St Joseph Peninsula SP, Port St. Joe, FL
This morning we rode our bikes to the east side of the peninsula to see the sunrise. Too bad we forgot the bug dope, they were on us like white on rice. No way to ignore them in your ears, nose, eyes. But, we toughed it out and came up with some pretty photos of a phenomenal sunrise, surrounding landscape, and beautiful shorebirds.
Penny made a super breakfast out of last night’s boudin and I chopped strawberries for a side dish. Yum! Then, she stripped the carcass of the rotisserie chicken we bought at Port St. Joe on the way here. Out of it, she made a delicious chicken salad that we ate for lunch AND fantastic chicken noodle soup that we enjoyed for dinner. Amazing!
Later, I went for a 12 mile bike ride while Penny visited the beach to do some sketching. I got home before she did. After a cool down period, I got to the shower house and returned for lunch. We are moving to St. George Island tomorrow, so the afternoon included some preparation for the move and a nap necessitated by the GU game at 10:15PM (7:15 GU time). If they win, they will be 30-0 to close out the conference season!
The soup was killer! While waiting for the game, we watched the sunset, reviewed the many photos we have recently taken, critiqued each others, and chose our favorites. Penny went to bed and heard the first few minutes, but sleep overcame her.
Looking forward to the move tomorrow, we will be within 7 miles of our favorite oyster house and 10 miles of Apalachicola, our favorite town on the Forgotten Coast. This is a term coined to describe this portion of the panhandle that has remained undeveloped. There are no high rises, few condos or strip malls; it looks much as it did in the 1960s, unlike most of the rest of the Florida coastline. Again, thank goodness for state and national parks. My case in point, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is on the north end of the peninsula. From the south boundary of the park, housing developments are springing up everywhere. We have seen this phenomena of commercial and/or residential encroachment surrounding state and national parks. Yes, it is beautiful land and it is valuable. My point is we, the people, need these sacred spaces protected from encroachment as a treasure to future generations. Do we really need to drill for oil in the pristine wilderness?
The Zags lost. It’s 12:30 PM. Good night!