31 January – Eastpoint to Miramar Beach

We had a leisurely drive along the coast, with a stop at Seaside – the town used as the set for the Jim Carrey movie “The Truman Show”. Really nice little place, but they value privacy and most of the streets and beach accesses are for residents only.

We stopped at Panama City beach as well, for a leg stretch, then on to Camp Gulf. Right on the beach but the most expensive RV park we’ve stayed at - $99 per night. Usual prices $30 - $40 per night. But the beach is amazing, white sand that looks like snow on the beach, blue and turquoise water, and pelicans.

What a wonderful bird is the pelican

His beak can hold more than his belly-can

He can hold in his beak

Enough food for a week

And I’m damned if I know how the hell-he-can

(paraphrased – apologies to the author)

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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30 January – Eastpoint

We decided to kick around the area today and started with a visit to St George Island. The island is a barrier island and reached by a very impressive bridge. We pulled in first at the lighthouse, which was located on Little St George Island, but fell down in 2005 and was recovered and rebuilt in the current location. Nice view from the top and an interesting museum in the lighthouse keepers cottage.

We drove from one end of the island to the other for the views, lots to see. Lunch at The Blue Parrot was lovely, lots of seafood and very friendly staff. We had a mixed seafood platter and snow crab.

After lunch we walked on the beach, then headed off the island and to the town of Apalachicola (no, we can’t pronounce it!). We browsed the arty shops and sampled chocolates at the local chocolatier. All very quaint. 

29 January – Perry to Eastpoint

We headed West from Perry, towards the Gulf Coast. Miles of very straight roads through swamp forests. We detoured into a small place called St Marks for lunch at a riverside café - seafood was tasty. Steve had the gumbo, rice, chilli, seafood and sausage. Not much to St Marks, so we pushed on.

Finally on the coast and it was breathtaking. The road follows the coast line closely, through tiny communities of houses on stilts, often right on the water with jetties. We were enjoying the view and decided to pull in at an RV campsite right on the water. We got a front row spot, within a stone’s throw of the water. Even though it was early, we called it a day. They have WiFi, which is a bit of a treat, so we can catch up on emails.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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28 January – Crystal River to Perry

In the morning we headed into the township of Crystal River and caught the trolley bus to Three Sisters Spring, where manatees gather and you can see them from the shore. Like the springs we saw in the Ocala Forest, the many springs on the coast come out of the ground at around 72 degrees F (23C) and provide the manatees with a heat source during the winter. When the water is too cold for them, they swim upriver to the springs and loll about like cows chewing cud, in the warm water.

The Three Sisters Spring is shaped like a 3 leaf clover, with a spring boil in each lobe. There were around 50 manatees in the springs this morning, although we were told that on Monday it was cold and there were 350 of them.

The water is clear and turquoise blue, due to the concentration of tiny particles reflecting light. The manatees are big and somnolent, occasionally breaking the water with their noses to take a breath.  In the right light they almost look like big river boulders, tumbled into oval shapes by the water, as they cluster over the spring boils, basking. Odd to think that ancient mariners thought they were beautiful women with fish tails and the legends of mermaids began. If you squint, and remember that sailors often didn’t see women for months on end, maybe and after a flagon o rum, just maybe you can see it…

On the drive north we stopped in at Cedar Key, a delightful little town. Unfortunately it started to rain, so we decided to drive on. Buckets of rain made the highway driving unpleasant and we were glad to find a truck stop with a small RV parking lot for the night.

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27 January – Juniper Springs to Crystal River

In the morning we hiked to Juniper Springs. It’s a pretty place, with a historic waterwheel and mill house that was used to generate electricity in the 1930s. The spring boil was deep and from the right angle we could see it is a small underwater cave.

We saw kayakers heading off downstream, but one of them was having trouble staying upright. The water was less than knee deep, so he wasn’t getting all that wet though.

We also walked a section of the Florida trail, through the forest, before packing up and heading out.

We had an uneventful drive South and across to the West coast of Florida to Crystal River. It took two tries to find a campsite as there is a Bluegrass festival in town for the weekend. Crystal River is where the main population of manatees hangs out in winter, the spring water is warmer than the rivers and lakes, so they head in for the warmth.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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26 January – Alexander Springs to Juniper Springs

In the morning we hired a canoe for a couple of hours and explored the river. The canoe hire is pretty laid back, they give you a canoe, paddles and life jackets and point you in the direction of the boat ramp.

We managed to launch without getting wet, and headed downstream at a leisurely pace. The wind and the current were going the same way, so it just took a bit of steering and gentle paddling to keep us underway. As we left the spring basin the river was shallow and sandy bottomed, with water lilies lining the banks.

We saw lots of wildlife – diving birds that bob their heads up for air, herons wading in the lilies, turtles sunning on the logs, and a big alligator. It was around 5 feet long, big bellied, grey, and lying on a log with its feet dangling lazily. We paddled as close as we felt safe to get pics and admire from a distance. It ignored us completely. The locals had told us that alligators are mainly scared of people and will run away, not like big salty crocs that hunt you down for dinner. Just as well, cos we imagine that the alligator could swim a lot faster that we could possibly paddle.

The canoe was pretty easy to handle and we made good speed to the bridge, where we had been told to turn around. The lilies were budding, big yellow buds, they would probably be spectacular in flower. It was beautifully peaceful, just the splash of the paddles and the ripples of the canoe cutting across the water, with bird sounds and the breeze.

The return trip was harder work as we were paddling against the current. Mr Gator was still at ease on his log, with his mouth open this time in a big grin. We kept to the other bank.

We passed several other canoes and kayaks heading downstream, seems like a popular place.

When we got back the canoe hire people were surprised that we weren’t wet. It’s supposed to be very easy to tip a canoe over.

We decamped and headed up the road to Juniper Springs. We decided to take an easy afternoon, reading and resting in the warm weather. 

25 January – Alexander Springs

In the morning we went down to the springs again for a hike. The Timucuan Trail is an interpretive hiking trail with regular information signs. Lots of interesting facts about the plants and how the native tribes used them for food, building, making baskets and even distilling liquor.

 

We saw (and heard) woodpeckers – they make a huge mess out of rotten trees, more turkey vultures, and assorted birds.

After lunch we drove about 40 minutes to Silver Glen Spring, which pumps 65 million gallons a day into Lake George. The spring was again, crystal clear with a white sandy bottom. The spring boil is in a small cove and we could see lots of large fish swimming around inside the boil. There are lots of mullet in the spring pool, and they frequently leap out of the water.

We walked a hiking trail to the sand boils, an area in a little stream where the springs are very small and bubble up through the sand. It was a lovely walk through the palmettos. On the way back we stopped at the edge of the lake and the fish came swimming up to check us out. People must feed them, because they hung around looking hopeful for ages.

We took another hiking trail that ran along the lake edge. Again, very pretty and a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

Back to our tranquil campsite at Alexander Springs.