Day 83-Sat, 21 Mar 09-Destin to Carrrabelle, FL

We woke up and decided to take L-O-N-G hot showers...get our $87 worth...and hit the road to a less crowded area. Although we thought we should head inland a bit, neither of us has been to this part of Florida so decided we'd stay on Hwy 98 along the coast and hope that as we got to the less travelled part of the State, the cost of RV sites would be more reasonable. We made the right decision!
The traffic was pretty busy through Navarre Beach, Ft Walton Beach, and just plain crazy in and around Panama City Beach. The cars were filled with university kids and the boom boxes were blasting out music (??). Hotel parking lots were filled with cars and kids either packing up because their spring break was over, or unpacking because theirs was just starting. By noon, the roadways were busy with bikini clad girls and shirtless boys, all carrying cans of beer, ready to get that first/last sunburn.
The first surprise we had was when we got to Mexico Beach, about 35 miles past Panama City. The traffic was almost non-existent, the uncrowded beach stretched for miles along the highway and beautiful little blue, yellow, green, mauve and other coloured beached houses were showing rental signs on the front porches (remember for next year). It was a very unspoiled beach resort town that just hasn't gotten popular yet...not enough bars I guess...and we loved it. We stopped along the highway, behind another Road Trek, to have some lunch and of course, got into a conversation with the occupants in the van. Don and Sandy spent most of their lives in Ottawa (he worked in PWGSC as DG Info) and have recently moved to Frankford to retire (right across the canal from my parents house). Small world to put it mildly! They are a nice couple, believe happy hour should start before 4 pm, and we had lots to talk about. We ended up in the same park, beside one another, so certainly did happy hour and had lots of laughs. Another fun couple that have become new friends.
As we continued to head south on Hwy 98 there were less towns and things were certainly more 'normal'. We were heading for Carrabelle Beach and the RV site there and ended up having a lovely, relaxing drive. When we got to the RV park we were very pleasantly surprised. It's right across the highway from the most wonderful beach that has an endless distance of pure, white, powdered sand. The park itself is a real find...a big pool, lots of amenities and spotlessly clean and $38 a night. Wayne spoke to a woman from N.S. (who taught his two sisters) who said they found it much like we did and have been coming here for a month for the past 4 yrs.
This is called the 'Forgotten Coast' and we all agreed we hope that's how it stays! We are staying a second night (so far) and I'll get rid of that big bag of dirty laundry and spend some quality time in and around the pool while Wayne snoozes on the beach. We so nearly missed this whole fabulous area by thinking we'd save time by going on the Interstate again (why, why, why) but Hwy 98 does go inland anyway in another 40 miles or so. I expect it will get more crowded as we get closer to Tampa and Clearwater but that should take another couple of days before we get there. Once we've visited Sanibel and Gasparilla Islands, we will be crossing Alligator Alley to the eastern shore. Anna & Scott Frechette are in Ft Pierce and we want to visit with them for a day or two and then I expect we'll start the trek home.
Hope everyone is well. I'm sure any hint of Spring in the air is much appreciated at this point. I'm determined not to have to see more than a small pile of snow on my front lawn! Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx