We left Charlie’s and took a twisty windy drive through the rural parts of Florida on our journey westward. Live oaks dripping with spanish moss, lovely marshlands dotted with egrets & great blue herons. It was a lovely 4 hours driving to Madison. We decided that tomorrow we’ll head to the coast road via Perry to Carrabelle, then cruise up the western equivalent of A1A with expansive views of the Gulf of Mexico off to our left!

Wow! What a wonderful day! The gulf coast highway was absolutely delightful! We saw three lighthouses and explored St Mark’s Wildlife Refuge! While at St Mark’s wildlife refuge we visited our first lighthouse: St Mark’s!

There’s a wonderful little RV park across the road from St Mark’s – Newport Campground in Crawfordville. We’ve decided we need to come back one day to camp there and spend lazy days biking thru the refuge! And BONUS: the Florida scenic bike trail runs right by it!

We continued along the gulf highway passing wonderful beachside communities in St Joe and Mexico beach. Shortly after Carrabelle we saw the Crooked River Light!

Our final lighthouse for the day was Cape San Blas, which was kind enough to warn us to be on the lookout for alligators…?

We stopped for the night at Panama City beach. A nice but terminally overcrowded beach. The weather has been amazing – simply perfect!

Yesterday I sent the following two photos of my new mermaid hair to a friend, who replied:

The 2 photos serve different purposes: the first declaring “i’m still here, wild, and ready to take on life!” the second announces “Yes, I have matured into a soul expressive of serenity and wisdom. I graciously accept your medal reflecting peace and togetherness.” Way to go … significantly ahead of me!

Lorene

So far we have collected forty-two states in our license plate game! 42 – the meaning of life, the universe, & everything! Seems appropriate somehow.