Following the Coast

The clocks may have been set back an hour, but we continue to follow the sun, leaving Fort Walton Beach when there was enough sun to guide us, even though our watches said 6:15! We were following the Emerald Coast, passing through very popular Snowbird destinations....Destin and Panama City Beach. 

There was some early fog, but we always had at least half a mile visibility as we traveled across Choctawhatchee Bay, the first of the many bays along the Panhandle. Choctawhatchee is an Indian word meaning "river of the Choctaws." The shallow bays can become very rough and  dangerous if there is a strong wind, but we had gentle breezes and flat seas!

 Just the pelicans and Snow Cat's crew were up early!

A canal, 17 miles long, connects Choctawhatchee Bay with West Bay Creek and West Bay.

 Erosion is evident on the sandy cliffs.

 St. Andrew State Park with its beautiful white beaches is on both sides of St. Andrew Inlet.

We entered Grand Lagoon off of St. Andrew Bay and stayed at Lighthouse Marina for $1/ft, plus a free washer/dryer, and use of a courtesy car! Life is good!

With all the private development complexes, we were happy to see two public fishing piers and beaches.

 Ripley's Believe It or Not is housed in a huge ocean liner building.

A three-storey, upside-down building!

We drove through Panama City Beach, with its many high-rise buildings and tourist attractions and were so happy to find a Publix grocery store!!! It's good to be in Florida!