Last Day at Grayton, Next Stop, Little Talbot Island

Tuesday January 25, 2022 - Our last day in Grayton Beach was sunny and relatively warm, so we enjoyed a last walk on the state park's beautiful beach.  For dinner we decided to bike to the town of Grayton Beach for dinner at the Red Bar.  It was a 2 mile bike ride with the majority of the ride on a bike trail, so we were able to ride back to the campground after dark using our bike lights.  

Western Lake is pretty flat today, wish we had our kayaks

beautiful day at the beach

Interesting front door of the Red Bar

All the light bulbs in red bar are red bulbs

Smoked tuna and beers

 Wednesday January 26, 2022 - Today we left Grayton Beach and headed to Little Talbot State Park near Jacksonville (a 5 hour drive).  We had camped at Little Talbot 3 years ago and were eager to camp here again, since we enjoyed our stay.  The campground is in the process of being renovated, and most sites don't have electric during the upgrade.  I guess this kept most RVers from staying here, as we are the only ones camping in the RV loop!  It's nice to have the campground to ourselves.  

Site 26 at Little Talbot.  We'll use our generator while we cook breakfast and dinner and we'll use our propane for heat at night.

love the trees covered in Spanish moss

The back side of the campground is on a salt marsh that rises and falls with the tide.  Last time we were here we kayaked the salt marsh out to the bay.  We had to pick a time when the tide was on it's way in to be sure we didn't get stuck in the muck that's left when the tide goes out.

Little Talbot salt marsh

Friday January 28, 2022 - This morning the ranger stopped by to tell us we could move to site 29, which is their emergency site.  It has electric and he said since the next few nights are going to be so cold we might want electric.  It doesn't really matter to us, since we have propane for heat, but it is more convenient to have electric.   After lunch we biked to Amelia Island, there is a nice trail along A1A the Timucuan Trail.  It goes through Big Talbot Island State Park and then connects up with Amelia Island over a huge bridge over the river that leads to the Nassau Sound.  

Timucuan Trail

Boardwalk over another salt marsh.  We saw a king fisher and a heron.

Coffee and a cinnamon roll after 9 miles of biking.  Only 9 miles back to our campsite

A hike out to Boneyard Beach

Boneyard Beach

This beach is full of oak and cypress trees

3 miles of beach along the Nassau Sound

It's Rainy & Cold in Grayton Beach

 Thursday, January 20, 2022 - The rain was supposed to start this afternoon, so we got a nice walk in this morning.  We then headed to a poker room, so Kevin could play some poker and I could catch up on some reading.  He came in third in the tournament, so he was pretty happy with a rain day.

The rain is coming...

Friday January 21, 2022 - Another day of rain.  So we hung out in the RV, watched TV, read, played games and made some yummy crock pot lasagna.

I used my usual lasagna recipe but layered the noodles in, uncooked.  Cooked it on low for 4-5 hours

Saturday January 22, 2022 - It finally stopped raining, so we had a nice walk on the beach, in the morning.  By the afternoon, we even saw the sun!  We took a 10 mile bike ride and picked up a few things at the grocery store.

Looks like snow in the background

A gray day on the beach, but at least it's not raining

K is for Kevin (or maybe its a 4 armed starfish)

Sunday, January 23, 2022 -  It was 32 degrees and sunny when we woke up this morning.  The field behind our campsite was covered in frost.  We hit the laundry early and then had a nice sunny walk on the beach. 

frost-covered field

Tiny, at the end of the secret path

I love it when the state park we are staying at, has a washer and dryer!

Sunny beach day

Grayton Beach State Park

 Monday January 17, 2022 - Today we drove from Three Rivers State Park to Grayton Beach State Park, where we will be staying for the next 9 days.  It was only an hour and 45 minute drive, so when we got there we had some time to explore.  The campground has 59 sites, one loop is for larger RVs and the second loop for smaller ones.  The campsites on the second loop are more private, with lots of vegetation separating them.  Many of the sites at Grayton Beach back up to Western Lake, which is a dune lake.  Dune lakes are only found in a few locations (Madagascar, New Zealand, Oregon and here in Walton County Florida).  Dune lakes are lakes that share intermittent water exchange of salt water and fresh water.  We decided to take a 7 mile round trip bike ride to the Publix, to pick up groceries.  It was a nice ride, on the Timpoochee Trail, along Rt 30A.  It goes over Western Lake, and through Water Color, and Seaside.  There are lots of shops and restaurants in these cute little towns that we will have to check out later.  

Our new site at Grayton Beach State Park (Site 10)

Bike ride on the Timpoochee Trail

Tuesday January 18, 2022 - It was a bit chilly this morning so we didn't leave the RV until late morning.  It was a nice sunny day, though so we headed over to the Grayton Beach access, what a beautiful beach, with the classic Walton County sugary white sand.  Near the beach access is the Canopy walk that takes you through the dunes and under the trees.  It was about a mile hike and it was about a mile walk from our campsite to the beach access.  We decided in the afternoon to head the opposite way on the Timpoochee Trail(which is an 18 mile trail in total), to head toward Topsail State Park, that we had stayed at two years ago.  We weren't able to get far, as a bridge is out between Grayton Beach and Topsail, so we'll have to wait to see that part of 30A in March when we're back in the area.  We decided to head back to Seaside for an ice cream at The Candy Bar. Before dinner we tried a little fishing from the shore, and came up empty handed.

Western Lake 

Grayton Beach

Canopy Walk

Cooking lunch outside

 

Back on the trail

Ice Cream at the Candy Bar

More fishing

Wednesday January 19, 2022 - We were hoping to rent kayaks from the Ranger station, but they said they only rent kayaks in the summer!  So instead we packed a lunch, to eat on the beach, and brought our fishing poles, to see if we could fish from the boat launch, but after lunch we decided it was too windy for fishing and took a bike ride to the grocery store instead.  

Morning walk

lunch on the beach

beautiful white sand beach

we baked a mini loaf of bread in our crock pot

biking through Seaside (where the movie The Truman Show was shot)

It's Time to Head to Florida

 Thursday January 14, 2022 - I finally caved into Kevin's pleas that we leave early for Florida.  I found a state park in the panhandle that had a few sites available.  We decided to drive part way on Thursday, and we stayed at a rest area in Alabama.  Friday morning we only had a 4.5 hour drive, and got there a little after noon.  Three Rivers State Park, has a small campground (only 30 sites) and the camping is located right on Lake Seminole, which is formed from the two rivers that empty into it (Chatahoochee and Flint) and the third (Apalachicola) that empties from it.  The majority of the lake is located in Georgia.  Most of the campgrounds we will be staying at, on this 2.5 month trip, are on either a river or a lake, so we decided to buy Florida freshwater fishing licenses ($47/yearly out of state).  At the campground there was a nice fishing dock that we checked out at at sunset.  It was a beautiful spot to fish, but that's all we did...no catching.

Yay!! We're on the road again!

The Saturn 1B rocket at the Alabama Welcome Center.  The fuel tanks of the Saturn rocket were built at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama for NASA.  The rocket is 168 ft tall.

The Gov Guy Hunt Rest Area in Hanceville Alabama where we stayed Thursday night.  It was a busy overnight spot

Nice peach water tower in Clanton AL, who knew that peaches were grown in Alabama?

Lake Seminole, Florida

Soaking up that Florida sun

Nice campsite, at Three Rivers State Park, with a view of the lake

Fishing dock at the campground

Sunset over Lake Seminole

 

Saturday January 15, 2022 - We got up early and headed out for a 3.5 mile hike around the park.  The trail out of the campground went along the lake and then headed out to the ranger station.  We saw a bald eagle and a few deer.  After lunch we went for a quick bike ride and then did a little more fishing.  The wind picked up in the afternoon, and the sun gave way to lots of clouds and rain.  Good thing we have the wild card games to watch tonight.  

Eagle viewing

The park was very affected by Hurricane Michael in 2018...lots of trees broken off about 30 feet up.

Our new campsite for the next two nights.  We had to switch sites since none were open for 3 days in a row.  Another nice view of the lake.