Wednesday 11th January – time for a night out

Following a major tourism day yesterday, it was time to enjoy exploring the state park before it as time to finally leave Florida tomorrow. 

We went for a walk along the trail right behind our plot, past the alligator-infested lake, on to an observation tower on the coast.  From a distance we viewed dolphins, herons, egrets, woodpeckers, osprey and some kind of eagle fight?! From now we would be moving inland so we soaked up the opportunity to view the coastal wildlife.

The boardwalk leading up to the observation tower

Woodpecker

To celebrate our time in Florida (any excuse) we headed out to a massive bar called Florabama for the evening, so called as it is on the border of Florida and Alabama:  

 

We had tried finding a campsite close enough to be able to cycle to the bar and cycle home again but I am glad we decided to drive because it was a lot further than we expected!  The bar is infamous for live music and wild party nights on the border.  Our first impression….?  It was a bit of a dive!  Visitors are invited to write on the walls all over the premises and the graffiti gave it a grubby, run-down look.  Having explored the various levels to navigate around the pub we headed outside to enjoy a beer overlooking the beach and sunset. 

 

This live music area in the bar, with overhead bra collection, classy!

Getting into shuffle-board.....

We headed back inside into a bar with live music, pool tables and free popcorn!  The barman, Steve, was chatty and helpful.  There were signs selling a signature cocktail at Florabama – the Bushwhacker.  Steve gave us a small sample each.  It tasted delicious, like baileys and ice-cream but Steve informed us that it contained SEVEN different spirits! I was only having a couple of beers so that I could drive us back to the park but Simon treated himself to a cocktail…. Or three during the evening! The pool started well for me, going 1-0 up, but then I managed to lose the next two games.  Along the back wall of the bar was a shuffle-board table.  We had no idea how to play this game but luckily a family came along for a tournament and we ended up getting involved.  They were happy to explain the rules and then let us have some goes.  It involved gliding weighted ‘pucks’ down the board, which is covered with a scattering of sand for friction, with the aim being to score points by getting the pucks to come to rest in scoring zones.  It’s essentially curling but on sand instead of ice and there are no brooms involved! Teams of two split up so that competitors play against each other from the same end before the game reverses direction.  It was addictive!  A balance of force and accuracy, along with the fact that you could blast your puck down the board to try and smash your competitor’s puck off the board completely.  It got violent and tactical!

The family were from Baton Rouge and were in Florida for a reunion.  They were so friendly, we had a great time. 

Before I knew it, it was 9pm and I realised that we had forgotten to have any dinner and Simon was getting rather inebriated.  We were both enjoying a rare night out and the opportunity to socialise so much that we got carried away with it all.  I encouraged Simon to come to the food bar with me and I ordered us some burgers and chips.  But Simon was feeling too poorly to eat by this time.  I’d left it too late.  So, our dinner was placed in doggy bags and we made our way back to the RV.  Friendly barman, Steve, had already told us that the bar would have no problem with an RV staying in their lot overnight if they knew we were customers. I made the decision that driving Simon anywhere would not improve the situation! So, I left Simon to sleep the night off.  He had been well and truly ‘bushwhacked’.