2022 Spring Southern Trip: Carrabelle Beach, Florida Panhandle

Thursday 4/21: 258 miles, parked at Carrabelle Beach RV Resort, Carrabelle, Florida

View from our camper.

Site 36, Beach View

Stage Coach to Carrabelle Beach

We were on the road at 9:45 this morning.  We all woke early this morning to see Christl off.  Her Uber ride was scheduled for 5:00, and he arrived about 15 minutes early.  We were sad to see Christl go, and not see Mark and Charmaine again, but excited to get on the road and see new places. When we travel, I can't get Willie Nelson's song out of my head, "On the road again, seeing places I may never see again, I just can't wait to get on the road again".

We took I-95 north to Jacksonville, 295 west bypass, then I-10 west to Tallahassee.  Then connecting with FL 90 south to FL319 and then FL98.  It was good roads all the way.

We arrived to a sunny afternoon about 3:00.  Carrabelle is a new campground for us, and it is very nice! The sites are immaculately landscaped.  There is quite a mix of RV's, all the way from diesel motorhomes to small R-Pod travel trailers.  For example, our next door neighbors are a retired couple (Carol a music teacher and Len a financial advisor) from Michigan and they have a smallish travel trailer.  It is their very first RV, and they love it and are already planning to move to a size slightly larger.  They rented a site here for the entire month of April.  

While the weather is warm and sunny, the ocean breeze is refreshing.  I have to keep reminding myself, it's not like this all the time.  Hurricane season is just around the corner.

Friday 4/22:

Another warm and sunny day.  Today is a pure catchup day.  First time in 2 weeks when we didn't have any activities planned.  Judy did some reorganizing, and I got caught up on writing the travel blog.  See, life on the road can at times be boring, just like home.  😀  Sometimes boring is good!  Our neighbor Len likes to ocean fish every other day or so.  He showed us a 3 foot black tip shark he caught today.  Neat.  He googled how to filet it and cook it.  Said it was excellent!  Our dinner was crockpot chicken thighs, mushrooms, and peppers served over noodles.

That evening we took the dogs for a walk on the beach.  This beach even has a little bit of history.  It was used as a practice beach for the D-Day invasion in World War II because it resembles the beaches of Normandy.  

It's nice that leashed dogs are allow on the beach here.  Anyway, at the ripe old age of 15 and a half,  the Golden Retriever had a 10 minute spurt of unbridled energy yesterday reliving her youth and playing in the ocean.  She was so tired that later we had to carry her to bed last night.  Like many of us, her brain is still younger than her body.  She's hanging in there though.

Saturday 4/23: 

We made the half hour drive to Apalachicola to find some Tupelo Honey.  This honey is made by bees from the nectar of Tupelo trees, which are in blossom only about 2 to 3 weeks every year.  Tupelo trees grow in the swamps and are found only in a small region of Georgia and Florida Panhandle. Here is a great article from the NY Times about Tupelo honey.

Savannah Bee Company also has a very good article that includes "It's not just the flavor and texture of Tupelo honey that makes it unique, but also the very chemical composition of the honey.  All honey varieties contain the sugars fructose and glucose.  These compounds are used in our bodies as a primary energy source.  Tupelo honey has an unusually high fructose to glucose ratio."

Therefore it metabolizes slower and is more tolerable for diabetic sensitive diets.  It is said that Tupelo honey never crystallizes, unlike most other honeys, apparently due to the unique sugar makeup.

I had always thought that Tupelo Honey came from Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley.  Nope, it's derived from the Tupelo tree.  The 1997 movie Ulee's Gold, starring Peter Fonda was filmed in the surrounding areas and communities. I remember seeing the movie years ago. 

We ended up shopping at two stores. 

Sunday  4/24:

Today it was dog walking, laundry, reading, napping, reading, dog walking, and grilling.  Yet another sunny and 75 day to suffer through.  I think I could enjoy the relaxed attitude here: immaculate park and a beautiful public beach across the road.  We have never stayed at a campground longer than a week before.  Judy and I talked and we might try a 2 week stay at this one next year and see how it goes.  Apalachicola,  St. George Island, including the State Park, and Port St. Joe are all less than an hour drive from here, so there would be places to explore.  Would we get bored without friends to visit?  I don't know.  I can't imagine staying in one place for a month, but who knows.  I think we would also consider 2 week stays in Savannah and St. Augustine in the future.  We'll see what time brings.

Here are some more images of Carrabelle Beach RV Resort.  In addition to the RV spaces, they offer a large selection of cabins and tiny houses to rent.

Monday  4/25:

Today is our last full day in Carrabelle.  So how do we spend it?  By grocery shopping at the local IGA and picking up a couple things at the local ACE Hardware.  After restocking the camper, we are good to go for a few days.  In Gulf Shores we can find a Walmart to restock on items we could not find in Carrabelle.  The rest of the day we spent reading, napping and visiting with neighbors.  We have found interesting folks wherever we have traveled.  No political talk, just one common interest, the love of RV'ing and travel.

In summary, we had a really nice and relaxing time in Carrabelle for 5 days.  We got lucky with weather that was a perfect sunny and 75 every day.  Tuesday we move on to a 7 night stay in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  From there, we start the trek home just in time to mow lawn.  Chores are never done.  😀

Stay tuned!!