Our first Winter in the Florida panhandle is history. To sum it up: we love the beautiful beaches, parks, City of Port Saint Joe and the slower quieter pace. But weather has been cooler and the nearby shopping is limited. We are making new connections, but missing some of the old. It’s a transition. All in all we have made adjustments and are happy with our home base.

It was definitely a cooler, wetter Winter here than we were expecting. We are told the temps were below average and much more rain. There were several times we got 5-6+ inches of rain at a time and escaped a significant hail storm with no damage thanks to the RV port. It will be interesting to see how future winters compare.

We do most of our shopping in the Callaway/Panama City area which is about an hour west of our location. The City of Port Saint Joe has a nice selection of local restaurants and shops, including a Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

In late August we traveled from Michigan to Maryland and North Carolina for some family time, including granddaughter Norah’s 3rd birthday, and arrived at our Florida property in late September. We spent time getting settled, added a shed and some solar lighting, and explored the local area more.

With friends Susan and Darrell we visited the Apalachicola Seafood Festival, Wakulla Springs State Park, enjoyed St. George Island beach, and a camping trip to the recently re-opened campground at the T.H. Stone Memorial-St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. The campground was closed for five years after Hurricane Michael. Completely redone with full hookups and spacious sites, it’s a great bargain. They also rebuilt 8 cabins that are very nice; check it out https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/th-stone-memorial-st-joseph-peninsula-state-park.

A brief stay at Emerald Beach RV park in Navarre in November was nice. They offer sites on the water, although a bit tight. We got to visit with my sister Linda and brother-in-law Bernard and do a little shopping. The Navarre-Destin area is beautiful and experiencing a lot of growth making it quite busy.

A trip to Disney World in early December was fun to see granddaughter Megan and the Saline Marching Band parade through the Magic Kingdom. We always enjoy staying at Fort Wilderness on the Disney property.

On to Michigan for Christmas with the whole family; a real treat and lots of fun. Many a Christmas cookie was made and enjoyed.

Back in Florida to settle in for the winter months and tax season. An unexpected opportunity came up to do some contract work for a local Port Saint Joe CPA firm. Adding this to my existing clients made for a few very busy months, but it all worked out well. It’s nice to have a connection with a local CPA firm and I have enjoyed working with the people there.

We managed a short trip to Maryland in February for granddaughter, Gemma’s 5th birthday. The Northwest FL Beaches airport (Panama City Beach) is about 60 miles northwest of us serviced by most major airlines.

Plans for the remainder of 2024 are taking shape. We have family trips planned to North Carolina and Disney in June, returning to Michigan in July. In late August we head west with stops in Wyoming, western Colorado, Utah, and Texas. Highlights include Big Horn National Recreation Area (WY), Grand Teton National Park (Colter Bay RV Park), Flaming Gorge, Dead Horse Point State Park (UT) https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse/, Pagosa Springs CO, and Galveston Texas. We will return to our FL home base in mid October.