by JudyJB » Fri Apr 19, 2024 6:59 pm
Picked up my package from Amazon and made it to Grayton Beach. I drove up and down U.S. 98 to get my package and pick up some milk and a frozen pizza. It is the main east-west highway through the panhandle, and I swear, every time I come here or any other place in Florida, for that matter, there are new shopping centers, new stores, new apartment developments, etc. etc. On east side of this state park is the planned community of Seaside, AKA 12-months-a-year Spring Break!! You hungry for a $14 hot dog or a $5 coke from the food truck? On the west side is the tiny town, AKA "tourist trap extravaganza," Grayton Beach. There is almost no room for parking, so they now have a parking lot just outside this tiny place and a shuttle to take you to the beach or one of the many over-priced souvenir shops.
The state park is several hundred feet from the highway, and when I pulled into the check-in booth I told the two rangers that this place is a welcome oasis in the midst of hoards of tourists. It is another several hundred feet from the Gulf, but since you have to pay a day fee and the beaches on both sides are free, it is not so busy. Whew! Most of the state parks and campgrounds in the southern part of the state are ramping down, and there are still a few campsites vacant during the week, but up here it is cooler and they get a lot of tourists from Texas, Alabama, and Georgia, so it is still really busy.
I like Florida for the places I go--the Big Cypress, the Everglades, the state parks in the middle of the state that are in empty prairie or pine woods and advertise themselves as "The Real Florida," but if they are not careful, they are going to pave over this entire state. Then, they will lose the birds and the animals--sad.
Anyway, high today was 78 and tomorrow will be 77. Rest of week will be low 70s. I am mostly still staying inside until my current mosquito bites are completely healed. No more blisters or pain, at least, but still red and got a couple more comments today from people seeing my spotted legs!