10/9 St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach, FL

Almost caught up.  Here is a summary of what happened on my trip south to Florida,  I left my dentist office on October 1 after getting stitches removed and headed south.  First stop was near Columbus, OH, and then had three very long driving days to make it to the panhandle of Florida.  Normally, I like to drive about 200 miles per day or even less, but I had reservations waiting for me, and I was really anxious to get there, so the next day I drove 28 miles to London, KY, then a whopping and record-breaking (for me) 382 miles to West Point, GA.  

I managed this by getting up early and taking a rest or two along the way.  I also made no stops for groceries or sightseeing and stayed in places right off the freeway, so as not to waste time.  This left me only 266 miles to make it to my first stop in Florida, T.H. Stone Memorial State Park on the Gulf just east of Panama City, FL.  I had made and cancelled reservations a couple of times so was able to spend only three days here, but it was very pleasant weather here, and I enjoyed meeting and visiting with a very nice couple.  (I took almost no photos here because I was working on getting my income tax done.)

In fact, I enjoyed visiting so much I stayed out too late the last night and ended up with a ton of mosquito bites.  I have since tossed out all my old repellents and replaced them with newer ones, plus I am going to be more careful to spray my legs and arms before I go outdoors in the future!   

Next, I headed about 65 miles west to St Andrews State Park, which is just south of Panama City.  I had reservations for five days here, and was pleasantly surprised that the campground was so different than it had been when I first came here about 10 years ago.  At that time, the campground was old, with small and cramped sites being very difficult to get into with my motorhome, so I swore I would never come back.  As most campers know, many of the state parks in this country were built 40-50 years ago to meet the needs of campers at that time.  Since then, more campers are choosing trailers or motorhomes instead of staying in tents.  In addition, trees and shrubs have grown bigger and have partially filled in campsites.  Since one of the goals of state parks is preservation of nature, no one likes to cut growth back or trim thees.  Also, when state budgets are stretched, recreation funding is often cut. 

However, once in a while Mother Nature takes things into her own hands and cleans things up.  In 2018, Category 5 Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle and did a lot of damage to homes and property, but it also almost completely destroyed St. Andrews and T.H. Stone Memorial State Parks, blowing or washing away many of the trees and brush!  Now both of these state parks have been completely rebuilt!  First, St. Andrews!

From a campground where sites were very small and hard to get into, all the sites are now much larger and have full hookups, meaning they have electric, water, sewer, and even internet access in the updated campground.   Instead of dirt, the sites are easily identified by edging timbers and contain clean gravel.   

   

New bath houses have been built, and all contain handicap facilities and washers and dryers.  

 

 

Roadways are wider with bike/golf cart paths alongside the camp roads.   

Sites are large enough for the biggest of campers and motorhomes.  The spots are also wide enough for some campers to park boats alongside their rigs.  

In addition, many of the sites back up to the lagoon with views of the city across the water.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even the main state park roads have bike/golf cart trails along the side, as shown here.  They are in the process of adding a barrier between the two, so in the meantime, it is easy to make a mistake and drive on the wrong road!    

 

 

The last day I was here, I drove to the beach area and took some photos.  These people are carrying stuff to spend the day on the beach. There is also a small store and place to buy tickets to a ferry to a nearby shelling island. 

 

 

And a very nice fishing pier.  

 

 

The sand is the sugar-white stuff found on nearly all the Florida Panhandle beaches.   It is also a very large beach and does not seem crowded.  

 

 

 

This was taken with my telephoto lens.  You can see that it is a bit more crowded down by these condos and hotels.   

 

 

 

It is amazing how clear the water of the Gulf of Mexico is here.  You can see every ripple in the sand and every tiny fish swimming around.    

I walked out to the end of the pier and enjoyed watching the fish and the seagulls diving for them.     

 

 

More views of the beach.