Saturday began as another scorching day. We loaded up early for the trip east to St. George Island, driving through Panama City, Port St. Joe, and Appalachicola. The island is a long, narrow barrier island with many stilted houses perched among the sand dunes. The State Park is at the eastern end of the island, and the camground almost to the end of the park, behind the sand dunes and across the road from the beach. The campground is rather primitive, although there are electric and water hookups. There are lots of tent campers.
The bridge and causeway to St. George Island was completed in 1965, prior to which the island could only be reached by boat or plane. It is a natural habitat for bald eagles, ospreys, loggerhead turtles, and many other species of wildlife, including a few snakes and gators. It's a new part of Florida for us.
The beaches of St. George Island are as wide as those further west in Walton County, but the sand is not quite as white and the water not as clear. Back from the beach are low sand dunes, then a relatively level stretch about 100 yards wide which contains the road, then high sand dunes, then the piney woods where the campground is. Looking out over the water is a look to the southeast. The sun sets behind the trees.
Sunday, May 20, 2001 -
It was peaceful on the beach early with but a few people around. The skies were partly cloudy, and the breeze made it very pleasant. The incoming tide pushed by a westerly wind was cutting an 18 inch ledge in the beach sand. The sandpipers and seagulls were out in abundance searching the wet sand for tidbits of food. Shells were scarce except for a few broken ones. We spent an hour strolling and sitting, then came in about 10:00am.
Riding down the island we were amazed at the stilted houses, some hardly fifteen feet wide and three stories tall, looking like rows of narrow bird houses. There's one gas station on the island and a few stores at the intersection of the causeway road and the island road. At the westerly end there's a private plantation estate.
We received a shock about 8pm when there was a knock on the door. Completely unaware that we were on the island, Betty and Don Bradley had come into the campground to a site just two sites down from us. They were surprised to see our Airstream and came aknocking to be sure it was us. We thought they were still out in Utah somewhere. So we did some catching up on mutual news before settling in for the night.
Monday, May 21, 2001 -
After saying goodbye to the Bradleys we moved off the island and a little further east to the HoHum RV park near Carrabelle, Florida. All along the St. George causeway, we could see scores of small boats harvesting oysters with their long tongs. It looked like a tough way to make a living.
Carrabelle is right on the Gulf Coast at the mouth of the Carrabelle River. The barrier islands keep it from being a real beach, but the natives claim it to be. We had lunch at Julia Mae's Restaurant, a spot recommended to us by friends, Marilyn and John Priebe. It was just as they described - not much to look at, but excellent seafood. We feasted on fried grouper and scallops.
Tuesday, May 22, 2001 -
We drove the 71 miles northward into Tallahassee on this morning, stopping at the Tallahassee RV Park, the same campground where the Airstream caravan through Florida terminated last year. Pink oleanders were blooming in profusion in the park. There's very few other campers here. This is definitely not their busy time of the year.
Since our visit to Tallahassee last year, it's impossible to come near and not go by Bradleys Country Store on the Centerville Road. This "out in the boonies" old store is known worldwide for its sausage and other pork products. We loaded up with pork chops, tenderloin, and sausage. Bradleys has been there since 1927, and is still family owned and operated.
A hard rain surprised us this afternoon - the first since leaving home. The cooling effect was more than welcome. Hopefully, the areas in Florida suffering from forest fires also got some rain.
SPRING - 2001
Saturday, May 12, 2001 -
Headed for L.A. - (Lower Alabama) - After a week of some uncertainty because of Ann's jury duty, we were off and running. The weather was nice. Rain during the night left the mountain air clear of any haze or smog. We drove for about six hours (about 250 miles) down through Atlanta on I-75, then I-85 toward Montgomery, Alabama, stopping at the Wind Drift Campground in Shorter. Traffic wasn't bad - at least, not as bad as it could have been. We made one stop for lunch at a Cracker Barrel. The folks at Cracker Barrel must work hard on quality control. The food is consistently good, though not fancy, no matter where. We were set up on site by 3:00pm (our time). Had to move the clocks back an hour when we passed into the Central time zone not long after entering Alabama.
This campground was on a small lake with good level sites. It was "modem friendly," with the phone jack located in a small club house building. I tried out the free local access number for Alltel's Internet service, and surpisingly it worked. That made this add-on to the web page easy since time was not a factor. It remains to be seen how accessible it will be at other campgrounds. By nightfall most of the campsites were taken.
Sunday, May 13, 2001 -
We made the 200 more miles into Fairhope in about four hours. It was good road most of the way, although I-65 out of Montgomery is old concrete. That makes for some tooth rattling, but that didn't last long. We found the Safe Harbor RV Resort without trouble. Frances and Lamar Cockrell were there waiting for us. After a little visiting we loaded into the Suburban and drove into town to the home of Al and Otheal Weathers. J.W. and Betty Jean Ray were already there. The rest of the day was spent catching up on news and events, then a delicious meal that Otheal had prepared. Their home backs up to a golf course that gives them a wide open back yard. A beautiful place. After dinner, we broke out the Joker boards for a few games of cutthroat cards.
Monday, May 14, 2001 -
We had a good day on Monday with our friends at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile. That beautiful spot on the Fowl River was created by the Bellingraths in the 1930s. It began as a fish camp, then Mrs. B. began adding the plants and flowers. The 10,000 square foot house was built in 1935 out of bricks and wrought iron scavenged from buildings being torn down in Mobile.
Walter Bellingrath made his money with a CocaCola franchise in the Mobile area. We took a boat cruise down the river, then toured the home and gardens. There are some fine homes on the waterfront. The Bellingrath home is furnished lavishly, containing thousands of priceless porcelain objects - some purchased for almost nothing during the depression, and some from all over the world.
Back at the Weathers' home, we ate some good leftovers, then got serious with the Joker boards.
Tuesday, May 15, 2001 -
After some sightseeing and shopping in and around Fairhope, we met at the Grand Hotel at Point Clear for lunch. This historic old hotel dates back to 1820. It was used as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War. The lunch buffet was very nice. We enjoyed the meal in a bright, windowed dining room with a panoramic view of Mobile Bay.
Al told us about an interesting phenomenon, called Jubilee, unique to the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Every now and then certain conditions in the bay combine with certain atmospheric conditions to create a situation in the water of the bay which reduces the oxygen content of the water. When that occurs, fish by the thousands swim ashore gasping for "breath." The fish aren't diseased - just starved for oxygen. Many varieties and sizes can be just picked up for the taking, and the local people fill their freezers. This phenomenon is called Jubilee. Apparently, ocean water from great depths, where the oxygen content is low, boils to the surface compressing the oxygen rich layer to a very narrow band. When wind from the west stirs up that thin layer, the fish have no place to go but to head for the eastern shore. This occurs in only one other place in the world - somewhere in the Far East. One can see the name Jubilee all around the area, adoopted by many businesses.
After lunch we headed back to the Weathers' home for some more Joker playing. It soon became time to say goodbye and head back to the campground. We had had a world of fun with these old friends. The Weathers were excellent hosts.
Wednesday, May 16, 2001 -
After some final goodbyes with the Cockrells on Wednesday morning, we headed east toward Pensacola, Florida. Lamar and Frances were headed for Mississippi to visit relatives. The Rays were on their way to Houston for Betty Jean's final checkup from her doctors. We stopped early at the Navarre Beach Campground, right on US98, fronting on the bay. It was hot - 93 degrees! We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the park.
Thursday, May 17, 2001 -
We moved again on Thursday to San Destin - to the Topsail Hill State Preserve and RV Resort. This was once a private RV park, rated 10-10-10 by Good Sam and Trailer Life Magazine. It seems odd, but the State of Florida now owns it and has made it Florida's newest state park. All the amenities of the 10-10-10 park are still here. There is a walking pathway to the beach - about a mile in length. All campsites are level with concrete pads, cable TV, and the three standard hookups. We're parked in a stand of pine trees. All sites are manicured to perfection with well trimmed lawns, edged around the concrete and flower beds. There are a lot of other RVs in camp, but so far we've seen very few people about. Maybe it's the heat.
It is not uncommon now to find computer hookups in campgrounds. At the last one - Navarre - they even had a computer hooked up to a cable modem with full time Internet service. The Alltel local access numbers have worked fine up to now. That makes it nice because I don't have to worry about time and long distance charges. But here in San Destin, we're in an Alltel no man's land - half way between Pensacola and Tallahassee. So, uploading this and checking our email will have to wait a few days.
We've bypassed the cable TV at this campground in favor of our own satellite dish. That's mainly to be able to watch the Atlanta Braves play Colorado tonight. This will be John Smoltz's attempt to come back as a pitcher after major arm surgery. The Braves need him badly after an uncharacteristic bad start.
The beach is beautiful - wide, white sand like no other anywhere. The Gulf water is a blue green color, clear as glass, even though a bit rough on this windy afternoon. There were a lot of people soaking up sun on the beach - very few in the water.
Friday, May 18, 2001 -
The skies were overcast on Friday for the first time since we left home. It would dampen activity, but the area could use some rain. But that was not to be. By mid-morning, the sun was out again, relentlessly burning the landscape.
The mile-long trail to the beach seemed like three, trudging through the deep sand. The trail began as a path through stunted woods, then meandered through a myriad of sand dunes before finally reaching the Gulf. The effort of the hike though was worth it. The wide stretch of white sand beach and clear water was really nice. There can't be any beaches in the world any nicer than these on the Florida panhandle.
Wednesday, May 23, 2001 -
Today, we drove up to Climax, Georgia for a visit with Rev. & Mrs. Claude Croft, a cousin we've recently come to know and respect. Claude and Nolie Croft have made their home in Climax for almost thirty years. He was pastor of the Methodist church there before retiring a few years ago. They are a lovely couple, full of Godly wisdom. Climax is about 40 miles north of Tallahassee and 10 miles east of Bainbridge, Georgia.
Thusday, May 24, 2001 -
Today, we headed toward home, stopping for awhile at the Odum Library in Moultrie, Georgia. There was a family story that claimed that the land the Colquitt County courthouse was built on was once owned by the Croft family. I was not able to verify that but found some other interesting information. There was a fire in 1881 that destroyed most of the courthouse records - a fire that may have been deliberately set. It will require further research to find any answers to my questions though. We moved on to Perry to spend the night in Twin Oaks RV Park, a nice campground we have been to before. We've decided to stop by home to spend the Memorial Day weekend, get the laundry done, and some other chores.
Friday, May25, 2001 -
Arrived homw finding everything okay with the exception of our bird feeders. A bear had demolished both feeders - one which was brand new. The new one was a tubular affair, surrounded by a steel cage to keep out squirrels. It looked like it had been run over by a freight train. Both feeders were on the other side of the house from where they were hanging when we left. Otherwise, all was well. We spent a week at home catching up on mail and chores before heading out again. The remainder of the trip will be reported in Part Two.
