Scenic drive through Florida’s panhandle

Said our goodbyes to Kendra, Dock, and Finnley and headed out of Gainesville Tuesday morning. We decided to drive the back roads and find a place to set up camp near Appalachicola, FL. Made a call to St. George Island state park, but was told that their campsite was full for the night. They referred us to St. Joe state park which was about a half hour further west. We were told that their remaining campsites are on a first come first serve basis, and fortunately when we arrived, they still had a campsite available for us. Taking the back roads is really an enjoyable way to travel- usually less traffic and more scenery/towns to see as you drive through. The drive along the panhandle coast of Florida is absolutely beautiful with gorgeous views of the Gulf of Mexico and its white sugar sand beaches. Arrived at St. Joe at about 3pm and set up camp. Really enjoying the travel trailer so far! After settling in, we took the bikes for a bike ride around the state park. Beautiful pristine beaches with big white sand dunes. Its nice to see beaches in their natural state without all of the condos and hotels lining the beach. We stopped and I took a dip in the gulf to cool off. After returning to our campsite, Chris began making dinner and I walked to the beach to watch the sunset. The clouds had started to come in, but the sun popped out just as the sun was setting. Enjoyed a tasty dinner of Mac and cheese doctored up with some sautéed fresh Florida onion from the Cape Coral farmer’s market and tuna, and hit the hay to get ready for a full day tomorrow!