been separated but MsNative and Chrystal still keep in touch via FB.
She kept busy promoting the local music scene, is still doing the same north of here and happened
to mention a friend with a shop in Apalach so we had to stop and sample the wares. Wildly good sweet
stuff but too expensive to afford more than a small amount.

The place was doing brisk business on a Tues. afternoon, if you go give Kurt and Faith a shout.


We made a bit of a loop from St.G to San Blas, Port St. Joe to Apalachicola just to have lunch and
libations at Lou's, grilled shrimp Po'Boys were good before hitting the streets. One stop I couldn't
avoid was a combo yarn and book store that M just HAD to see. I'm nothing if not nice

so I stuck
my nose in and lo and behold the first thing I see is a rack full of Dawn Lee McKenna's (RIP) 10 book series
of local mystery who just happened to be the forementioned Chrystal's cousin. I grabbed the first two
short reads and left them with the elderly ex librarian running the place who was kind enough to mention
the latest Doc Ford novel had just been released. Feeling by now my lungs would be better served
full of cigarette smoke than the smell of unused wool I wandered off and poked a bit
to a more of a park than a working wharf for a bit of scenery.

 

[Bald1]

All the reasons I love Florida. Once you can accept the heat & humid your batting a thousand. When others get 5-6-7 inches of snow, we just get more "sand" on the beaches.

Uh oh……….this might trigger all the nay sayers who will talk of hurricanes, heavy rains and mosquitoes.

 

[soFlaNative]

Uh oh……….this might trigger all the nay sayers who will talk of hurricanes, heavy rains and mosquitoes.

Let 'em rip.
Throw one and I'll hit it right back

As an aside I'd like to hear from folks who know the area from Dunnellon to Cross City to Perry to Sopchoppy and beyond.
So many places with much to see were passed just for sake of making time we will be back there at some point.

 

[Lonegle57]

Grew up in Miami, now middle Ga. Wife loves the beach and we have made many trips to St. George. Peaceful probably describes it well. Nice beaches most of the time, red tide made one trip rough. Prices have started to get out of my idea of decent for a stay on the beach but may save pennies and go again.

 

[Krogen]

I spent some time in Ft. Walton. Nice place, great people. Mother nature can be a pest there. I'll go with earthquakes and volcanoes over hurricanes any day. Still, I enjoyed my time there. It doesn't matter where you go, there are positives and negatives. I like to focus on the positives.

 

[Alpo]

My daddy was an auditor for the state. His area of the state ran from Pensacola to Apalach. The audit in Apalach would take about a week. And he'd do that 125 mile round trip everyday. Always ate lunch in the same little cafe.



The last day of his audit, one year, when he left the restaurant he left his pipe in the ashtray. About 8 months later he's back in town to do another audit. And when he goes into the restaurant for lunch the first day, the waitress made a stop by the cash register on the way over to his table. "You left this here last time." Handed him his pipe.



Small towns.

 

[soFlaNative]

Lighthouses from Apalachee Bay to Cape San Blas were critical to keep ships from grounding
on the sandy shoals. Not sure how many were commissioned but the ones I've found were
built pre Civil War, blew down, relocated, rebuilt and rinse and repeat 3 or 4 times.
Good reading about the attempts for Congressional funding for the $9 to $25,000 per attempt.
Cape St. George lighthouse was constructed in 1833, blew down twice then managed
to stay upright until Opal in '95 undercut the foundation.

Foundation restored it stayed until toppling in '05.
Local contractors moved and rebuilt, reforged the lantern room and is now a decomissioned tourist site.

 

[Alpo]

Is the toll for the St George Island Bridge still $2?



I haven't been that way since 85.

 

[soFlaNative]

Is the toll for the St George Island Bridge still $2?



I haven't been that way since 85.

Negatory.
Bridge rebuilt early 2000's, old one remains from either end as a fishing pier with gaps at the island. No tolls.

Shortly after passing thru Carrabelle heading west on 98 the view opened and I spotted the causeway from about 8 miles away.

One minor disappointment was the extremely private enclave on the west end of the island complete with airstrip that prevented me from walking the cut that locals claim contributes to the decline of the oyster beds due to escaping fresh water from the river since the Gov't cut the opening for the shrimpers back in the 50's.


Another was heading east to a $6 entrance fee per auto to a state park stretching to East Pass. Not planning to stay long we opted to skip, another reason to grab that old folks pass to the parks the state offers.


I like points and cuts esp. at tide change, I could look and walk as much as I can just to watch the water move. My fault I can't fish worth a damn.

 

[hivel37]

Nice trip. Thanks for the post.

 

[dockmurgw]

Uh oh……….this might trigger all the nay sayers who will talk of hurricanes, heavy rains and mosquitoes.

How about the nay sayers who actually like snow? Not everyone lives in cities or suburbia where its a hassle...some of us cant wait for it! I know I know...I'm wrong, everyone who hates snow is right.

 

[ladder13]

Trips through small towns and rural areas are great. We travelled from Bar Harbor to Kittery many years ago, hugging the coast, visiting dozens of sleepy fishing villages.

On the way we passed through Kennebunkport and came within 100 yards of 41.

 

[charlie sherrill]

You might want to stay out of the water, especially around Ft. Walton Beach, until the sharks settle down. There were three shark attacks just recently resulting in severe injuries and amputations. They're not going away. Take a helicopter ride down the beach and you will see hundreds of them just off shore. The Florida Pan Handle is only a three hour drive from where I live so I get down there several times a year. I quit getting in the Gulf after the helicopter ride. Pools are fine with me, especially a heated pool for our winter trips. If you get to Pensacola stop by Joe Patti's Seafood Market and bring a large cooler. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Rustyt1953]