St. George Island SP (SGISP), Eastpoint, Fl., 58 mile jump
We got up at dawn and grabbed our bikes to ride north to the end of the road. There is a parking lot and a bike rack there. We walked along a roped trail though a strange land of white sand dunes to a desolate beach. The wind was blowing so hard the sea birds were absent except a couple of tiny sandpipers.
It is nearly an out of body experience to be in such an exotic environment; it’s like being transported to another world. The landscape was unlike any we have ever witnessed. These are the moments that are most instructive to our myopic sense of reality; reality is way more than our fixed circle of experiences. Visiting a strange land like this barrier island opens our minds to the “otherness” outside of our comfort zone. One might ask, how has my myopathy limited my vision? What else can I learn outside of my comfort zone? How do I correct my short sightedness?
The short drive along the Forgotten Coast to St. George Island was like a dream come true. Last year we were advised by a couple we met in Keokuk, Iowa, to visit Apalachicola, the Oyster Capital of the World*. It is like a time machine, very laid back, old school. Remember, we tried to book a campsite at SGISP, for weeks. Luckily, one night at midnight, I reserved these five nights. Last year, we camped 30 miles away for a week and fell in love with Apalach, as the locals call it. And now, we were almost to our bucket list destination!
We stopped at familiar spots on the way through Apalach: Ace Hardware for propane, Piggly Wiggly for groceries and beer (they have our favorite Two Hearted Ale by Bell’s Brewing, just outside of Grand Rapids), and the Post Office to mail some post cards that had been playing on the dashboard for days. From there we crossed the expansive Bay Bridge over to Eastpoint, then turned south over the gorgeous four mile St. George Island Bridge and northeast eight miles to Sugar Hill campground. (It looked like sugar on the ground!)
An awesome roomy campsite with vegetation screening us from neighbors on either side and a modern shower house just across the lane welcomed us. After setting up, we went out to the beach for the sunset, but this island is on a NE/SW orientation, so the sun set on the other side.
* The mural Penny painted on our camper is inspired by the Mississippi River at Keokuk, Iowa.