HMS Beangle

Florida is living up to its tourist posters: bright, warm, and beautiful. And as I watch the northeast and Midwest descend into ice, snow, and wind chill chaos, Florida’s reputation as a winter refuge is solidified. Now that we’re near the southern end, it’s become hot and humid. The mosquitoes were apparently late coming back from the holidays, but some rain yesterday has them punching the clock again. We bought an anti-bug house to hide out in just in time!

To be honest, we haven’t done a lot so far this month, and that’s been lovely. Until two days ago, we hadn’t even done a lot of driving in Florida. Drive to get where we needed to be, sure, but not much beyond that.

St. George Island, a barrier island along the Panhandle’s gulf coast, was the perfect first stop after so much time in Georgia. Crossing the long bridge to the island felt like the rest of the world had suddenly disappeared. Highly recommended.

We stayed a few nights at the Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park campground (seriously, that’s its name) and we would have stayed longer if any spots had been open.

We rode our bikes down the single state park road, spun our wheels when a cycling trail turned to sugar sand, and walked several miles through the wetland interpretive area.

We kept our eyes peeled for alligators (no luck). I pulled my FujiFilm camera out and started to get a feel for its dials and settings again. On a deeply foggy morning when the propane grill didn’t want to light (our own fault), we had a delicious breakfast at The Beach Pit.

Afterward, we had a cozy cup of coffee at Island Espresso while we waited for the dense fog to lift. While ordering I saw that they carry a brand of gluten free snacks, Gluten Free Bakery Girl, that is easily the best I’ve ever eaten. I tried an Oatmeal Cream Pie as it’s also also dairy-free and I legit cried out with joy biting into it. It tasted just like the ones I remember from growing up. It’s a small thing, but it had a big impact.

I had several conversations with a tiny green tree frog that lives in one of the women’s shower houses. Jeff found a small cottonmouth snake near our truck. Thankfully the camp host moved it for us. That ticked it off and we got the whole curl and show your fangs show. Cool, but a little terrifying.

The island introduced us to the concept of using oyster shells as construction materials. It makes perfect sense as there are literally tons of them to be had, free for the taking, since local, raw oysters are a top menu item everywhere in these parts. (Thank you, no.)

Tides are still something that I’m getting used to. The concept of water levels vastly changing from hour to hour is starting to make space in my brain, but the reality of what it does to the landscape is sometimes still beyond me. Toss in a few hurricanes scouring out the sand and it’s a whole different world.

This poor long leaf pine has been through some rough days. The wind-twisted angles of the one below reminds me of trees out on the African savanna.

Florida drivers, we find, are at least as aggressive as Georgians and overly fond of playing on their phones while they drive. Jeff has had to lay on the horn to remind an oncoming car to stay on their own side of the road more than once. Despite all the proof to the contrary, a lot of people still seem to think that texting while driving isn’t a big deal. And there appears to be an inordinate amount of smarter than the average bear drivers down here. Locals love to complain about all the idiot snowbirds on the road, but it’s the Florida plates that terrify us!