Bumps on the Road to New Orleans

Well, the day has come.  It is time to be on the road back to Texas.  I'm not sure that I am ready to go home but Harley is ready to go anywhere, any time.  Steve already has a plane ticket from San Antonio back to Panama City on Thursday morning so we need to head out if we want to stop and enjoy the trip along the way.

You can tell that we aren't rolling yet or the furkids would all be fast asleep.  They are the best travelers.  They can snooze for hours and never ask "how much longer".  Just need a potty stop every once in a while but then, who doesn't?

Mom, why does he show us Sock Monkey if we aren't allowed to play with him?  He would make a great tug-of-war teammate.  "Harley, if you put your lips on him, you will be in so much trouble!"

We were rolling along across the Florida panhandle, glad that we woke up to no rain and the sky still looked clear.  Things were going fine.  Then we stopped at a rest area for a potty break, lunch, and to switch drivers.  Steve looked back in the mirror before pulling out and thought one of the RV tires looked funny.  He hopped out and a closer look gave him an even worse feeling.  After crawling under, he could see the rubber was rippled and the belts pulled.  We drove slowly to the next exit which showed "Milton, FL" was 4 miles down the road.  Steve thought it would be better to be off the expressway.  Our first glimpse of Milton showed us that they had a nice park right near the downtown but we didn't see anything open.  This was Sunday afternoon!  We went on through town and found ourselves on a road with businesses alongside.  We spotted a Pep Boys across the road so Steve pulled into an empty lot and headed across to see if they could help us out.  They said sure, pull over here and it will be about an hour.  We turned the rig around at the back of their lot and Steve decided he would ask if he could rent tools from them since we had a spare but as he was hopping out, Dwayne (the technician told him to pull right up to near the front and he would get right on it.  Steve lowered the spare from under the RV and Dwayne had that tire changed in no time and then checked the air in all the other tires.

Steve headed in to thank the manager and get the bill while I talked to Dwayne.  Imagine our surprise when both the manager and Dwayne told us that there would be no charge--they were happy to help!  So if you are ever passing that way, be sure to go through Milton, FL and say hi to the guys at Pep Boys.  It looks like a nice little town for a visit and is located on US 90 just 4 miles off of I-10.  They sure made our day.

Dwayne advised us to go back out to I-10 the way we came in rather than following US 90 on until it connected again because they were doing repair work and had it narrowed down to one small lane each way.  Back on I-10, things were fine again until we got closer to Mobile, AL.

Traffic was backed up clear out to the long bridge area. We were crawling but not stopped completely.  It took us a while to make it to town and through the tunnel but it magically cleared up after that.

By this time it was getting near dinnertime so we decided to stop at the original The Shed barbeque.  You may remember hearing over the Internet some time ago that they burned down to the ground.  Well, they did but they were up and running out of tents within a week.

The eating area is outside under a roof and they have fans and misters so it wasn't too bad.

You order inside  at the bar and they bring the food out to you.

Steve was hungry by then.  Of course, he is nearly always hungry.  The food was just as good as before so we really enjoyed it.

Next stop....New Orleans!

Florida Forgotten Coast Lighthouse Tour

It seems as though lighthouses are getting a lot of interest lately.  In our tour of Florida's Forgotten Coast a couple of weeks ago, we found out that there are four unique and historic lighthouses within a short distance of each other.  They would be an easy day trip from either Panama City or Tallahassee but a better idea is to take them in while RVing in this pretty area.  (photos courtesy of Lighthouse Friends)

St Marks Lighthouse

The original St Marks Lighthouse was completed in 1831 and survived the Second Seminole Indian War in 1835.  Erosion was threatening it by 1842 and the original builder, Winslow Lewis was contracted to move the tower to a safer location.  A new tower was constructed on a site further inland.  The Confederates attempted to blow the lighthouse up during their retreat in 1865 so it couldn't be used as a lookout by Union forces.  They inflicted considerable damage and a rebuild was necessary after the war.  It was heightened to 82 feet above sea level and the original lighting apparatus was restored.  It was automated in 1960 and is used today for navigation for vessels on the Apalachee Bay.

 The St Marks Lighthouse is located within a 70,000 acre wildlife refuge.  There are hiking trails, a Visitor Center open 7 days a week, restrooms and a picnic area.  It is located at the end of County Road 59, south of U.S. 98 at Newport FL.

Crooked River Lighthouse

The Crooked River Lighthouse was build in 1895 to replace the Dog Island lighthouse that was destroyed in an `873 hurricane.  It is a 103 foot cast iron skeletal tower with 138 steps from the gournd to the lantern room.  It was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1995.  Although it was on the National Register of Historic Places, the Coast Guard was going to auction it off.  The Carrabelle Lighthouse Association was formed in 1999 to preserve and restore the lighthouse.  The Florida Lighthouse Association, Florida Communities Trust, and Florida Legislature appropriations made it possible to restore the tower and create a visitors park.

There is a covered picnic pavilion, playground equipment including a 70ft replica of a pirate ship (Carrabella), and a wooded conservation site as well as a Keeper's House Museum.  The lighthouse is located at 1975 Hwy 98 West, approximately 2 miles west of downtown Carrabelle.

Cape St George Light

There have actually been three St George Lighhouses.  The first was built in 1833 at West Pass, the second was rebuilt on Cape St. George in 1848 and lasted until an 1851 hurricane.  The third lighthouse was completed in 1852, automated in 1949, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  It was deactivated by the Coast Guard in 1994 and collapsed from erosion in 2005.  Remnants were salvaged and the St George Lighthouse Assn led efforts to reconstruct it.  Volunteers cleaned old mortar off more than 22,000 original bricks and assisted with reconstruction of the lantern room.  It was successfully reconstructed at the center of St George Island in 2008.  The Lighthouse park includes a Visitors Center and Museum, picnic pavilions, showers, restrooms, and a boardwalk to the beach.    From U.S. 98 in Eastpoint, take State Road 300 (Island Drive) and cross the 4.2 mile bridge to St George Island.

Cape San Blas Lighthouse

The first lighouse at Cape San Blas near Port St. Joe was erected in 1849.  It was an 85 foot conical brick tower designed to warn ships about the dangerous shoal at the Cape.  After being destroyed by storms in 1851, replaced in 1856 and destroyed shortly after, a third tower was built in 1857.  It was damaged during the Civil War but survived until beach erosion toppled it in `1882.  In 1883, it was replaced by a 98 foot cast iron skeletal tower that supported the watch room and lantern at the top.  In 1918, it was moved a quarter of a mile to its current location.  The Keepers Quarters were completed in 1905 and resotred in 1999 and 2005.

There is a gift shop and mini museum.  Traveling south of Port St. Joe several miles west of Apalachicola, Highway 30A makes a sharp 90 degree turn.  Go west onto Highway 30E (Cape San Blas Road).  Go past Test Area D-3 about 2.7 miles.  When the road bends right, turn left onto Cape San Blas Lighthouse Road.

You never know what you'll find when you visit an area unless you look for it.  If you like lighthouses, don't miss these along the Forgotten Coast.

Pier Park at Panama City Beach FL

Today was one of those days where things needed to get done around here.  Steve wanted to get the tires rotated on his car and to get it cleaned out.  He's a bit fanatical about that; probably didn't get that gene from me but then I don't think it really came from his dad either.  The lawn also needed cutting.  Sun, rain, sun, rain--yup, the grass grows like crazy around here.  Steve has a riding mower so I told him to fire that baby up and I would mow the yard.  He didn't really want me to do that but I insisted, it's kind of fun when you have a riding mower and you don't have to do it.  Anyway, I figured that the jobs would all end up getting done about the same time.

I also promised not to sing while mowing.  My younger son informed me a number of years ago when we had five acres and a riding mower that just because I couldn't hear myself singing over the noise of the mower didn't mean the neighbors couldn't hear me.  Steve is much more diplomatic than Brian about things like that.  Anyway, the mowing got done without a problem.  Steve has an older neighbor and he always mows his front lawn for him too so I did it as well and Huey brought me out a bottle of cold water which was very nice.

Later on we were off to Pier Park over in Panama City Beach.  It's a huge town style strip type mall right next to the beach.  Steve had an appointment for a massage.  I always figured that massages were to relax you, you know--candles, music, relaxing rubdown.  Not so--this was a 90 minute sports massage designed to work out all the stress knots in the muscles.  Very painful but something athletes like to do.  So I set out to enjoy Pier Park while he was "tied up".

This is the entrance to Pier Park from the end by the beach.

As you can see, it is full of colorful shops.  See the train going down the road for the kids?

Since it is right next to the beach and all the hotels and condos for visitors, there are all sorts of little vehicles in use.

Scooters are very popular and can be rented all along the beach.  Needless to say, not all the riders are real experienced.

There are also lots of stands for Hawaiian Shaved Ice, Italian Ice, Lemonade, etc. in addition to all the normal places like Starbucks and Marble Creamery.  Lots of restaurants too.

You can also arrange cruises to Shell Island.

This is looking out at the beach from Pier Park.

It's free to go out onto the beach but there is a fishing pier that you have to pay to use right across from Pier Park.

It's a big pier that goes out a long ways and is very popular with fishermen.

The beach sand here is very white and soft.

It was a very warm sunny day so there were lots of people out enjoying the beach.  It is more crowded down in front of the hotels with the beach chairs and umbrellas laid out in rows.

Guess I'll head back to Pier Park and relax in the shade with some ice tea while I wait for Steve to come hobbling out.

Another day in paradise...and it's not raining.

A Trip to Tallahassee, FL

Wednesday morning about 8:15 AM, Steve and I plus Willy, Gretchen, and Harley all loaded up in the car and headed towards Tallahassee.  Steve wanted to take his road bike in for a tune up and check out.  He and Helen are going to be doing a big event in the mountains in a couple of months but they are actually going on a practice run in two weeks so the gearing on the bike needed to be checked out.  So we set off.  Harley passed his time enjoying the scenery.

Willy was a little annoyed that Harley was hogging the passenger's side back window.  Gretchen was asleep on the floor.  All three of the Traveling Longdogs really like to travel so they are very good in the car.

Harley did have a few backseat driver's comments to add in the traffic.

 We found the bike shop without any problems. "Higher Ground" is one of Helen's triathlon sponsors.  I think I mentioned before that she is a professional triathlete.  She does it in her spare time between work and finishing her doctorate.  Steve isn't doing triathlon right now because of problems with his knees but he is heavily into road and mountain biking.  I think he rode about 250 miles last week.  He gets up real early and heads out.  Anyway, if you have a need for a professional triathlon or road racing bike, get in touch with Higher Ground and tell Roger that Steve sent you.  If you just want to ride around the RV park or campground, Higher Ground might be a little upscale but then you never know.

Anyway, the Traveling Longdogs were invited to come in and check out the shop too.  We enjoyed the A/C while Steve chatted with the bike crew.

We left the bike with Roger, the owner, and headed over to leave the furkids at the apartment of a friend of Helen's while we went out to lunch.  Steve wanted to take me to a Japanese restaurant he and Helen had been to and really liked but he couldn't remember the name.  We used the GPS and tried two that we found but they weren't the right ones.  We finally decided to go to a Mexican restaurant (I know, Florida not Texas right?).  We were headed down the road when Steve looked over and said "that's it!!!" so we found a place to turn around and went back.  The restaurant is "Masa".  I looked up the website and it says it's an Asian Fusion restaurant. huh?  I guess that is a fusion of Asian and other cultures.  Steve said their ramen soup was fantastic, just like he used to eat in Japan.  It did look really good.  I had the sesame chicken which was also good.  We were starving so started with an order of potstickers.  Of course, in Japan they are called gyoza.  The filling was good but the outside shell fell apart.  Overall, it was very enjoyable.  We went back and picked up the doxies.  They were very happy to leave!  After picking up the bike and visiting a while longer, it was time to head home.

On the way back on Hwy 20, we decided to check out Lake Talquin State Park.

We went down a long narrow road through the woods.

There was a real nice day use area with restrooms and picnic tables.

There were also a couple of pavilions; one was quite large.  The whole area was shady.

Behind the pavilions, a path led down to the lake.

There was a raised walkway....

that led down to a 650 foot boardwalk along the lake.

See that dark spot near the middle of the picture???  Yes, it was an alligator!  Steve thought it was a piece of wood until we saw it swimming and moving it's tail.

A disappointment but there was no campground here at Lake Talquin State Park.   Lake Talquin was formed when the Jackson Bluff Dam was constructed on the Ochlockonee River in 1927 to produce hydroelectric power.  In 1971, about 20,000 acres along the lake were donated to the Florida Department of Natural Resources.  The State Park consists of 526 acres and about 17,000 acres were turned over to Lake Talquin State Forest.  There are numerous state forest access areas along the lake and they did have a sign indicating camping at many of them but we didn't get a chance to check them out.  Lake Talquin was named after Tallahassee and Quincy which are on either side of it.

See the expressway of ants moving across the forest floor.  There was a steady stream of them racing down their own little road.  Fortunately we saw them and stepped over the freeway.

You also have to worry about these things.

On our way out of the park, we saw some more wildlife.

We wanted to check out one more place on our way home since it was a nice day and we had the time.  We drove down the road and it appeared to be a sports park but there on the side was another sign.....

Have you heard about the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement?  I think the first I heard of it was in a camp host ad.  Might be an interesting place to host.

Unfortunately, they were closed.  They are only open Tues, Thurs, Fri, and Sat from 10-2.  The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement is located in Blountstown, FL.  It is a living history museum with 18 historical buildings from 1820 to 1940.  The Smithsonian has an exhibit here through 25 August if you are in the area.  Check this out if you are interested in a work camping job in this area.  It sounds very interesting.

It was a very nice day out and the sun was even shining.  Of course, we always enjoy spending time with Steve.