Friday 6th January – Sunday 8th January – St George Island State Park

On my orientation bike ride on Friday morning I got a little carried away, doing extra mileage and discovering boardwalks and beaches all around us.  I also found that there was some surf in the Gulf of Mexico.  Having kept a close eye on the weather predictions, they were warning of an extreme drop in temperatures this weekend.  But Friday was sunny and warm.  This could be our last opportunity to hit the beach for a while!  So we did as much as possible, mostly because we had the entire beach to ourselves – boogie boarding, Frisbee, walking and relaxing.  It was bliss.

Saturday morning came and it was freeeeezing, as predicted.  So glad we hit the beach yesterday.  Simon’s parents have confirmed the dates that they are joining us between Toronto and Montreal in June and we have arranged to see our friends in Toronto at the same time.  Scary to be organising things for later this year when our time in America will be over.  We’re looking forward to seeing friends and family of course, but the realisation that the time will pass quickly to then reminds us to savour every moment.  To savour this afternoon, we dressed in several layers and went for a 5-mile round trip walk to Bay point on the West side of our campsite.  There wasn’t much wildlife to behold.  A couple of hawks that were too far away to identify and some woodpeckers.  Certainly not the numerous snakes promised in this poster:

The animals were all probably being sensible and hibernating, which is what we did for the rest of the evening having battened down the hatches from the cold!

One thing I had been worried about missing at home was the new series of Sherlock, I need my dose of Cumberbatch!  Simon had been very kind and purchased the three episodes for me as a surprise the day after the first one had aired.  To our surprise, on the island of St George, we had reception for PBS and on Saturday night they were showing the very same new episode that we had watched a couple of days previously!  Simon did not find this amusing.  But we watched it again, of course, because it was brilliant.

Sunday morning television informed us that we were experiencing the lowest temperatures in the panhandle for two years. Marvellous. A little admin today – as tomorrow, it would be three months ago exactly that we departed the British Isles and I had set a reminder that we needed to use our UK phone numbers.  Having done a quick SIM swap, Simon had no problem with his.  My account, on the other hand, was telling me it was closed and my number was inactive.  Hmmmmph.  A quick moaning email to EE and I was impressed that they sorted the issue out within the day and we had both successfully topped up our now pay as you go accounts to keep our UK numbers active.

Exercise for today was a hard-going 5 mile bike ride to the East end of the island.  Especially hard going on the way out into bitter headwinds.  But it was worth it to see the dolphins at the end of what is a totally isolated section of coastline.  No one is allowed on the sand dunes to ensure their preservation along with the flora and fauna that rely upon the habitat.  This meant finding a shipwreck right at the end of the island was a sad sight, as it had leaked oil leaving a polluted sheen across pools of seawater and dead fish grounded on the beach.  Even here where efforts to protect the wildlife are enforced, humans still manage to negatively impact the environment. 

The un-touched sands of the East end of the island

The oily 'sheen' on the water

That's an expensive mistake.....

 

The 5-mile return journey was slightly less painful with the wind behind us but we were exhausted when we got back to the RV.  An evening’s blogging whilst laughing at celebrities being all ‘political’ at the Golden Globe awards followed.