A Rainy Day

We woke up to a dark, rainy sky. We had a lot planned for the day and normally will proceed with our plans despite the weather. We had planned to visit Big Lagoon State Park to explore the boardwalks, but they were closed due to damage caused by Hurricane Sally. Our next stop was to be Pensacola Lighthouse. As we followed the directions, we realized that it is on a military base. We were not interested in taking the time to get through security, so we scratched it off our list.

Disappointed that our first two destinations did not pan out, we continued to Gulf Islands National Seashore. Hurricane Sally destroyed part of the Pensacola Bay Bridge in September. The bridge has not yet reopened, so instead of a short, easy drive, we had to detour around most of the bay, adding 45 miles to the trip.

The rain continued to pour down as we drove along the seashore.  Sandy white dunes surrounded us, and we were able to catch occasional glimpses of the water. We stopped at one of the parking areas to use the facilities. There was a boardwalk leading to the waterfront, and I decided to check it out despite the rain. When I reached the top of the dune, I was delighted by the breathtaking sight. Even with the rain, the water was a gorgeous green-blue color. The angry waves crashed in a cloud of white foam.

As we continued our trek through the National Seashore, we took our time on the narrow road. There were signs posted everywhere not to leave the road. We passed a car, buried up to their bumper in the sand. It looked like they had attempted to turn around. That was a bad idea, as they instantly sunk as if they were in quicksand. To make matters worse, a paved area plenty big enough to turn around in was only a few hundred feet farther up the road.

We thoroughly enjoyed this section of our trip. It is rare to find beaches not built up with hotels. It was spectacular to see that they have preserved so much of the beach to enjoy in its natural state. We left the park and made our way through several small towns, following route 98, which alternates between hugging the coast and turning inland. The view was sensational as we crossed from Okaloosa Island to Destin. The color of the water against the white sand on the beaches was stunning.

Seaside

We arrived in the idyllic town of Seaside, where they filmed The Truman Show. The community has a utopian feel to it already, so they didn’t have to do much to get what they wanted for the movie. We found a public parking area and stopped for a few minutes. The stormy weather had started to break up. We walked across the road and used the public access boardwalk between the houses to get to the beach. It was a lovely view of blue-green water, made even more beautiful by the streams of light breaking through the clouds.

Mesmerized by the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico, we continued our journey along the coast. We intended to spend the night in the Apalachicola National Forest. Research showed that the forest was still in general gun season, so camping is limited to designated campgrounds. We were able to get a reservation for one of those. As we continued our trip, we realized that we would not make it to the campground before dark. It was about 30 miles off our route, and the information I found showed that it might not be the best place to be when it is wet.

I looked for alternate places to spend the night, finding one about an hour and a half east of Apalachicola. It was a public park with primitive sites for $11 and right on route 98, so we felt comfortable getting there after dark. We called the number to make sure they had availability but had to settle for leaving a message. Shortly, we received a call from the camp host. She said that the primitive sites were all underwater, but she did have a spot with electricity and water. We told her we would take it and when we expected to arrive.

With the sleeping situation under control, I was once again able to enjoy the view of the water, but it quickly became a disturbing view. Hurricane Sally tore through the area, and it was painfully evident. There were remnants of two or three homes that had not survived for every standing house we saw. Some places were piles of rubble. In other spots, the only evidence that a house was once there was the pilings where a home used to be and power lines sticking out of the ground.

Apalachicola

As we neared Apalachicola, I was amused to see the giant piles of oyster shells behind what buildings there were along the shore. I enjoyed the ride through the homey town, but the road leaving was even better. Route 98 became the Big Bend Scenic Byway Coastal Trail. The trip across Apalachicola Bay on the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge was fantastic as the sun sank in the sky. The pink hue indicated that the weather would be better tomorrow. I found the birds flying beside us as we crossed the bridge entertaining.

Eventually, the road turned back inland, and we arrived at the campground. It was indeed very wet. It was also nearly full, so we were grateful there was a spot for us. The camp host was kind enough to only charge us for the primitive site we had requested. We were tired and slept very well.

An Accident

In the morning, we took our time, enjoying the sun and a light breakfast with coffee. As we were packing up to go, we heard a loud screech of brakes, followed by a bang. We had noticed the day before that a lot of drivers made slow turns. We found it odd, and this accident seemed to be a result of a slow turn. A man pulling a trailer with a golf cart made a left turn into the park, crossing the oncoming traffic. He must not have realized how much room a tractor-trailer needs to stop. The truck did everything he could to stop, thus the screeching brake sound, but did not have enough space. He just clipped the back of the trailer, causing it to swing around, dragging the pickup with it. Luckily, no one was injured.

The excitement caused people to come out of their campers to discuss what was going on.  A gentleman came over to our site to share what he thought happened. We had a fascinating conversation with him. He worked in the park system, educating children about wildlife by setting up an incredible interactive exhibit. Since retirement, he and his wife travel full-time in their RV, photographing nature and participating in research programs. Their next destination was Texas, where they would be watching for and counting migrating birds.

Three Sisters Springs

After the lovely conversation, we had an uneventful trip to Crystal River, where we stopped at Three Sisters Springs to see the manatees. When the Gulf is cold, the manatees swim into the warmer springs. With our limited budget, we tend to steer away from activities that require payment. In this case, we made an exception. The tickets in the winter (when the manatees are there) are $20 each. We did get a nice discount with our America the Beautiful passes.

There is no parking (except for the disabled) at the springs. We were nervous about taking the free shuttle from the Visitor Center. We timed our visit later in the day, hoping that we would avoid the crowds by going just before closing. We saw a returning shuttle packed with people, but the one we were on only had four others. They were at the front of the shuttle, so we went all the way to the back. We were a little more confident with the open windows, but I still breathed as little as I possibly could on the short ride.

The gorgeous color of the water caught me by surprise. It was so pretty that it almost looked as if the water was dyed. We followed the boardwalk around the springs. We saw some shadows swimming around, but it was difficult to get a good view with the sun’s angle, let alone any decent photos.

While there is no water access from the boardwalk, there are outfitters that do “Swimming with the Manatees” excursions. We saw a few groups of people in wetsuits in the water. We followed the path beside the spring for a while and then decided to turn back. We didn’t want to get stuck on a full shuttle by waiting until the last one ran at 4:30.

After returning to the shuttle stop, we followed the boardwalk in the other direction. There were crowds of people in the lookout spots, but we found a quiet area where we could see the water. From this angle, we were able to get a clear view of the docile creatures as they swam by. A manatee swam right by us as we stood there, and then a mother and baby swam by. I was so excited to see them, and we were happy we had decided to visit.

When the shuttle arrived, it quickly filled with people. We opted to wait for another. The second shuttle came, and again, we weren’t comfortable with the crowd. We walked back to the water for another look while we waited, noticing that almost everyone was gone. When the next shuttle arrived, there were only a few people on board. Again, they were all in the front of the bus, so we sat in the back. Being on the larger bus this time, we were comfortable with our distance from the other passengers. We felt like we were the bad kids on the back of the bus in high school.

We ventured down to the Tampa area, where we found a lovely community of like-minded individuals. I think we might stay for a bit and explore Florida more thoroughly from here. Colorado is still in the plans, but there is nothing wrong with changing things up on the fly and going where your heart takes you. If we bide our time, we will be better positioned to fulfill our dreams when we get there. In the meantime, it is lovely to be in our happy place.