Gulf Coast and Northern Florida

Onward to the east we cruised on January 23, from Panama City Beach, Florida, through an area hit hard by hurricane Michael (Category 4) in October 2018. There were many trees down and damaged buildings still in sight. We drove out to St. George Island State Park on the offshore island of the same name with beautiful, windy beaches.

Our next stop in Panacea, Florida, was friendly, if a bit sketchy. However, dinner at the nearby Seineyard Rock Landing, where they served local mullet, oysters, scallops, shrimp, and grouper, all very fresh and quite delicious. Also, we were back in the eastern time zone.

As we continued east and away from the coast, we observed that Florida highways and roads are RV- friendly. They are wide, straight, and have good visibility. Another business sign we saw in Live Oak, Florida: Sleeves Out Tattoos. We arrived in a nice park north of Jacksonville called Flamingo Lake RV Park. After a walk around the lake in the park we watched some of the trial on TV.

From the Flamingo Lake RV Park on January 25, we visited the Jacksonville Zoo and Garden located on the Trout River. This facility houses creatures that are not able to survive in the wild. The mix of animals are grouped by region of origin – Africa, Asia, South America, etc. The garden and zoo are integrated, which spreads out the animal exhibits and allows the park to accommodate a large number of visitors and children. Here are a few of the residents we saw.