Early June, 2019: Two More Fab Weeks on the Panhandle

After three days away in nearby Mobile, Alabama, we luckily could return to stay in one of the cabins at Grayton Beach State Park for another two weeks. We were a bit miffed initially that we had been allotted a cabin that was not only much further away from the beach but also hadn't been updated like the one we'd stayed in for our initial two weeks. We sort of thought that, since we'd been coming to the park for more than ten years and therefore dropped a pretty significant chunk of change at the park, we would again have been given one of our 'preferred cabins' in the loop closer to the beach. No such luck, though.

Our first night, we walked along a trail that proved to be very attractive way to get to the beach. I liked going that way so much compared to walking along the road to and from the beach four times a day that Steven and I ended up deciding what we thought was a negative turned out to be anything but! No idea what this moss was but it was very attractive!

The trail to the beach took us past this wonderful pond - I loved seeing the changes in the blooming lily pads over the course of the two weeks we were there in this part of the state park. 

When we'd been at the park for the first two weeks, we had hardly a drop of rain the entire time. It had been the best weather we'd ever had over our decade or so of coming to Grayton Beach. When Steven checked the forecast in Mobile for our return, he bemoaned the fact it looked like we'd have rain, rain and more rain the entire time. He actually suggested we stay only for a few days and then head home. I was certainly not in favor of that!

One of the weirdest times we've ever experienced on our daily afternoon walks along the beach was when we encountered a mini river going directly into the Gulf of Mexico as we'd always been able to walk just directly along the sand.

If you read the post about our initial two weeks at Grayton, you may recall my photos of seeing young kids frolicking in the small lake very close to the beach as we walked along it each day.  Intense rain and strong winds had caused the sand between the lake and the Gulf to erode so much that there was no longer any beach separating the two. We felt it was too dangerous to attempt to wade through the strong currents to continue our walk on the other side. It was fun, though, watching people doing some impromptu surfing in a new spot! A couple of days later, all was back to 'normal' and there was sand the whole stretch of beach.

Although we had several days with a fair amount of rain our first week, we made it to the beach daily but didn't need to be as vigilant with applying sunscreen. Flags cautioned against any swimming because of the strong rip tides.

Windy days meant the perfect opportunity to bring out the kites. 

I took this photo at a condo development west of the state park boundary on the beach. 

Yeah - the sun came back and made for a lovely stroll to the beach from our cabin for me. Because Steven preferred driving each way each day, this was my 'me time' when I would often call friends or just relish in the peace around me.

Oops - did I just mention the sun?! A few days later, the clouds looked particularly ominous as we walked back from the beach over the elevated walkway.

Wonder why we were the only ones along the beach?!!

The beginning of the trail from our cabin loop to the ... beach of course!

I didn't see any signs indicating any crocodiles in the pond on the way to the beach but it looked like it would be their perfect habitat.

Not our creation but fun to see someone else's creativity at work on one of our walks along the beach.

I love coming back to Grayton year after year in part because of the sameness but also of the new sights we see. Never had we come across so many holes in the sand that sandcrabs had made.

Another day and another look at the pond ...

A few days later, the water lilies were beginning to bloom.

On one of our walks on the beach, we were concerned when we saw this water fowl as we weren't sure if it were alive or dead as it didn't move for quite a while. 

A few waterlilies finally bloomed in the pond days later. How beautiful the pond must have been when most bloomed in unison after we'd left.

After going out for Father's Day dinner at our favorite restaurant in Grayton, we drove along 30A, the coastal road, to the very pretty community of Rosemary Beach.

Whenever we make the 40 minute or so drive to Rosemary Beach, I am reminded how attractive and European-looking the area is. It's not our style but it's still fun to wander along the few streets, admire the swanky shops and restaurants and listen to the wandering minstrels.

Even the Post Office looked pretty spectacular and in keeping with the attractive architecture in the planned community that was established in 1995!

Steven on the town's green or park where we had to dodge wayward soccer balls played by kids and their parents who looked like they just stepped out of pages from Vogue or other chi chi magazines!

Invasive, the Lionfish sculpture, was made out of plastic debris from the Gulf waters, beach and the surrounding areas by students at the Ohana Institute to raise awareness of single-use plastics. A lionfish was chosen because it, too, is an invasive species in Florida that decimates populations of important reef fish. 

This is why the beaches along 30A are called the Emerald Coast! Hard for us to think of a more beautiful place to vacation in for a month each summer.

Just as we watched the birds fly away, we knew that after another two glorious weeks on Florida's Panhandle our time had also come to an end for another year. We hope to return, though, next August and September at the beginning and end of a Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Next post: Tourists in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Posted on August 17th, 2019, from our home in the Denver, Colorado, suburb of Littleton.