Day Three-from the Beach

Day Three was a bonus day of fishing for Steve,

and an adventure day for Sophia and me.

(We were suppose to go back to Auburn,

get ready to fish at Kentucky)

We started off with lunch at Indian Pass Raw Bar with the gang

(Please notice I'm having a hot dog)

It's a must do. It's been cleaned up a little from

what I remember...

After lunch, Sophia and I hit the road to

Apalachicola and St. George Island

to see what we could find.

I went looking for this lighthouse.

The sign covers a bunch of the story,

except the "restoration" is really heavy "relocation" too.

This was my favorite lighthouse...

slowly being reclaimed by the ocean.

I always viewed it by boat...it fell in 2005.

We took a trip out there right before it fell,

I snapped a ton of pictures.

(shocker, I know)

They picked up the pieces, cleaned her up, and rebuilt her

right off the main bridge driving onto the island.

Difference between animal in the wild and dead one stuffed on a wall.

It looks very new & nice...shutters...paint...and all.

There was obvious a great deal of time and love put into this project.

The historical accuracy of the structure of the light.

I can still hear the waves crashing against it though where it stood.

I'll have to find the photo of it...

it's hanging on my kitchen wall at the house.

It's a pretty lighthouse museum.

Bird in St. George Island State Park
Dunes in the park

Really great thing we came upon in

St. George State Park.

Swings.

Soso got to play on the swings for the first time.

As I suspected...my little daredevil,

ate it up! Giggled. Squealed with delight!

She grinned the entire time she was in the thing!
Cracked me up too.

We drove all the way to the end of the park.

It was great to sit in the shade and enjoy the sights

and sounds of the beach.

Seagulls flew by, yelling at us. A crab scurried across the sand.

Waves crashing. Wind warmed by the sun.

Sophia self-portrait assisted by me.
She tried to eat the camera right after this...

Our bird friend that landed nearby...

I think he was looking for a handout.

Two of us at St. George State Park Beach Pavilion

After this, we headed back to the bus.

Wreck...Not Us

We are moving to plan B...Hwy 31. I-65 north is a parking lot. Hwy 31
is moving...now hearing on CB that wreck has fatalities. :(

Headed North

It's hard when you fall asleep playing with your plastic keys. We are
heading to Kentucky to fish. Back to work!

Blocks

Sophia's new sport...block tumbling.

She knocks them over then waits for the cheer.

Walking on Sand

Sophia was so excited to get down to the water that she almost left Steve!

Good-bye Beach...ocean...

As I always leave the coast, I say good-bye to the sand,

the surf, the sun, the fun, and the ocean out loud.

I don't know why...I just do it.

So, sadly I said it Friday morning as we drove out.

The end of the peninsula is the last glimpse of the ocean

before you head inland.

At the end of the peninsula, they are widening

and reinforcing the road. I took a couple of photos

of the bus going through the one lane road.

No thought to it, just hold up camera one handed and shoot.

Plus, it's always cool to go back with a before and after.

Here is the entire photo of the new sea wall.

Again, just holding up the camera...

as I was going through the photos, I noticed something.

Next to the digger tractor thingy...

Here is the close up of it!
The ocean waved good-bye back!
That's the way I see it...
(Too cute gift from Hal and Emily that I had to share.)
I collect Christmas ornaments. They saw this and
thought of us. Big, "Thank you!!" goes out to them.
It says "Cape San Blas" across the top of it.
Very appropriate!

Where's Steve?

Steve went out fishing every day with his dad and brother.But the last night he took Soso out to watch the sunset,

and play in the tide.
She knew when we hit the boardwalk up where
we were going...
THE BEACH!

She walked in the sand...

Looks like she's doing the Titanic

in this shot. Enjoying the waves

kissing her toes.

Laughing as she digs in the wet sand.

Yep, a little bit of a sand mustache again.

I guess it tastes different than the beach

down the road?

Group shot of our last sunset

After beach outdoor clothed shower.

There is just too much sand everywhere.

Happy little clam showered and in daddy's arms

walking back to the bus.

Day Two-Bayside Then Beach

Out at Saint Joseph Peninsula State Park,

you can go into the bay on one side of the road

on the other is the beach.

Here is part of the group snorkeling

L-R Will, Logan, Jill, & Katherine
Grandma Karen showing Katherine a
creepy crab

Close-up of it

(photo by Hal)

Logan about to snorkel out

Hanging in the bay with Betsy

Sophia not happy for a minute,

wanted her Mommy next to her.

Kat & Logan hit the kayaks

Betsy, Sophia, & I swimming in the bay

We went to lunch in Port St. Joe.

Main reason being, Soso needed a morning nap.
The drive to and from is perfect timing for it!

We moved in the afternoon to the beach.
Sophia could sit in the sand and dig for hours.

Sophia enjoying the shade of her

Old Navy umbrella with fish on it.

Everybody buried John in the sand

and made him a mermaid!

Sophia in her two piece bikini

playing on the beach.

Kicking back after playing in the surf

with a bottle of water.

Soso and I self shot, 7 months old

and knows what to do.

Soon after Soso melted down and we had to leave.
She was trying to tell me it was past her nap time!

In the Jeep once again, down to a diaper

after an outdoor shower asleep in the seat.

Beaches wear a little body out!

Sunset Day One

It started out as a go play in the sand at sunset...

I couldn't stand it, went and got the camera.

Sophia in the sand playing

She has fist fulls of sand!

Crawling around in the sand...notice the pink crocs!

Then I made everyone get in front of the sunset

for pictures!

Here are cousins Will and Jill

Will and Jill head off to walk the surf

Next up Betsy and husband Ryan

I asked for the cheesy look at each other moment.

Love it.
Betsy and Ryan walking into sunset

John and Natalie

Emily and Hal

Kat, Logan, Ryan

Travis, Kat, Logan, & Ryan

Sophia gets a lift from Daddy back to the house

after playing on the beach until dark!