The Forgotten Coast

Laid Back
Forgotten Coast Sunrise

Hurricane Damage

Camp Gordon Johnson Museum

Crooked River Lighthouse
Rebuilding Cape St. George Lighthouse

Apalachicola Shrimp Boat
Gulls on the Oyster Shells

After spending a couple of days at Econfina River Resort we are now at the Ho Hum RV Park on the Forgotten Coast near Carrabelle, Florida. We have a beautiful site overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. We have enjoyed these two campgrounds and are glad to be away from the one big strip mall that is much of Florida. This area was hard hit by Hurricane Dennis in the summer of 2005 before Katrina hit the gulf coast. There are still many homes and other buildings that have not been repaired. We drove through Alligator Point and St. George Island two areas hard hit by the storm. Both of these towns are very different from other Florida coastal areas with many small beach cottages and no high rise condos. They reminded us of the way the Outer Banks were thirty years ago when we first visited there. The area is also the site of the former Camp Gordon Johnson where, during WWII, troops were trained for amphibious landings including divisions that participated in the D-Day assault at Omaha Beach. There is a museum and a yearly reunion for those who were stationed here. There are a couple of lighthouses nearby. The Crooked River Lighthouse is constructed differently than others we have seen with an outside metal frame holding the center tower in place. The Cape St. George Lighthouse is being rebuilt after falling into the gulf during a hurricane. They are using the original plans, many of the old bricks and the lantern room that was saved from the water. We toured Apalachicola where many old Victorian homes and the downtown buildings have been renovated. It is one of many harbors for shrimp, oyster and other fishing boats. The fresh seafood has been fantastic. While sitting in a restaurant eating oysters yesterday we watched as many bags of them were being transferred from the trucks of the oystermen to trailer trucks for distribution. We have had a couple of changes in our travel plans because Nanc's brother is no longer in El Paso and young John Yanni is getting married in Jamaica in July. We will be going to San Antonio, then to the northern end of the Grand Canyon and the national parks of Utah. We will then go to Washington to visit Nanc's brother Dave and his family. Around the 4th of July we will be at the Escapees Rally in Gillette, Wyoming and then will fly out of Denver to Jamaica for the wedding. After returning to Colorado we will tour the Rockies before heading toward Wash PA in the fall. One of the great things about this life style is the ability to change plans when something comes up.