This area of Florida had been deemed “The Forgotten Coast” even before last Fall’s Hurricane Micheal roared through and raged major destruction. From Newport Park, we first headed south to St. Mark’s Lighthouse & Wilderness Area. This area reminded us of the Everglades with it’s vast Pineland forests and wonderful bird habitats.
The day before, Jo had walked to a roadside Boiled Peanut stand with no money and Captain Dan gave her a free sample bag. They were so delicious and when we saw Captain Dan was back at his stand, we bought a mixed bag of original and Cajun style. They were soooo good later that afternoon for a snack! Boiled Peanuts are now considered (by some) to be a delicacy and are a pretty cheap source of protein to boot.
This was also our last chance for Florida beaches so we made stops at Alligator Point (hit roads that were washed out and impassable), Bald Point State Park (perhaps should have been named Jellyfish Point), Carrabelle Beach (much more appealing than the tea-coloured waters at Bald Point!) and St. George Island (beautiful beaches and colourful houses like those on Jelleybean Row in St. John’s, NL) as we made our way around the gulf to our final destination for the day in Apalachicola. Here we enjoyed yet another flight of beer at Oyster City Brewing Company. This time we tasted the likes of “First Light”, “Tate’s Hellies”, “Mill Pond”, “ManGrove”, “Fermentus” and “Foulin’ Harries”. All were of high alcohol content and oh yeah… free popcorn!