February 2003 |
 Home |
Manatee Springs SP to St. George Island SP - A relaxed 180 mile drive mainly inland but the last few miles follow the silver sands of the Florida panhandle. At Eastpoint an old four mile bridge/causeway (a new one is currently under construction) connects the mainland to St. George island then another 6 miles to the state park entrance. We visited here in April last year and judging by the increase in house building on the island property prices will be on an upward trend.
We checked in at the ranger station, picked up information on the island and surrounding area and headed the four miles, parallel to the Gulf Of Mexico, to the campsite. Most of the pitches are very spacious and ours was no exception. Unfortunately it was also very uneven which limited our choices of positioning the RV and keeping it level while avoiding slide fouling obstructions like trees & posts.
This is another very popular state park and during our two week stay we enjoyed a variety of neighbours on both sides, none nicer than Ed and Betty from Philadelphia. They had recently purchased a 3 slide 5th Wheel and were heading for Mexico for the rest of the winter via a Timeshare in New Mexico. We spent 2 lovely evenings in their company telling tales from both sides of the Atlantic, but their stories of the "Mob" days in Philly were unbeatable.
The Panhandle of Florida
St. George Island
St George Island State Park - Florida -
Nine miles of undeveloped beaches and sand dunes, with the open ocean of the Gulf of Mexico on one side and sheltered Apalachicola Bay on the other. Salt marshes, sandy pine and oak forests and miles of silver sandy beaches make this an idyllic spot to relax and unwind. The beaches on the rest of the island are also available for recreation, another 10 miles of silver delight. We spent our time strolling the beaches looking for shells, Pelicans etc., fishermen and other interesting sights but we only took some shells home, we left the Pelicans & fishermen fishing! The shelling wasn't quite as good as we expected but then we have collected most varieties now. One of the advantages of such an idyllic spot was the nearest phone was 4 miles away at the Ranger station. When Linda felt a need to talk it was out with the bicycle for a flat easy cycle, keeping fit and keeping in touch at the same time.
On St. George Island there are 2 mobile vendors selling fresh fish & shrimp. We bought some Jumbo shrimp from one of the vendors who suggested we grill the shrimp wrapped in Bacon. We followed his advice (although Wullie marinaded the bacon first) and they were delicious. Mind we don't think it really mattered how we cooked the shrimp they would have been delicious anyway - definitely the best we have tasted. We suppose if you eat shrimp a lot the Bacon wrapping would add some variety.
The Mainland - The library at Eastpoint provided us with Internet access when needed and Apalachicola has two Supermarkets, Piggly Wiggly & Winn Dixie. The weather forecast of two cool and maybe wet days made us decide on a shopping day for supplies to Panama City - the nearest large town. We could not find the main shopping thoroughfare at all (we know it's there, but we have had enough). We went down two main highways and all we came up with was a Winn-Dixie that was quite expensive. Thank goodness we enjoyed the drive otherwise it would have been a waste with the petrol at $1.60 a gallon?
Our Next Move - We head off for Wisconsin & Illinois shortly for our winter Curling experience. While we are away Curling it would be ideal if we could have the RV repairs done and the repairer keep the RV until we return. We are not too happy with Sunnybrook (our first bad experience) as we had written to them in December about the ongoing roof problem and asking for a list of approved repair centers. It is now February and still no reply. Internet access at Eastpoint library provides a choice of Sunnybrook repairers in Tennessee, Mississippi & Alabama. Come to an arrangement with Madison RV in Huntsville, Alabama, that they will carry out the repairs and keep the RV for 3 weeks. This is a good geographical location, just over 600 miles from Triumph, Illinois.
Having enjoyed St. George island so much our first choice of RV park for the next week is St. Joseph Peninsula SP which is just a few miles along the coast, however we are advised that there is no room at the Inn. The weather forecast for the next 5 days suggests staying in the immediate area is wise so we decide to move to Mexico Beach, 40 miles or so.
St. George Island to Mexico Beach - With just a few miles to move we took our time and even then we arrived too early. Mexico Beach is in the Central Time Zone so we gained an hour. This park was recommended to us, and when we arrived we wondered if there was going to be space for us, even though we had booked as RV's were parked in every nook & cranny. We were told that a lot of people had come in the previous night and were parked wherever they didn't block anybody's way. This is a nice site amongst trees and they did have a space for us. The Basketball hoops were set low (for the kids we suppose) and cheeky Linda thought that Wullie might manage a "DUNK" in them?
Mexico Beach
The miles and miles of silver sands epitomize this area of the Panhandle all the way along the Gulf Of Mexico to Alabama's Gulf Shores. The beaches in this stretch are superior to those on the east or west coasts of Florida. The locals call the panhandle of Florida "'The Real Florida". The first day we walked westwards along the beach into Eastern Time Zone and on the return journey re-entered Central Time Zone (ye cannae dae that at Kinghorn? certainly not in shorts & no shirt in February!) Walked the beaches in the area in the good weather prior to the forecasted thunderstorms which could be nasty. The thunderstorms arrived in the night, heavy rain, thunder and lightening but no high winds? thank goodness. This made for a restless night but what we didn't know until listening to the news the following day, was that tornadoes had touched down on either side of us. One at Port St. Joe and the other at Tyndall, both just a few miles away.
Panama City Beach/Panama City -
First of all we drove to Panama City Beach, more beautiful silver sands. The wide, long beach was quite busy and the adjacent area very built up with fun parks for the kids, condo's, hotels, restaurants/bars etc. At this time of year parking was free but not when it's busy in spring, summer & fall. Spent an hour or two strolling on the beach, had a beer and a snack lunch overlooking the ocean - ain't live tough at times?
Last time we visited Panama City we "missed" the shops but that trip stood us in good stead this time. We now know where the shops are not, which narrows down the search area and being experienced shop finders we stumble upon hundreds of them. Restock on supplies, although we are emptying the freezer because of our trip north, and cheap petrol.
Toucans Restaurant/Bar, Mexico Beach - On the Saturday after Valentines we ventured out to Toucans for dinner. The sunset looked promising so we had a happy Hour drink (2 for 1) in the bar overlooking the Gulf Of Mexico. The sunset started very promisingly but the sun dropped behind thick cloud never to be seen again, at least not for a couple of days. Our seafood themed dinner was very good especially the crab stuffed mushrooms. The waitress who presented Linda with a Valentines Day Carnation said "I hope you don't mind me saying but I've told everyone in the kitchen I'm serving Sean Connery, you sound just like him." - NOT again I hear you all saying!
Alabama
Lakepoint State Park Resort, Eufaula - Situated on the Alabama-Georgia border, this picturesque 1,220 acre park sits on the shore of the beautiful 42,200 acre Lake Eufaula, formed by the damming of the Chatahoochee river. Bass fishing is very popular (some professionals) in the south and this is the self proclaimed "Bass Capital of the World". This very popular state park has an 18 hole golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, campsites, beach complex, Lodge Hotel, vacation cottages, plus organised activities for any interested party. Fishermen are in the majority with all types of boats and equipment, including fish scaling machines - hand turned but effective. The campsite pitches are huge with sufficient trees to attract the birds so it's out with the bird feeder. The restrooms here are first class and the power shower is the fiercest Wullie has ever seen - if you turned it fully on it would pick you up and wash you down the drain! This is the third Alabama state park we've stayed at and we're very impressed.
The first things we noticed on our bird feeder were a Red Bellied Woodpecker and a Brown Headed Nuthatch. We were thrilled about the Woodpecker in particular as we had never had one on the feeder before. We had seen a Brown Headed Nuthatch for the first time last week but now we could view him close up as he swooped in for food and then transported it to his larder for consumption later. The seed went down so quickly we put out a notice saying " we are on a pension and seed costs money!" but either the birds can't read or they just ignored it.
Walked the gentle trails around the State Park giving good views over the lake. Made use of the tennis courts on two separate occasions and were quite pleased at how well we hit the ball as we have not had much practice this winter.
Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge - 
Spent a day visiting the adjacent wildlife refuge. Spotted quite a few birds (nothing new) and more of those peculiar looking Armadillos. The days highlight was our first live Opossum up close, another peculiar looking beast. She has a pouch (ala a Kangaroo), breeds 3 times a year, babies are the size of peas and are reared in the pouch for 12 weeks.
We will stay one night at Cullman, northern Alabama, before taking our RV in for repair at Huntsville. Everything packed and ready for our annual trip to Wisconsin and Illinois for curling. This year we have just over 600 miles to drive to Illinois so will manage it very comfortably with one stop. We could do it in one day if we didn't have to take the RV in for repair.
Visited an Applebee's (restaurant chain) in Cullman for dinner, and something looked different when we entered but couldn't think what. When our server arrived we realised what was different, it was a "DRY County" so there was no bar therefore no beer or wine with dinner.
Road Trip to Illinois
Made our way to Huntsville - booked the RV in for repair then headed for Illinois via Nashville, Tennessee and Paducah, Kentucky. The skies were pretty grey most of the way but as we entered southern Illinois the sun started to shine, making for a Christmas scene as the recently fallen snow clung to the fir trees. Arrived at Marion, Illinois, before the sun went down, and boy was it cold. We decided to eat before checking into the Motel, we wouldn't want to venture out later as temperatures of 10F were forecast. Rose early the following morning, left the truck engine running to clear the frost while we ate our continental breakfast. Good run to Ottawa and arrived mid afternoon for a warm welcome by Ronnie & Mary Lou our hosts for a few days. Went out to dinner with Dale, Donna, Mary-Lou and Ronnie before making our way to Evie's (Lady Wilson 91 years young). It was far too cold for Evie to join us at dinner but we all enjoyed the visit catching up with all the news since last we met. The following day was spent shopping, talking, visiting Evie & Alan before the obligatory trip to the Curl Inn for supper, followed by a game of curling in the Waltham Mixed league.
Curling in Wisconsin
Made a leisurely drive to Kettle Moraine Curling Club before dropping our bags off at Chris & Jerry Helding's house. Chuck & Marianne the other members of our team had requested a late draw so we managed a few cocktails before our game - not too many that would make us see more than one brush. Won the game then joined the other teams at the cocktail party. Met up with people we met at last years Bonspeil and got introduced to a couple from Scotland who joined Milwaukee CC. Also met a husband (English) & wife (Australian) from Racine CC. Had a great evening and on arrival at Chris & Jerry's had a bedtime drink. We don't know how they could be bothered as they are the organizers of this years Bonspeil and had been on the go all day, they had to be worn out.
Saturday was kind to us as we won both games, meaning we were guaranteed a pin. The Dinner/Dance was held at a different venue this year as the Brewery was reserved by some other organization (tried to console Linda but you know she has no humour when it comes to breweries?). The venue made no difference, it was a terrific evening. The food was good, the band entertaining if loud, the dance floor crowded and a near 60 year old Scotsman believed he could do the twist? 
Sunday was not quite so kind as we lost to the eventual competition winners quite badly which meant we would play Charlie Dana's rink in the 5th event final. They are an extremely sociable rink and unfortunately for us they were better curlers than us on the day, but we couldn't have lost to nicer people.
Chris & Jerry took Monday off and we met up with Warren & Sandy for lunch at a Greek Restaurant in Milwaukee. It had been their anniversary on the Saturday and they were thrilled to win a "print by a local artist" in the draw. When they returned home they had a message to return a phone call and found they had won $2500? in another draw - thats what you call a Happy Anniversary.
After lunch we visited the Domes, very interesting and beautiful botanical gardens. On a cold (some snow) evening we enjoyed a few drinks, Jerry's very tasty Brisket dinner and exceedingly good company followed by an early night. The following morning we headed back to Illinois in between snow flurries. We left the snow in Wisconsin but it eventually followed us to Illinois and dropped 6 inches or more overnight.
Yet again the Kettle Moraine Bonspiel was excellent and we hope we can return next year. How can we thank our generous hosts Chris & Jerry Helding? Thank you guys for your kindness, your company and most of all your friendship.
Next month - Return to Illinois for more curling. Back in our RV, touring - Alabama, Tennessee & Georgia.
Miles travelled this month: 2,196
Total miles travelled since May 1999: 84,605
Interesting Hyperlinks:
