Farewell, Carrabelle! January 27-February 1, 2009

We have enjoyed the past five days in Carrabelle, Florida, located on the panhandle along

Two of those days we spent on St. George Island,

which is about a 2o minute drive from Carrabelle. This area is famous for fresh oysters. We saw oyster boats

working out in the bay along the bridge to the island

both mornings.

Look, Al, people can rent Gem Cars on the island!

The state park on the island, where we spent our time, has five miles of beach.

We had the area to ourselves

both days we were there.

This area is a popular summer destination for southerners to come to the beach and so in January it is pretty quiet.

We found great sea shells and had fun observing what washed up on the beach.



I don't think either one of us will get tired of walking along a shoreline.

This seascape was absolutely beautiful.


We also spent a day in Apalachicola,

a quaint little town west of Carrabelle with great little shops and lots of shrimp boats.

We explored a dwarf cypress swamp

in the state forest surrounding this area.

How strange to see full grown cypress trees in a natural bonsai state.


Naturalists are not exactly certain why they have grown that way, but are working to protect the area so the trees will survive.
Before we came to this locale, we set a goal to eat fresh seafood every day. We were able to stick to that plan as we found ample places to buy excellent seafood.

We ate a seafood lunch in a little spot on St. George Island,

but other than that we bought fresh fish at local markets down by the water

and came back to our camper each evening and grilled. We had shrimp (a few every day),

grouper,



red snapper, scamp (twice)

and even fresh oysters. I fried them as an appetizer

and Paul actually liked them!

We spent Saturday kayaking

on the Crooked River
in Tate's Hell State Forest. (Check out the link- the story behind the name is pretty interesting).


The cypress trees are full grown along this river!

Other than that, we enjoyed looking around the small town of Carrabelle,


and the sunrises
and sunsets
at Ho Hum Resort,
which is located right on the bay.
We leave early in the morning for Biloxi, Mississippi and then will turn the camper north for Minnesota.

We will miss Florida's sandy shores.

What will we find in Biloxi?



We will keep you posted!