DUE SOUTH

(NK) Asheville was a cool town but I’m all about sun, sea and sand. With the night still a bit on the freezing side I had the white sandy beaches of Florida’s panhandle in my mind and Fi was ready to top up her tan (FK we are taking bets on whether my legs will ever go brown).

We set off like thieves in the night, packing up our tent before sunrise and hitting the road at 6.30 am. We had a long drive ahead – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and finally Florida.

Our 12 hour drive took us past Atlanta, part of me really wanted to stop off but the beach was calling. In Alabama we steered off the Interstate and took some more local roads down to Florida, nearly running out of petrol in the process. We were praying to see a petrol station and staring at the orange light whilst looking down a road that seemed to go on forever.

Welcome to Florida's Panhandle

The houses round here ranged from the most dilapidated I’ve seen to really amazing Forest Gump style mansions with the ‘big ole’ porches (FK obsession!). The trees started to dangle with Spanish moss and eventually we stopped at a petrol station that didn’t sell petrol. Our fears were allayed when we were told the next one was just 100yrds down the road.

“I ain’t tryin t’ b’ dumb but where yaw accent from boi” said the lady behind the counter. HAHAHA. That did make me laugh.

As the sun started to set we drove into Florida and into the Bayou’s across those big massive bridges that I’ve only ever seen in films. The campsite on the beach was full so we were directed to another one just over the bridge – The Fred Gannon State Park.  After our first warm night’s sleep under the stars we were ready to call it home for the next few days.

Cookin up breakie - like my outfit?!