Chapter 59....Step One, Get started...

It has been said that the longest journey begins with a single step.  In our case, that single step was loading up the Queen for our annual Great American Road Trip (GART).  After days of shuttling clothes, food, drink and sundry supplies between our house and the Queen’s castle, we can safely say we are prepared for nearly any eventuality or climate. 

The Queen is once again completely clean and shiny.  Skies are blue.

Electric bicycles, Jeep, the Queen, Leslie, Opie, RJ and your Captain rolling toward new adventures.

Here’s the plan...

Day one we will drive north and west to the fishing village of Carrabelle, FL.  The 455 mile trip is on  several scenic highways along Florida’s Gulf Coast.  

Baby RJ acting as navigator during the trip. His paws often press one or more buttons on the dash.  (More on this later).

Are we there yet, Mom?

...good view of the most excellent camera system aboard the Queen.

Remember when you were told that the Queen was clean and shiny at departure...

...this was no longer true upon arrival in Carrabelle...

...approaching the Carrabelle Beach RV “Resort”

... we were assigned a good site...

Across the street was beach access...

beach sand was powdery and sugar white...

Carrabelle is known far and wide as, um, is famous for, well...  Oh wait, I know this.  They have the smallest police station (if we don’t count the City of Minneapolis which has just decided to eliminate the police).

Leslie, affected by the constant drumbeat of news telling of uncivil mob behavior, finds the police station and takes it over...

...didn’t think it was true, eh?

We rode our bikes into town and back to the coach...

We also visited the world famous BOTTLE HOUSE...

Many structures here are made entirely of bottles and mortar...  We prefer our house.

A tale that has been told for many years recounts how Tate's Hell Swamp got its name. Local legend has it that a farmer by the name of Cebe Tate, armed with only a shotgun and accompanied by his hunting dogs, journeyed into the swamp in search of a panther that was killing his livestock. Although there are several versions of this story, the most common describes Tate as being lost in the swamp for seven days and nights, bitten by a snake, and drinking from the murky waters to curb his thirst. Finally he came to a clearing near Carrabelle, living only long enough to murmur the words, "My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell." Cebe Tate's adventure took place in 1875 and ever since, the area has been known as Tate's Hell, the legendary and forbidden swamp.

The following day, your able Captain once again placed his electrical prowess on display.  To wit: He installed the most powerful cellular signal boosting system allowed by the FCC.  The system made by WeBoost has a 25 foot high antenna!!

...you can see the antenna at the rear of the coach.

When we tested the installation, we went from a periodic single bar of power to a full and constant four bars inside the coach!!!
This should prove useful as we head to some of our most remote destinations.  
BTW, Carrabelle is pretty remote, with no recommendable eateries, so we day trip west to St. George Island...
...your Captain has seen this lighthouse from the sea during a horrific storm...

...as you can easily see, the island is barely able to accommodate our Jeep...
Soon we find an Oasis...
...and begin enjoying a tasty adult beverage known locally as the SAND BLASTER...  
The secret recipe for this refreshing cocktail includes frozen mango mash, blackberry something,  lime juice, spiced rum and a floater of 151 proof rum.  The firsh drimk wuz so goo..BURP, scuse me, good that we had another one o them Sham Blashers.
After a nice grouper meal, we headed back to the Queen and our pups .  An early to bed evening allowed your Captain to arise at the uncivilized hour of 7AM so we could decamp early for our long drive to...
Alabama.