Our odyssey started out with a week on St. George Island, a gorgeous barrier island in the Florida Panhandle connected to the mainland by a 4-mile bridge. The closest towns are Eastpoint on the mainland side of the bridge, and Apalachicola, about 10 miles west and another bridge ride away.
Here, the highlights of our week on St. George:
• The Fishing Prescription: Judy found this adorable rental home, tucked away on a canal on the island—it even had hook-ups for our trailer. It was comfortable, beautiful, and included a gourmet kitchen with every imaginable convenience. We joined forces to create jambalaya, grouper creole, Thai grilled chicken, mango curry grilled shrimp, and more—every night was a feast of delicious food and friendship.
• The Beach: The beaches on St. George are outstanding; as Judy said, “The sand is like sugar!” Although the weather was schizophrenic with wild fluctuations in sun, rain, wind, and temperature, we had plenty of beach time. Of course, there could always be more.
• Hiking And Biking The Island: St. George Island is 28 miles long and one mile wide, bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Apalachicola Bay on the other; Florida had the foresight to set aside the easternmost 9 miles as a state park. The island is wonderful for biking, with dedicated bike trails, little traveled roads, and a bright yellow seafood trailer along the path where we picked up shrimp and fish to take home and cook. (The proprietor is a character—a sign scratched onto the side of the trailer says, “I don’t take cards and I don’t cook.”) We also loved hiking the 5-mile Gap Point trail, which wends through open piney woods and ends up on a beautiful beach.
• Exploring Apalachicola: We wandered the town, checking out galleries, cafes, and the waterfront. At one gallery, the guys were offered mini-bottles of Corona to keep them occupied while Judy and I browsed. We enjoyed happy hour one afternoon at the Owl Taproom and celebrated Valentine’s Day with a tapas dinner and live music at Tamara’s café. We love Apalachicola; my family has deep roots here and it was fun to share the town with our friends.
• Cruising Up The River: We took the riverboat cruise from the Maritime Museum up the Apalachicola River on a chilly day; although it was pretty quiet in terms of wildlife, it was a beautiful trip.
• Oyster Roast With The Folks: My dad grew up in Apalachicola and my folks built a home on the bay in Eastpoint 30 years ago (that’s where we’ve been hanging out in between adventures this winter). They invited us for an oyster feast; we enjoyed fresh-shucked Apalachicola oysters and oysters on the grill. Judy and John brought the party favors, which convinced my parents that we do, in fact, hang out with people of excellent taste and refinement.[portfolio_slideshow]
WOW! beautiful and stunning beach and island photos with
you and your friends – looks like paradise. So glad you
are having such a great time. Of course you are making us cold
Oregonians feel a little left out… but, we are always grateful
for the rain.
It is paradise, Peggy. Then again, Oregon is paradise in a different way. A very rainy paradise lately…
Love the glamour shot!
Then I said to F, “an eagle!” And he said “that must be a bald eagle.”
Then on the osprey nest photo he asked, “what is that hay there for?” I said, “that’s not hay, it’s a nest” to which he replied, “well that seems like a silly place for a nest!”
:)
So happy to hear from you! Fin is so smart…and so observant. We can’t wait to share these adventures with the two of you. xo
This looks like a beautiful spot to hang with friends. I just may have to add this part of FL to our travels. Great photos :-)
It’s gorgeous, Ingrid! And so peaceful.
Fantastic pictures of what a great time you had. 3 weeks with friends sounds wonderful. The rental looks absolutely perfect. What a great idea for when friends come to rent something with a hook up. We are headed in that direction to stay at St. George but you will be long gone. Drat! I think Apalachicola would be a wonderful home town. Sure hope they never change it.
The rental worked out great — so perfect that it had RV hookups! We’re on our way back to Apalach, and I’m really hoping that we can meet up with you. We’re hoping Apalach won’t ever change, either — although an upgrade to the Piggly Wiggly would be a good thing, as you know!
Our time with y’all was an absolute blast!!! So many thanks to you both for sharing these outrageous experiences, hilarious adventures and taking such good care of us. The unforgettable,raw beauty of the Florida Panhandle keeps us smiling! You certainly have cultivated and mastered the lifestyle and the gift of life in the slow lane!
It was the absolute best being with you two — we can’t wait for our next adventure together. I hope John’s working on that Shasta trailer addition! (Then again, towing a porta pottie behind the trailer is also a good idea…) Miss you already! xo
We loved our time at St. George. This part of FL stays on our list to revisit at length. Apalachicola and Eastpoint look like areas we would love to delve into and what fun to share these little gems with friends.
We fell in love with OR when we traveled through there a year ago and would also like to visit Ashland as we have heard so many good things about it.
As always, love your photography! :)
You will love spending more time around Apalachicola and Ashland, LuAnn! That’s the joy of full-time travel, isn’t it? The only problem is that there are so many places to explore!
I was just looking into the state park on St. George Island for a potential visit next fall. I found a review from another blogger who said they had pretty spotty cell service at the park, but that was from 3 years ago. I am hoping you could tell me what kind of cell service you got there. We would love to visit (and your pictures make me long to go there even more), but we need the internet for work. Thanks!
Hmmm….not sure what the cell coverage is in the park, since we were staying at the opposite end of the island. Our Verizon coverage was fine there. The island is definitely worth a visit if you can make it work for your situation.