2/21/22 Apalachicola, Port St. Joe, Defuniak Springs and I-10W

 2/21 Monday

Temperature is 45 degrees this morning as we watch the sun come up at our campsite.

We head back to highway  95W to Apalachicola, a small town almost surrounded by the water of Apalachicola Bay and the river of the same name.   Between 1513 and 1763 this area was under Spanish jurisdiction but occupied mainly by the Apalachee, Miccosukee and Timucua tribes.  From 1763 to 1783 it was under British West Florida and had a trading post called Cottonton.   The town was incorporated in 1837 and occupied by Union forces for most of the Civil War.  We stop at the Chestnut Street Cemetery whose markers go back to the early 1800's.  There are 79 Confederate soldiers buried here as well as 7 Union. Many interesting stories of the early settlers.

Also in Apalachicola, we stop at their Vietnam Veterans' Memorial - a nice bronze statue depicting 3 young soldiers. 

This marina had an interesting decor and lots of pelicans and gulls. 

 There is a church from 1837  which claims to be the earliest pre-fabricated building, as it was built in the north and shipped here to be put together with wooden pegs. 

There are several old homes and mansions to tour, but we opt to continue on to Port St. Joe.

This is the Cape San Blas lighthouse in the small town of Port St. Joe.  Originally brick and located near some dangerous shoals at nearby Cape San Blas, it has been moved several times due to erosion and storms, and once due to being burned by Confederate troops.  This skeletal version was deactivated in 1996 and finally moved to this location in 2014. Nice park nearby with an occupied osprey nest.  We saw a similar lighthouse back before St. George's Island.  They are supposedly better in winds and storms and can be stabilized on a concrete foundation.

 From here we leave the coast and wind our way north to Defuniak Springs, where we'll catch I-10. Defuniak Springs has a lake in the middle of town which is surrounded by a park and some beautiful victorian homes. These were originally built with railroad money. 

 The path around the lake is obviously popular for running/walking and this house was so kind as to put a water fountain by the sidewalk, complete with a pipe leading to a dog bowl!   

Once we get on I-10, we are back to Central Time Zone.  We reach Mississippi about 3:00, then Louisiana at 4:15. 

 We decide to stop at a Walmart in Hammond, LA. off of I-12.  Dinner is tuna salad sandwiches and leftover shrimp.