Well I guess I should apologize in advance for all of the photos in this post. Although I'm not truly sorry, because it was a great trip and it makes me happy to relive it through this post!
My in-laws are down in St. George Island, FL for the month of October (must be nice, eh?). We coordinated the trip to be there with them; however, we got our own place since their dog can't be in the same living corridors with any dogs (including Townes). Since he loves the beach so much, we didn't have to heart to leave him back in Atlanta.
We headed down Thursday morning and took 85 South (normally we've always done 75 South through Tallahassee, FL) and it was so much quicker! We got to St. George Island in record time (5.5 hours)!
We checked into our rental,
Sundance, and immediately hit the beach. We had this great boardwalk a stone's throw from the house so it was ideal. The weather was incredible and the ocean water was so warm! Everyone says that October is the best month at St.George Island and I'm inclined to agree!
As always, Townes is a crazy crab hunter at the beach. He can't go more than a few yards without burying his nose and head in the sand. The crazy thing is how efficient he is at hunting the crabs! He used to dig them up and then just bark at them, but this time around we'd have to stop him quickly once he uncovered a crab because he'd stab it with his paw and kill it instantly!
For dinner the first night, we met up with J's mom, dad, and sister at the Blue Parrot Cafe. The sunset was unbelievable - perfect photo ops!
Not a bad view for dinner! The pina colada was pretty good too! :)
On Friday morning, I was up early (as usual) and took Townes on a nice walk along the beach. The sunrise from the deck was so lovely each morning!
Once J was up, we had bagel sandwiches for breakfast...YUM! After breakfast, we went to ride bikes with J's dad and sister. They were sweet enough to rent bikes for all of us for the weekend! We rode to the middle of the island and got ice cream and went to the top of the lighthouse. I'd never been in the lighthouse since they restored it so that was super cool!
After the bike rides, we headed for the beach. We got a great rental credit with the house so we got 2 beach chairs and a double kayak for free during our stay! They even had it waiting at the house when we got there and picked it up after we left.
Kayaking was such a blast. There are so many dolphins at St. George Island and we got to kayak right by them! There were also hoards of jellyfish! Eek! Thousands of them - seriously!
After the beach, we headed to the east end of the island (in the state park) to watch the sunset. We enjoyed some Sauvignon Blanc while watching the sun go down so it was pretty amazing.
We ended the night with grilling out for dinner. Lots of wine + a super late dinner = a very giggly Nicole. Oops! :)
The next morning, after walking Townes, I went on a bike ride with my sister-in-law. We had some nice quality time and laughs.
We spent the day on the desolate beach in the state park (east end) that afternoon. The water was so calm and clear - so wonderful! I even took a nap on the beach :)
For dinner, we went into Apalachicola. We went to a place called "Up the Stairs," which was decent. The atmosphere was kind of cool, but the lack of a view and mediocre food left a lot to be desired honestly. I had a vegetarian pasta dish - surprised?
That night we took Townes on a night beach walk and he lost his mind! There were so many crabs in the water and on the beach that he was in full beagle-brain mode! He was so excited that he even sprained his tail! The next 2 days, his tail hung limp and he couldn't wag it! Insane, huh?
On our last full day, I started off with the coffee watching the sunrise. Life is hard! Then we rode bikes to get snow cones - watermelon and mango! I thought my tongue would be more orange! Haha!
The last full day was SUPER windy (so we couldn't really kayak) so we hung on the beach for a bit before heading to the cut (west end) to watch the sunset.
The view never gets old! Since the cut is where the bay flows into the ocean, there are always so many dolphins and bull sharks!
So magical...
We ended the night at our place - I made lasagna, veggies, and garlic bread for everyone. We also enjoyed some Malbec..mmmm.
The morning we left, we woke up early to watch the sunrise. It was stunning!
Jump shot!
Townes was exhausted and slept the whole ride home! I was pretty jealous of him and the entire back seat :)
It's still hard to be back inland and away from the sand...my heart longs to be oceanside.
♥
