Leaving Georgia we headed back toward the panhandle of Florida.  We are now on the last half of our journey around the United States.   We are heading across the southern states and then, starting at San Diego, working our way up the west coast to Washington.

I thank God for the opportunity to see our glorious country.  There are so many beautiful spots that I had never heard of before this trip.  Some of our favorite places were ones that we just happened by on the road.  God’s creation is just marvelous and our God is so gracious to provide us with such a wonderful place to live.

We stayed in a town called Fountain which was not far from Panama City.  We went to St. Andrews State Park which had beaches, alligators, and a great little visitor center.  The beaches have the beautiful white sand that Florida is famous for.  The water is not as warm as it was in December so I put my toe into the water but kept my boots on.  LOL   I wanted to say I had put my foot into the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Atlantic Ocean.  So now I can claim to have done that.

To reach the beach we had to climb the steps over the dunes.  What a breathtaking sight when we go to the top of the steps.  The sight was so beautiful.  The weather was cold so there were only a few people here and there on the beach.   There was also a small gift shop there and out the back of that building they had board walks to a viewing area.  This makes it possible for people with wheelchairs and scooters to see the beaches.   I recommend this beach for you to see if you are ever in Panama City area.

As we drove around the park we saw a sign that said alligator pond.  So we walked down the boardwalk and discovered a pond, but no alligators.  It was too cold for them to come out so we walked away disappointed.  However, we have seen an abundance of them on our trip already so we were not too upset.  We knew that there would be other opportunities for us to se them as we go across the other southern states.

We drove out to the visitor center by the gate to use their facilities before heading back to the RV and discovered a wealth of information and displays inside.  They had section where they displayed the seashells that could be found on Florida beaches.  Some of them were ones I had never seen and others are also common on West Coast beaches.  The variety was astounding and I have included pictures of some of them.

They also had displays of fish and wildlife that were indigenous to the Panama City area.  Everything from bears to rattlesnakes and even butterflies were on display.

Our next adventure is to explore other areas around the panhandle of Florida and maybe find another state park close by.  Hang on for the next big adventure.