Grayton Beach

We were in no hurry to leave our cozy nook in the trees at Lake Talquin. We took a walk up the road and let the dogs get some exercise, then leisurely broke down camp and got things ready to roll.

I increased the tire pressure to 72 psi and the RV seems to ride much better. We tooled along the back roads taking hwy 20, a one lane road that took us through a number of small rural outposts. We stopped for a shop at the Piggly Wiggly in Bristol. Just past Blountstown, we came upon the bike portion of the Ironman Florida race. Lexi gave a wide pass to all the tired looking cyclists bringing up the rear of the race. We were held up for a while at an intersection where the cops had traffic stopped letting the racers go by. After that, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way down to Grayton Beach.

Our site is totally tucked away in the trees and sits right on the lake. Even the ranger who checked us in said we had one of the best spots. But really, all the campsites here have lots of privacy and are hidden among the foliage. We got everything set up and let the dogs wade into the lake. That was before we saw the beware of gators signs, so probably their last swim here as they don’t allow dogs on the beach.

We gained an hour coming west, but it was still close to sundown when we took the ten minute walk over to the beach. Brilliant white sand and emerald green, crystal clear water. They had the purple flag up warning of a wildlife hazard, but we didn’t know what the danger was. Shark, jelly fish, sting ray? Nobody was swimming, but we couldn’t resist. The 77 degree water was refreshing but easy to get into. Felt fantastic to rinse off the road fatigue.

PJ went in to the beach and was taking some photos when I noticed her starting to dance around and running back toward the boardwalk. I instantly figured that there were some type of biting insects. I went in and it was little biting flies. They looked like innocent little house flies until they sank their teeth into you. Fortuitously, I had thrown a can of Off into our bag. We sprayed our feet and found an open bench and sat around as the sun was beginning to drop in the sky.

People started showing up in time for the sunset. A number of visitors had professional photographers and were taking either wedding pictures or family Christmas shots. In the distance on the west end of the beach, a wedding was in progress. There was a positive energy flowing along the beach and a holiday atmosphere prevailed.

On the walk back two couples had pulled their golf cart to the side of the dunes and were having cocktails and taking photos. They were playing Christmas carols and having a joyful time. We volunteered to be the photographer so they could all be in the pictures. Their laughter followed us as we made our way in the dark back to our camp. 

Soup, cheese and crackers were on the menu tonight. Afterwards, PJ hung her chili pepper lights around the camp site and we relaxed after a busy, but enjoyable travel day.