April 25
After one more early swim in the spring, we said goodbye to central Florida and headed up northwest to the panhandle. We were pretty excited to see what our next camping spot, Tate’s Hell State Forest, held for us. Such an awesome name!!!
We seem to have picked the time of year well, so we didn’t experience Tate’s hell, but a weird wacky gorgeous Pine flat wood forest. But I can imagine, in the heat of summer, this place might be more hellish.
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| This albino Pygmy alligator kept invading our campsite |
On Wednesday, we headed over to the little fishing town of Apalachicola for an amazing lunch at the Owl Cafe (Lorne and Doug loved the she crab bisque) and then headed over to St George Island. We learned about the light house at the museum and then climbed to the top to take in the spectacular view of the gulf.
And since we got our exercise in on the stairs in the lighthouse, we decided to cool off and relax in the surf of the gulf. We attempted to emulate Lorne’s dad, when we heard the story of how well he was able to float. There was a fair amount of laughing as cresting waves occasionally got the better of our floating skills.
Refreshed, we explored the state park at the far end of the island, and a lovely hike along the salt marsh….although the heat and the deer flies eventually chased us back to the air-conditioned coolness of our vehicle.
April 27
The forecast was full of thunderstorm warnings, so we opted to find some indoor fun. Apalachicola’s historical society did a great job with the Raney House. The volunteer docent did an excellent job giving us some history about the town and the historic home.
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| The requisite creepy baby dolls |
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| Doug faces off with a stern mermaid |
After a few more stops at small local museums, we headed back for our last evening at our campsite. The picnic shelter was a fine place to set up our lightning viewing bar…before the wind started blowing sideways and chased us into the campers.
