In June on my way back to TN from the Keys, I stopped off in Alachua, FL to visit my friend Nan. We had decided to travel together to St George Island which is in the curve of the panhandle of FL. St George Island State Park is a beautiful park and the campground is not very far from the beach. On our way, I asked Nan if she would lead since she is a native Floridian and knows the back roads to take so we wouldn’t have to get on the interstate. She agreed and then I realized what I had to look at the entire way.
Don’t know if you can see that gator on the back of her rig very well but see, even though she is a very good friend, she is also a FL Gator fan. How do you think that fares with my being a TN Vol fan? Ha, it fares okay ‘cause we don’t talk about it until we get out and shop. And shop we did. We went into Apalachicola and checked out the stores there. That’s where we found a lot of flamingos and of course we absolutely had to have our pictures made with them so we could share with our “sistahs” on the women’s RV forum. While we were in Apalachicola we stopped in this really good restaurant for some delicious shrimp. Nan ordered healthy grilled and I ordered fried. Because I have waited too long to write about this trip, I have forgotten the name of the restaurant but it’s on the main corner in town, you can’t miss it. Nice little shops in town and the people were very friendly.
Then we decided to go to the Lighthouse. I walked all the way to the top but then didn't do too well going through the small opening to the extreme top so I cheated and sent my camera with Nan so she could take some photos for me. We also shopped around the 2 stores in Saint George Island. One was playing some really raunchy music that Nan and I found offensive and she asked them to change it. There were several young people working and I'm sure it was their kind of music but not ours. We got the stink eye from the workers until we left. Didn't buy anything in there either.
Next we went to Port St Joe 'cause everyone said it was better than Apalachicola, wrong! Not as quaint. I did find the road I was going to head north on so all was not lost on our expedition. Along to Cape San Blas and the St Joseph Peninsula State Park. There is a lighthouse at Cape San Blas but we got there too late to climb it. It closed early. The shore around Cape San Blas was lined with booms to catch any oil from the Deep Horizon Oil Spill but thankfully oil never appeared that far west. We drove on down to the end of this cape to check out St Joseph Peninsula State Park to see if it was a possibility to stay. Of course as with all state parks in FL there is a fee to go in. We said we just wanted to drive through and check out the camp sites. The volunteer said we could drive through for 15 minutes but to not stop and use the facilities or go to the beach. Ok, no problem. It takes longer than 15 minutes to drive through though. There were a lot of people at the public areas and we even saw some people scallopping in the shallow grasses. Loved the campsites. They were a little close but we found several that would be appropriate for
Somewhere and Southern Comfort (Nan's rig.) I will try this out because it's closer to the beach than St George Island SP.
Nan cooked us a great supper for our last night and she does everything up right. A table cloth, real forks and plates. Me, plastic and paper, baby! LOL
For breakfast the next morning we decided to take it to the beach. We cooked up some goodies and put the blanket into the car and off we head and had a wonderful breakfast on the beach. Now this is living and is what retirement is all about. Then it was time for Nan to head back home and to work, ugh. It sure was a fun trip and I'm sure we will have many more adventures.
Oh, forgot to tell you my experience when I arrived at the park. I drive through to find my site. Stop to unhook the Grey Goose and the volunteer came by and stopped and said I should have dropped the car at the entrance to the park (6 miles away) and I asked him if he was going to take me to get my car. He said no of course. He said I was holding up traffic. I looked around and there were no other cars and I asked what traffic? He said people wanted to get through. Ok I saw this conversation was going no where so I said as soon as you quit talking to me I can get unhooked and get into my site. He just sat there. One truck came by and was able to pull around me with no problem. When I got the Grey Goose freed, I was going to pull into an unused campsite and he said no, somebody might come to get in. I said I would only be a minute. He said no park on the side of the grass. I said I thought that was against the rules and he said park there on the side of the road. He didn't once move that damn gator and he made it extremely difficult for me to back into my site.
He moved on and came back later and said he didn't realize I was by myself and he had never seen someone come in there alone. BS Anyway it was not a good start to my stay at St George Island SP. He did make it up to me later by inviting me over to their site for home made ice cream. Top it off, he was from Tennessee.
No matter, it was a great time at St George Island SP and I'll definitely go back there. Here is a little movie I made and put a little Buffett music to. Enjoy our trip.
Later...
First time ever that I climbed the silver ladder to get on top of Somewhere! Yep, bit the bullet and pressure washed the top. It was a mess. The driver side was the worst because it's under a tree that drops little berries. I washed and scrubbed and now it's so clean. I also did the awnings, the front and the passenger side. Tomorrow will be the back and the driver side. It feels so good to get that done. Still having a fit with those dang old black streaks. Gotta work harder on the bugs on the front end and shine up the chrome. I need to find an easy wax. I sure don't want to pull a Karate Kid with wax on/wax off.
Today it was pressure washing day of the house and the carport, sidewalks, and deck. OMG, the power of a pressure washer. Once I got started, I couldn't stop. I kept wondering what this would look like and what that would look like, I even did it in the rain. By 3:00 I was pooped, my hands vibrated and I was soaking wet. But what an accomplishment. It looks great! Friday I think I'll tackle Somewhere. I'm sure you will love my color coordination. I got dirty doing this job but well worth it.
You never know what you are going to see in the "wilderness." I looked out the window the other day and there were two deer in the yard in front of Somewhere. Here is one of them. 
