Blogs from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, United States, North America

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Today is the day! Hard to sleep last night...between the last minute doubts about packing, to a late-notice couchsurfer showing up in need of a place to sleep (it was a pleasure to meet you, Ry, and I am looking forward to reading your book), to a bit of tummy problems either brought on by the trip or that last minute stop at Whataburger...I was restless...and slept fitfully. Oh well, that's what planes are for....right? I always fall asleep when someone else is driving.... So now it's 7:20 am on my day of departure...and here I am cramming in a few minutes to get this blog thing rolling. I meant to get this blog started a few weeks ago so that I could chronicle all of the planning and preparation that went into this trip...but since ... read more

North America » United States » Florida » Fort Walton Beach October 20th 2011

Crossing the Line After a Buddy walk, we pulled lines, fueled up, pumped out and were on our way. Destination: Fort Walton Beach, about 65 miles south. We were bundled up with heavy jackets and gloves although within a short while we retired to the down helm in the comfort of nice heat. We stayed on the inside on the Intercostal. Much of the portside was populated by settlements; condos and individual homes. Lots of docks, tiki huts and boat lifts. Along the starboard side the view was more often of deserted barrier islands with very white sand dunes and sparse trees. For the most part we were able to mosey along at about 13-14 knots with an occasional slow down for a no wake sign. We crossed the line from Alabama to Florida without much ... read more
Lots of Boat Huts
Important marker, watch out
Along the way


One of the most relaxing days so far. After a nice lie in and a skype with Simon, we all had donuts for breakfast (om nom nom). We chatted a bit with Thom about his work - turns out he's getting deployed to Afghanistan on Tuesday, so it's really nice of them to have us to stay. We started out at the Silver Sands shopping centre, the largest shopping outlet in America (apparently). I spent quite a lot... but it was all stuff I need so that makes it OK, right? We then had yummy ice cream for lunch and headed to the beach. The coastline all along here is amazing. There is a huge lagoon on one side, with a shallow section in the middle ("Crab Island") where people hang out and play beach volleyball. ... read more
Which way's the beach?
Crab Island


We left New Orleans in yet another massive rainstorm, so lots more hairy driving on the I-10 (since Americans seem to forget how to drive when it rains). Eventually we made it to Slidell and the Pearl River, where Honey Island swamp tours launch from. A 2hr boat trip through the surrounding swamp gave us a pretty comprehensive view of the local wildlife, and there were plenty of alligators to keep Alice happy (apparently marshmallows are just the thing to attract/feed them - who knew?). Before getting back onto the interstate we had a quick lunch in McDonalds (it's a cultural experience we had to fit in at some point). We then drove along the coast through Mississippi and Alabama, got stuck in a massive traffic jam in Mobile and eventually arrived in Fort Walton Beach, ... read more
Cypress tree
Fishing camp on stilts
Sunbathing turtles


Af: Lise Vi vågner næste morgen på Americas Best Value Inn efter en god nats søvn. Der er morgenmad med i prisen. Bestemt ikke det store morgenbord, men der er da kaffe og cornflakes med mælk. Der er selvfølgelig også vafler og multifarvede loops. Det har vi ikke spist noget af på turen. Jeg tænker, at der ikke er nogen grund til at begynde på at eksperimentere med færdiglavet vaffeldej fyldt med e-numre. Vi nupper de sædvanlige cornflakes og sætter så kursen mod havet, nærmere bestemt Grayton Beach, som jeg har læst skulle være vildt flot. Vi er kun ca. 30 minutters kørsel derfra, så det går nemt. Eller…forholdsvis nemt. Pludselig kan vi se, at vejen længere fremme bliver våd, og så regner det ellers meget voldsomt. Himmel og jord står i et. Sjældent har vi ... read more
Stranden
At the beach
Mystisk sand


Yes, this is Florida and yes this is Fort Walton Beach. Where are the buildings? Where are the crowds? More to come...... read more




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