Monday January 27

Monday January 27, 2014 We left Grayton Beach around noon on Sunday and headed out on Hwy 98 for St. Joseph’s Peninsula State Park. Towns along the 2.5 hour drive included Panama City, Mexico City, and Port St. Joe. Some of us have been eating oysters as if there won’t be anymore after this week, which we did on the way into the peninsula. We got settled into the campground in time for a nice walk along the beach. Claude and Elaine are in a cabin further up the campground, and they were kind enough to host a jam last night. We got up with anticipation today, as the high was to be 70, the warmest day we have had so far. The peninsula is beautiful, and made for a great day outdoors. We have a marsh in the back of our campsites, and we were able to watch egrets and ducks this morning. I took off alone and walked the beach for an hour and a half or so. The others walked the boardwalk through the woods. After lunch we had our first outdoor jam of the trip. Bob and Lisa are both sporting new small-bodied Martin guitars, and they sound great. After the jam we drove up to Claude and Elaine’s cabin and headed out for a hike in the wilderness area. We started out walking along the bay for a mile or so, and then turned into the peninsula to walk on a trail. Amy, Wishbone, Bibi, and I extended our walk to the top of a dune, which must be the highest point on the peninsula, and with beautiful views. The hiking was through deep, snow white sand. We hiked down from the dunes and back along the beach to return. It has been a great day—outdoors all day in shorts, which was a welcome change from the cooler temperatures. It is raining as I write, and cooler temps are on the way--- snow is expected here Wednesday about the time we leave for Manatee Springs. Rain is in store for Tuesday, and we plan to take a day trip into Appalachicola---we hear the oysters are great there!