Walking along a sugar white sand beach with cool clear teal waves rolling toward me, blanketing my feet, was itself a gift. So was wandering along the sandy paths through woods around a lake and marsh. I was feeling truly blessed by the opportunities that surrounded me on my visit to Panama City Beach. Then, little surprises made my day!
I should back up a moment. Last Friday, I drove to Panama City Beach to take my grandson out to dinner to celebrate his upcoming 18th birthday. I really enjoyed his company as we ate fish tacos with an incredible sauce I had never tasted before. We spent a couple of hours talking and catching up. It was truly a blessing to be able to spend the time with him!
Instead of driving the 5.5 hours back to Orlando that night, I stayed in a hotel with the intention of investigating around Panama City Beach in the morning. The only other time I had been in the Florida Panhandle was a trip to Pensacola to visit my son and wife.
Waking early the next morning, the sun was shining and the air was cool, a wonderful combination to beckon me outside. True to form for me, I chose to visit St. Andrews State Park nestled between St. Andrews Bay and the Gulf of America. With its pristine beaches, dunes, Gator Lake, Shell Island and hiking trails, I knew there would be plenty of things to do, actually more activities than hours in the morning.
Upon entering the park, there is a loop drive that takes you along the beach on the gulf side to the fishing pier and store, and then continues around to the bay side where there is camping along the beach, and a couple of overlook stops along the way. There also is a boat launch and dock where you can catch a shuttle to Shell Island. I drove the entire loop, which is probably just over a mile, to check things out and decide what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to ride the 15 minutes on a shuttle to Shell Island, a seven-mile-long undeveloped island created in the 1930s when the Gulf-Bay Pass was constructed.
Anyway, I bought a shuttle ticket for the next hour at the Pier Store and changed into my swimsuit, packed a small bag with water, sand shoes, and my cell phone and headed to the shuttle dock. Gator Lake was on the way and I thought I had plenty of time to check it out. I saw an alligator and a soft shell turtle in the water near the overlook, and then decided to wander the sandy paths through the surrounding forest and marsh. There I was, hiking in a swimsuit covered by a t-shirt and wearing sandals. Not the smartest way to hike, but it was wonderful! That is where I experienced one of the little surprises.
I was standing still, taking a couple of photos and listening when a doe appeared in the path ahead of me. She looked at me and continued to walk closer to me, crossing the path and going down the small hill about 15 feet from me. Not making any sudden moves, I just rotated a little so I could watch her and take a photo or two. Wow!
And then I got lost! After she was out of sight, I decided to try a different path thinking it would probably take me close to my car and I was wrong. Panic set in as I realized I was lost and only had 10 minutes to make it to the shuttle. Wandering frantically, I came across a small group of people.
“Do you know the area here?” I asked.
“Yes,”
“I’m lost. I’m trying to get back to my car.”
They pointed me in the right direction, thank God, and I made it to the shuttle. The ride to the island was peaceful and uneventful. Debarking the shuttle on the bay side, we followed a board walk across the narrow island to the beach. I was looking forward to wandering the beach looking for shells, which is what I did for the next 90 minutes. There were few of us humans dotting the beach, which was perfect for me. I needed the slow pace with the sound of ocean waves only interrupted by infrequent bird calls. It was peaceful, and refreshing. I found different shells than the ones I collected on Atlantic beaches. They were broken and sandblasted differently.
I was reaching down to pick up a shell shard, when another little surprise made my day. I had noticed a small boy who was running all over the beach in the distance but didn’t expect what happened next. He came up to me with his hand outstretched holding a small shell that was whole, except for a single hole.
“I would like to give this to you,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“You are so beautiful,” he said, and he reached out to hug me. I hugged him back and turned to see the man he was with, I assumed he was his dad, grinning as he shrugged. Then they disappeared and went about their business of playing on the beach. When I was leaving heading back to the shuttle, I stopped to tell the boy “thank you” again for the shell.
Little people are so cool! They do the most surprising things!
My time at Panama City Beach ended with a lunch at the Historic District in Panama City. The Historic District was not what I expected, but the seafood at Captain’s Table Fish House Restaurant was good.