Day 3
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
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Trip route – Summer 2010
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Joe's Roadtrip 
How ironic that you got an oil change somewhere near the Gulf….ugggg Good thing that guy caught the fish when he did.
hahahh good point. Guess the ones coming in the next few days will not be safe to eat, as I heard that parts of coasts belonging to Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida have been closed down (in addition to Louisiana).
“Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Never heard that quote before…I really like it.
Are you sure the guy CAUGHT the fish? You do know it couldve died from the oil and the guy tugged a string to it’s mouth and yelled, “I caught it!”
Ha fair point, I was not there to see the catch, but I can confirm there were no visible marks of oil contamination.
I noticed the bluetooth headset. Looks like you can take the boy out of the corporate setting, but you can’t take the corporate out of the boy. I’ll e-mail you a few things to run to ground tonight. You’re welcome.
Hahaha I forgot about that when the picture was taken, and then was hoping no one would notice that later. Damn. Don’t you dare talk corporatey on this website or you will be banned!
Just caught up with all your shenanigans from May 30th. Sounds like a great/healthy start, wishing alot more of the same for the rest.
thanks buddy. Looking forward to hanging out in Ft. Worth.
You must have felt so welcome in Port St. JOE!
ha I did think it was pretty funny that by the time I was done with driving for the day, I was in a city that had my name in it