Forgotten Coast

After spending a month on the Emerald coast in Panama City Beach and hearing everyone tell us that Carabelle area is not as beautiful, I have two thoughts.  The Emerald coast is amazing with the perfect white sand and clear turquoise water and this area does not compare with the off white/brown sand and brown tinged water from the nearby rivers.  However, actually being able to see the water and enjoy areas/restaurants without having the huge highrises and the overcrowding and noise from people/motorcycles/music has been a relief to my over stimulated senses.  And that was before the spring break crowds arrived in PCB!   In the end, we feel blessed to have experienced both.  

The Forgotten Coast includes several towns described as "Old Florida".  We have enjoyed exploring them.  Apalachicola was very nice to walk around.  Tallahassee was fun to see and the State Park was just gorgeous with the azaleas blooming.  

We had a lot of fun going across the big long bridge to St George Island.   It was a beautiful day and we collected a lot of shells - even though I wasn't going to collect any more!  Mary T suggested the Blue Parrot and it was a delicous lunch of Mahi while watching the waves of the gulf! 

We had a fun afternoon exploring the Apalachicola National Estuarine Reserve - photos below.   First thing we learned is what an estuary is!  It is the area where fresh water meets salt water and is for important for many animals, plants and especially oysters!  The Reserve was a fun place with 4 big tanks of fish and other sea creations as well as shells, fossils, and a boardwalk.  Bill's favorite was the microscope on live oysters so you could see how they eat!  But the whale skeleton was impressive too.  Mine was that turtle - that little face!   It is a Diamondback Terrapin.  I wanted to take him home!

March 2023