St Andrews State Park / Panama City, Fl

     Debbie and I departed Gainesville on Monday morning, which is always a little sad.  The Doody's of Gainesville make us feel so welcome, and it seems that every year when we return for a visit, it seems like we never left.  But we have to keep moving if we are ever going to get out of Florida.
     We anticipated a late departure, and planned to stop at the Ochlochonee State  Park near Sopchoppy, Fl.  The road over was very nice with little traffic.  Fifteen minutes after leaving Gainesville we were in the country traveling down tree lined roadways with farmland and small towns.  Debbie checked "the Google' for the history of each town if she saw an historical marker which made the trip much more enjoyable.   Along the way we stopped and enjoyed a nice lunch at the Forest Capital State Park before moving on to Sopchoppy.  Weather threatened for just a minute, but then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.  After settling down at Sopchoppy, we packed up and headed further up Florida's Forgotten Coast.

     We worked our way along State Route 319 through Carrabelle and on to Apalachicola.  We had checked with the Ranger at the state park and he described Apalachicola as "a drinking town with a fishing problem." Sounded like out kind of place!  We arrived in about 50 minutes and walked around the waterfront where we found some fishing boats tied up at the fishing pier.  The town was founded after the sponge industry took off in the early 1900's but it only lasted a few years.  The downtown area had several art galleries, restaurants, and drinking establishments.  We made a tour through the "old town" portion and saw many beautiful old homes.  It looks like the area is struggling, but the waterfront all along the coastline is spectacular.  White sandy beaches, and piers reaching out into the bay.

 







On Tuesday morning I noticed an Allegro Breeze, quite similar to ours, parked a few sites away.   wandered over and met a couple from Ohio who also had a 22011 Tiffin.   We had quite a visit, each asking lots of questions, before time forced us to get moving.  They also have a blog which they are going to invite us to join, and we look forward to following their travels around Florida.  Around noontime we headed for our next destination near Panama City, Fl.  Around 3 Pm we arrived at St Andrews State Park.  After settling into our site, which is a little damp due to recent rains, we went for a ride to get a good look at the beach area.

     We went for a nice walk down the beach, working up an appetite for dinner.  We were told that there must have been quite a storm in the past year as the beach erosion was quite significant.  Down along the rocks we watched a few fisherman trying their luck.  We also visited with a couple from Iowa who planned on visiting upstate NY next year on their way back from Maine enroute to Niagara Falls.  Debbie made sure to get a plug in for a visit to Lake George.  Dinner was another piece of #16 from the Pelky Cattle Ranch as we settle in for the night.  Tomorrow there is rain predicted so we'll have to wait and see what happens.