Feb 3rd to 6th - Mexico Beach

Feb 3rd - Tues - to Mexico Beach
Another 3 ½ hour drive today to Rustic Sands CG in Mexico Beach which is less than 20 miles from Panama City on the Florida panhandle. Billy & Lauri got an early start so they were already all set up when we arrived after stopping at a grocery store on the way in Port St Joe. We set up, had a late lunch and went to register since the office was closed when we drove in. It was pretty cool but we went for a bike ride around the park. It is not very big and not full. The pool is not open as the weather has been too cold - costs too much to heat it and not enough people want to use it in these temperatures.
We went next door for happy hour and then had a light, early dinner so we could go to play bingo. There was no one else there when we arrived just before 6:30 - we had crossed a time zone and didn’t realize it so it was only 5:30 here! Billy & Terry played pool and Lauri & I read magazines while we waited for others to arrive. We played card bingo. 4 people sit at each table and deal out a deck of cards which you sort in suits face up on the table. You put in 25 cents for each game. Then one person takes another deck of cards, turns them up one at a time and calls each card. Each person with that card puts it in the center and the first person with no cards wins the round and the money and gets to call the cards for the next round. If there are not the right number of people for 4 at a table, the cards are dealt to a dummy hand and played “for fun”. Terry & Billy each won 4 games, I won one and Lauri won one but had to split the pot with 2 other winners. There were only 10 people playing so it’s not like you won a lot but it was fun.

Feb 4th - Wed - Mexico Beach
Very cool this morning. I took Dolly out and went back to bed!
About 10:30 we joined Billy & Lauri for an outing to Panama City since it was too cold & breezy to enjoy the outdoors. We searched for and finally found a Michael’s craft store - looking for candle wax for our buddy burners. The bulk wax was pretty expensive but we bought a couple of large pillars. Stopped at a Big Lots to get a new computer mouse for Lauri and continued on to Panama City beach. The beaches are beautiful here - very white sand and turquoise water. The access to the beaches near Panama City is limited because of condos, apartment and hotels but there are several public accesses and we didn’t see parking meters that were present in Naples and Tampa areas. We stopped at a Hooters right on the beach for lunch and got a table where we could look out at the gulf - very nice.
On the way back we stopped and bought some Plant City (near Thonotosassa) strawberries. I sliced the berries, made some biscuits, Lauri & Billy came over at 6:30 and we all had strawberry shortcake for dinner since we had a late lunch.

Feb 5th - Thurs - Mexico Beach
Another excursion today - this time back the way we came to Apalachicola. This time we took the scenic loop closer to the coast and saw a lot of houses on stilts near the water. In Apalachicola, we wandered through several touristy shops with very fun stuff. Decided that we didn’t see anywhere that looked good for lunch so continued on to St. George’s Island where we had lunch at Harry A’s - just OK. I finally had a soft shell crab sandwich. They bread and deep fry the entire crab and lay it on the bun with legs and all. Just tasted like a fish sandwich.
We drove the island to St George State Park and decided we did not want to pay the $5 entrance fee just to have a look. As we drove back across the long bridge, I talked the others into stopping on the far side and walking back on an old bridge to check out boats fishing near the bridge. Turned out they were harvesting oysters. The water is very shallow and they use two long poles with rakes on the ends in a pinching fashion to scrape oysters off the bottom and lift them into the boat. Then they pound the clumps apart and put the oysters in bags.
We made a quick stop at a grocery store in Port St. Joe on the way back and found a Salvation Army to get rid of some clothes that Lauri & I sorted out. I had put port roast in the crock pot and had Billy & Lauri over for dinner. Then the other 3 went to play a card game called “Pass the Trash” while I worked on email and posted pictures to the internet in folder 2008 #13.

Feb 6th - Fri - Mexico Beach
Billy & Lauri went to do laundry this morning. I posted pictures to 2 new folders so check out 2008 #14 and #15.
The weather warmed up quite a bit so we rode our bikes about ½ a mile to the beach. Terry thought the sand was hard enough to ride by the water but instead discovered how cold the water was when he took a little spill! Gathered a few shells and just sat and watched the beautifully clear water lap the shore. Still had on long pants and sweatshirts but nice compared to previous days. After dinner, Billy & Lauri came over for more Sequence. Lauri brought guacamole and chips - just what we all don’t need but YUM!