St. George Island January 2014 - A Little Too Cold

Several months ago we planned a January camping trip to St. George Island with Joe and Judy.  It's a shame, but there are a lot of state parks in Florida that are full during the winter months with Snow Birds from up north.  So on January 20, knowing that the weatherman was forecasting a cold snap, we met them at the St. George Island State Park for four days of camping in cold weather.

Monday was cool, but not unpleasant.  We walked down to the beach and enjoyed the view.  That night it rained a little and then the weather began to turn colder.  Bubba and Joe went oystering on their kayaks and Judy and I rode into Apalachicola so that I could pick up a prescription at the local CVS.  Bubba and Joe got back about the same time we did and they set up at the picnic table to enjoy their oysters and tell some yarns (true fish stories).

The big thing I don't like about this park is the lack of tv reception.  Most of the time the only channel we can pick up is the PBS station.  That tends to isolate you from the world which is good and bad.  For example the weather was predicted to be a hard freeze on our last night there and we didn't know it until Judy was able to pick up the weather on a local channel.  Probably if we had known that we would have come home a day earlier, but when we found out it was really too late to do anything about it.  We crossed our fingers that our pipes at home wouldn't freeze. (They didn't.)

We tried to spend time sitting around a fire to keep warm.  Everyone knows that smoke follows beauty so Judy and I were constantly having to move our chairs to get out of the smoke.  Then I suggested that we bring out a fan to direct the smoke away from us.  Bubba and Joe laughed at my idea, but Judy went to get her little fan and I found an extension cord for it.  Not only did it direct the smoke, it also made the fire hotter.

On Thursday we got out and did some sightseeing.  We ate lunch in Panacea at Posey's Seafood and Oyster Bar.  Then we made a round through the Ochlockonee State Park looking a camp sites for a visit there in the future.  This area is home to white squirrels and we were lucky enough to see them.

I always say that it's not about the food, but I can't help but mention that Bubba smoked a ham that was so tender it was falling apart.  Judy made chicken salad that was some of the best I've ever eaten.  We also had pulled pork, a fish fry with mullet and flounder, lemon pie, oatmeal cookies, German chocolate cake and carrot cake.  It's not about the food but it does seem like some of the best times in life occur in the vicinity of a great meal.

This trip was the first time we have camped since Christmas and we got to try out the awning lights that Amy and Darryl gave us.  We love them.  In warmer weather we will be able to sit under that awning with enough light for reading.

Although it was too cold for a lot of outside time, we enjoyed the time spent with Joe and Judy.  We arrived home and found that all our pipes had survived the cold night.  After unpacking and putting things away which we can do in about a hour, we got in our recliners and enjoyed the ipad, tv, and laptop.  We had missed them.  I guess we are becoming addicted just like the younger generation.  Now we will watch for a few days of warmer weather and plan another trip.