Last year we organized a trip to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on Cape San Blas down in the panhandle of Florida. We had so much fun we decided to make it an annual event. We managed to wrangle more than a dozen degenerates and a few of their offspring for the outing this year and had a long weekend of amazing sunsets, delicious seafood, gawking at nature, and leisurely strolls on near-deserted beaches. Rather than detail day-by-day, here’s a sampler platter of photos and a smattering of captions.
The night before, we had arrived late and found the sea filled with bioluminescent creatures who responded to every move. Alas, the rest of the weekend they were dark. Rumor has it they get stirred up by the rain and we were blessed by days of clear skies after the recent storm had passed through. They were gradually replaced by biting flies that were immune to bug repellant. Annoying little fuckers. Fortunately, they pretty much vanished after dark.
Oysters fried with bacon, thanks to degenerate DN. Other meals included gumbo, low country boil, sauteed grouper tacos, grilled snapper, and, of course, smores.
The island has 20 miles of beaches, most of which sit empty. As a result, the wildlife is a lot easier to spot. We saw this baby deer and her mother during a hike. A bobcat rushed across the road in front of our bikes. There were crabs everywhere you looked. Owls hooted at night, while eagles soared overhead by day. My favorite was an amazing dolphin show just offshore where a pod of half a dozen dolphins leaped from the water at the same time.
You get two types of beach for the price of one. The gulf, shown in most of the photos, as well as the bay the peninsula protects, shown here.
The bay is full of sea grass, which washes ashore to house zillions of crabs. We also found dozens of horseshoe crab exoskeletons along the shore, from tiny to adult.
Head far enough out the trail and you’ll get to a primitive camping area where you can see the gulf on one side and the bay on the other from atop the dunes.
We walked for hours and never reached the end of the peninsula. One of these years we’ll get all the way there. Instead, we turned back and let this sandpiper give us a tour of the beach.
Rather than head for home first thing in the morning, we took a side trip to Apalachicola to wander around a bit and get lunch. More delicious seafood, more pretty stuff to look at, more sunburn on my cheeks.
What better place to escape the heat than the Gorrie Museum, named after the inventor of the ice machine?
Dr. Gorrie invented the ice machine to help keep rooms cool for patients battling fever. Big business, still shipping ice down from the north, tried to stop Dr. Gorrie, but he got a patent. Unfortunately, he died before he could see ice machines, refrigeration, and air conditioning change the world. The one-room museum is only $2, and almost worth it.
We pointed the car north and sped through the panhandle and south Georgia. The long, boring drive was made longer and more expensive thanks to The Man. I’ll be contributing to the coffers of Early County as soon as I can afford the ticket.
Very effete musings. Kind of boring. I thought for a site that promotes itself as being “outlandish” , the stories & mood would have more of a bite!