Highway 98

Trip Start Jan 09, 2009
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37
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Trip End Jun 01, 2009


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Where I stayed
Pineglen RV Park
(Panama City hotels)

Flag of United States  , Florida,
Friday, February 13, 2009

After more 'morning chores' (finally got the last of the northern grime of the outside of the coach) we were ready to travel once more.  Andy and Glenna recommended some spots on the Emerald Coast so we headed for Highway 98, a road that follows the Gulf of Mexico Coast from south of Tallahassee to Pensacola.  This is a somewhat narrow road the winds along the shoreline - sometimes very close to the coastline!  The first part, as we head south west, is rural in nature and the beaches narrow.  The towns do not seem as prosperous as those we encountered later in the day.  Traffic moved slowly so it was easy to look around and enjoy the scenery.  This was great as there were no places to pull off and park!  Much of this road had construction crews working on the shore side - building retaining walls and reinforcing shoulders that must have been damaged during last year's hurricanes. 
Many of the houses in this area are set 12-15 feet above ground level, suggesting that storm surges must be quite high at times.  The water seems quite shallow with sand in evidence far out from the shore.
When we rounded the point of land at Port St. Joe and headed northwest, the nature of the shoreline and beaches changed.  The sand is whiter, the beaches much wider and the water deeper.  It is a beautiful area and will merit another visit when we will try and book for a longer period of time.  We're not going to linger this time as we talked to Scott last night and he seem anxious for us to arrive in Phoenix.
Shortly after lunch I started to check for space at the various state parks along the shore - we hear they are beautiful - but they are all full and seem to be quite expensive.  In the end we found a new home in a small park, three blocks from Panama City beach at about half the price.  It is quiet, well maintained and has three 'alligator ponds'.  We didn't take an evening stroll!  We'll check them out more closely in the morning.
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