Joe's Roadtrip

Location: Port St. Joe, FL

Miles Driven: 348.8

Cumulative Miles Driven: 962

Left New Orleans shortly before noon and headed east on I-10 in the direction of Florida.  It was a nice drive for the most part, but once again I encountered some rain.  At one point it got so bad I had to pull over and wait for the downpour to cease.

Ominous looking clouds ahead

Later in the afternoon I crossed the Alabama/Florida border and made a pit stop at the FL Welcome Center.

FL Welcome Center with Blue Angel model

Eventually I reached the Pensacola area and was treated to some nice views of the bay, where there were a number of people out fishing.  I took a seat on a bench and relaxed enjoying the breeze coming off the water.

Pensacola Bay

Big fish. The guy who caught it told me it took an hour to haul ashore.

I continued east along Highway 98 which ran right along the Gulf coast.  Got an oil change done (the first of many) in the city of Gulf Breeze. Not far from there were a number of easily accessible beaches, and I made my way to Navarre Beach, took off the shoes, and spent some time walking along the nice white sand.  For a little while I walked along the shore, and I don’t think I ever felt ocean water that was as comfortable as that.

Navarre Beach, FL

On the beach

Got back in the car a while later and continued east.  As it got dark, I realized the skies were pretty clear and I thought I might have a chance to pull out my camera later, and I was able to do just that around midnight.  Found a public beach not far from the road and took the camera and tripod out.  Had to battle some lights from a resort area and a waning gibbous moon, but was still able to capture a good amount of stars.

Now it’s time to sleep.  Tomorrow I have roughly six hours of driving ahead of me, as I make my way to Clearwater, FL to visit with some friends. Here’s hoping for a rain-free drive, but I definitely can’t complain…I get to be out here driving instead of working.

joe