Nancy and Rick Unplugged

February 6, 2017 – Monday

We continue to be amazed at the hidden gems along the Florida Panhandle. Today we visited Eden Gardens State Park, a place of tranquility that was once the home of the lumber magnate, William Henry Wesley. Mr. Wesley’s family lived at the stately Southern-style mansion until the death of Mrs. Wesley in 1953. At that time the mansion fell into disrepair and became known to the local neighborhood children as “The Ghost House.” I wonder how many of us remember such a place, I know that growing up in the country we had a big red brick house, fallen on bad times, that we referred to as “The Haunted House.” My haunted house continued to fall into disrepair but fortunately, for Floridians and visitors, a wealthy New York journalist, Lois Maxon, fell in love with the mansion and grounds. She purchased the estate in 1965, renovated the mansion, improved the grounds by adding azalea and camellia gardens, and added a reflecting pond. The mansion now contains her family heirlooms and a collection of Louis XVI furniture said to be the second largest in the country. In 1968, she donated the land, the house and all of its contents to the Florida park system. Outside of the mansion, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance has created a shoreline trail to lead you through the park’s diverse vegetation to its “Living Shoreline.”

(Click on any picture to open the slideshow.)

January 30, 2017 – Monday

Good news, Betty Jean, Dick, Linda, and Mike are coming to visit the week of Feb. 25 – Mar. 4. We are looking forward to sharing the beauty of the Florida Panhandle with them.

Coastal dune lakes are bodies of water found in dune ecosystems within two miles of the coast. They’re typically shallow and irregularly shaped. Coastal dune lakes are usually permanent water bodies, but their water levels fluctuate substantially since they create transitory interchanges with the Gulf of Mexico. With an estimated 372,000 total miles of coastline in the world, I was surprised to learn how rare coastal dune lakes are, according to the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance they can only be found in Australia, Madagascar, New Zealand, and the USA. In the USA they are only found in Oregon, South Carolina, and Florida.

We visited our first coastal dune lake, Powell Lake, last week and decide to return to that area Sunday to visit addition lakes. The hikes are not as amazing or varied as the Pacific Northwest but they are lovely.

Today we drove to Mary Esther, FL for eye appointments, on the way home we almost got caught in a “controlled fire burn” gone wrong. We were the last car going east into the fire area. Wish I had my camera out, the flames were about fifteen feet to our right, twenty feet high, and ambers were hitting the car.

Fire in South Walton chokes out visibility on U.S. 98.

January 23, 2017 – Monday Afternoon

After visiting St. Andrews State Park we took US 98 West to Camp Helen State Park, what a gem! Surrounded by Lake Powell on the east and north, and The Gulf of Mexico on the south, this park made for a perfect beach walk and nature outing.

As we drove over Phillips Inlet Bridge we saw men holding measuring tapes over the bridge and wondered what they were doing.

When we arrived at Camp Helen the park ranger explained that the men were measuring the height of the lake to ensure that the lake level was not too high, if the water level of the lake is high they have to dredge Phillips Inlet to let water flow into the gulf so that the septic tanks along Lake Powell do not pollute the lake.

Prehistoric middens and mounds in the area indicate that humans lived here more than 4,000 years ago. In the early 20th century 185 acres was developed by Robert E. Hicks and his wife, Margret May as a summer home, with the lodge and out buildings being built in the 1930’s. In the 1940’s Hicks sold the summer home to Avondale Textile Mills of Sylacauga, Ala. After adding twelve duplex cottages and a recreation hall the company turned the site into a resort for their employees, which operated from 1945 and 1987. In 1996, Camp Helen became a State Park is designated as an archeological and historic site.

Great day park for hiking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, beach combing, swimming, picnicking and bird watching.

January 24, 2017 – Tuesday

E. B. and Pat drove over from Mexico Beach and took us to lunch at Uncle Ernies, St. Andrews Bay in Panama City. Great food and great friends, can’t be beat.

January 22, 2017 – Sunday

What a difference, last Sunday was a perfect play day and today we have winds up to 60mph, heavy rain, and tornado warnings.

Between high tide and a storm surge, we are sitting about three feet higher, getting on and off the boat became a little more difficult.

January 23, 2017 – Monday Morning

With the tornado warnings over and the winds decreased to between 25-30 mph and we decided to go for a walk on the pier at St. Andrews State Park. You might recall St. Andrews from our post of December 23, it was a beautiful day with clear, sunny skies, and we posted lots of pictures. Today was much different.

January 13, 2017 – Friday

We have come to realize that we have selected a great place to stay. Our major objective is to do the Great America Loop, we started in Kentucky and knew that we would winter in Florida, without any plan of what that might look like. We selected the Bay Point Marina, Panama City Beach because it is close to our friends from South Korea. As it turns out, the Marina is giving incredible discounts to loopers until March, have 24/7 security, and the employees are incredibly friendly and helpful, we just might say longer.

Rick and I try to take a walk every day, today we decided the perfect walk would be to the beach to enjoy a glass of wine and watch the sunset. As we left Andiamo we saw our first opossum in the marina.

See you on the water!

• Sunrise 6:30 am – Sunset 5:03 pm
• Temp 76 F Hi – 52 F Low – Sunny
• Day 81

January 7, 2017 – Friday

Yesterday we had a great time visiting some historical areas of Panama City. St. Andrews, established in 1827 and incorporated in 1908; Millville established in 1899 and incorporated in 1913; Historical Downtown Panama City established in 1906 and incorporated in 1909. Both St Andrews and Millville were annexed by Panama City in 1927.

At St. Andrews we learned about the Pelican Tree and the renewal of that area.

Governor Stone, built in 1877, has had a full life. She is the oldest known surviving Gulf Coast Schooner and has served as an oystering schooner, a general freighter, a Prohibition rum runner, day sailor, training vessel, and private yacht. She sank three times, washed ashore twice, and still she continues to go on adventures.

St. Andrew has long been known for its salt. It became a target of the Union because it supplied salt to the Confederate soldiers. It is still proud of its salty history.

Rick’s favorite part of the day – Gene’s Oyster Bar

Built in 1930 it has its own historical marker.

Best oysters we have had since leaving the Northwest.

Today has been a much different day.  With the current cold front, our temperature dropped to a low of 29 degrees with wind gusts up to 40 mph. That might not be so bad, but the heater on the boat has decided not to work. 

See you on the water!

• Sunrise 6:40 am – Sunset 4:58 pm
• Temp 44 F Hi – 29 F Low – Sunny with cold wind from the north.
• Day 73

 

January 3, 2017 – Tuesday

The trip to Kentucky went well and we were happy to find Big Red in great shape.

The trip back to Florida was slowed down by the wind, fog, and rain. We feel fortunate that we went through the area south of Dothan, AL early in the afternoon. Later in the day, there was a tornado in Rehobeth, Alabama, just two miles west of where we had been, that killed four people.

We will now wait for a good weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico. We plan to go from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs, 176 miles across the Gulf. We average about 6.5 knots (approximately 7.5 miles/hour) this means the trip will take around 24 hours.

This time of year the wind often comes from the North or North East and we will be waiting for a forecast of wind coming from the South or Southwest. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy Panama City Beach.

See you on the water!

• Sunrise 6:39 am – Sunset 4:55 pm
• Temp 72 F Hi – 57 F Low – Mostly Clear
• Day 69

December 29, 2016 – Thursday

Today we planned a four-day road trip to check on Big Red, Rick’s beloved truck. The plan is to leave Friday and return on Monday, Dec. 2.  There is a good chance that I won’t post again until we return.

I did take time today to edit a few videos and learn how to post them in Word Press. Hope you enjoy.

Gates Opening, Pickwick Dam.

Blue Heron, Walking

This heron was hunting, you can tell that he caught his prey by the fact that he wiggled his tail.

Hunting on Christmas Morning

See you on the water!

• Sunrise 6:39 am – Sunset 4:53 pm
• Temp 70 F Hi – 41 F Low – Rainy and Windy
• Day 64

December 26, 2016 – Monday

Today, we drove east on Highway 98 from Panama City Beach to Highway 319, Big Bend Scenic Byway, to Medart and then made the circle back down to Highway 98. This section of the Florida Panhandle is known as Florida’s Forgotten Coast. So different from the drive west that we did before Christmas, much less developed and oh so beautiful.

The highway goes along gorgeous beaches and through tall pine forests. Much of this area has been reserved for state and national recreational areas. We stopped at Ochlockonee River State Park for a short hike, where we observed both white squirrels and a piebald deer.

Mashes Sands Recreation Area

We took a short walk at Mexico Beach, FL

Historical Fact – World War II

In need of a site for an amphibious training facility, the military purchased 10,000 acres of land and leased an additional 155,000 acres, forming a base with nearly twenty miles of frontage on the Gulf coast between St. George Island and Alligator Point, including Dog Island and the beaches near Carrabelle, FL. Thus, Camp Gordon Johnston, Carrabelle, FL, became the army’s amphibious training base.

It was here that soldiers trained for the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

See you on the water!

• Sunrise 6:37 am – Sunset 4:50 pm
• Temp 76 F Hi – 64 F Low – Morning Fog, Sunny
• Day 62