dokodemo

The Florida Gulf region was bittersweet. I had never been in the area, only to Orlando and the eastern seaboard. Seeing the tropical, muggy beach towns was very interesting. A lot of delapidated old motels, reminders of the glory days of travel. Shrimp Shacks and roadside seafood vendors were common. Seemed like everyone in FL drove a pickup truck.

One thing I noticed in the area... I have never seen more visbile support for a college sports team than I saw on the roads of Florida. There must have been a game that weekend, so many trucks had windsocks, flags, pennants, stickers, magnets... anything possible to show support for the NOLES. I deduced that these were ANOLES, named for the common lizard in the Florida region (incorrectly called chameleons, since they change from green to brown when stressed). That left me unable to explain the spears/arrows often accompanying the NOLES logo, so I had to revise my theory (which later proved true) that these were actually SEMINOLES.

The goal was an early day, stopping to enjoy some time on the beach, cleaning of van, and so on. I made it to St. Georges Island, which had a state park at the tip. The island was beautiful... covered in sand dunes and beautiful beach houses up on stilts. However, the park campsite was full. I had forgotten this was a Saturday, and that in this part of the country, vacation season never really stops.

The park attendant told me of a private campground, so I followed her directions, went back to the mainland, and continued west. This private campground never revealed itself, and I ended up driving late into the night. Finally, I collapsed at a Day's Inn (first hotel stop of the trip) in Panama City.

The next morning, I continued west, and realized that (of course) another couple miles would have had me at beautiful beaches and plenty of campsites. I stopped to look around a bit, and took at least a few photos. Had a brief swim and moved on.

As I neared Pensacola, the hurricane damage was severe. At first I noticed most of the houses had blue tarps on the roofs, and a lot of traffic signs, trees, and advertsidements were uprooted, broken, or otherwise damaged. I started to take some photos of this stuff.

Continuing, it became very bad. Devestated homes, some reduced to piles of scrap, were all over. Huge piles of wood, trash, and miscellany lined the roads. In many areas, the roads were closed on one side due to the piles of detritus. I was really ovwerwhelmed by the devestation, and suddenly became very self-conscious about photographing it; it felt like a bad car wreck.

This damage continued through Alabama and into Mississippi.

I stopped for some groceries in Mississippi, and looked for the Buccaneer State Park which looked to be right on the coast. I was hoping for some beach camping after all.

The park was on the coast, but the campground was not. It was no problem though, it was a large and well-appointed park, near Waveland, MS. A frisbee golf course, waterslide, and many other facilities seemed popular there, but the campground was about half-full so that was good. There were some noisy people there, but I was far enough away from them to sleep well as they partied.

Driving through the bayou was excellent and quite new to me. I have no pictures of this because there was no place to stop. I chose a very scenic road, but there were constantly signs warning against stopping, and there was rarely a shoulder. White cranes (storks?) were all over. I did finally get a mediocre photo of one. The road seemed at times to be more bridge than road, other times it would wind through wooded areas, and hints of water could be seen through the tree trunks. Straight out of the film Southern Comfort.

I will probably not be forgiven by most people who read this, but I pretty much went straight trhough New Orleans. I have never been to that city, and I do realize its cultural, culinary, musical, historical, and architectural significance. However, it just didn't feel right to stop and explore it on my own. Parking, orienting myself, and spending money were not on my list for that day, but I do promise I will return some day and give the city its due attention.

Just driving through it was pretty fascinating, I got lost a couple times (and went through some areas where I felt a little out-of-place). Indeed the old homes are quite amazing, and I detoured through the French Quarter to see what everyone is talking about. I was surprised to see drive-thru daiquary stands all over, and wondered if its legal to drink them while driving. It can't be, but why else would this service be available?

As I neared Texas, the driver's side window became stuck, and I heard the regulator crack and fall off inside the door. The window was stuck about halfway down. This would normally be fine, except the day was getting hotter and hotter, pushing 95 degrees. I wanted to run the air conditioner, but it couldnt compete with the hot winds being blown into the window. I stopped just over the Texas border near Lumberton.