Florida Panhandle to Tampa Bay

Unfortunately, the weather was poor and with the chance of tornadoes we continued south and spent a few days at Bluff Springs before we entered the State of Florida.

The Florida Panhandle, also known as West Florida, is the northwestern part of the state of Florida. It has close cultural links to French-influenced Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.Tallahassee is the capital city of Florida located 1 hour north of the Big Bend area. This part of Florida is also known as the Forgotten Coast and extends from Fort Walton, Panama City, Mexico Beach till Apalachee Bay.

The Florida Panhandle is 320 km long. Much of Florida is on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the straits of Florida. Spanning two time zones, it is the only state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Florida Panhandle is known for its snow-white sugar fine beaches.

After many long days enjoying New Orleans, Memphis, and Nashville it was time to relax. First stop Santa Rosa Island and Fort Pickens and with police being strict in not allowing wild camping we decided to check into Top Sail Hill State Park. This park was amazing, lots of space, greenery, great facilities and reasonable priced.

Santa Rosa Island is a 64 km barrier island. On the northern side of the island is Pensacola Bay, on the west Choctawhatchee Bay and on the east Santa Rosa sound.

Like this whole region, Santa Rosa Island has been hit by many tropical cyclones, including 5 direct hits (Hurricane Eloise, Kate, Erin, Opal and the last two in 2005, Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Denis in 2005, and Claudette and Ida both in 2009)

Florida’s nickname is the “Sunshine State”, but severe weather is a common occurrence in the state. And with yet another hurricane looming we experienced daily thunderstorms, while visiting the Florida panhandle.

Hurricanes pose a severe threat each year from June 1 to November 30. Florida is the most hurricane-prone state, with subtropical or tropical water on a lengthy coastline. Of all the Category 4 and 5 storms that have struck the United States, 83% have hit Florida or Texas. It is rare for a hurricane season to pass without any impact in Florida.

Hurricane Andrew caused more than $25 billion in damages when it struck during August 1992 and became the second costliest weather disaster in Florida.

After a great 4 days at the Topsail Hill State Park, we looked forward to our next destination St George Island. This is another beautiful 40-kilometre barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico with lots of unspoiled, uncrowded beaches and breathtaking sugar white sand beaches with blue water.

Enroute, we did some stocking up in Panama City the largest city in the Pan Handle with a population of just over 34000. Due to its location on the Gulf Coast, Panama City is susceptible to tropical cyclones and in 2018 was directly hit by Hurricane Micheal making landfall as a category 5 hurricane with wind speeds up to 260 kilometer per hour. Panama City is also no stranger to tornadoes. This year by an EF3 tornado on January 9, 2024, and an EF2 tornado in March 2022.

Because of the city’s position on St Andrews Bay, bridges are especially important to the area, and most directions into or out of the city require the use of one of three large bridges to cross parts of the bay. These are the Bailey Bridge to the north on Hwy 77, the Dupont Bridge to the south on Hwy 98 and the Hathaway Bridge to the west on Hwy 98. The largest of these is the Hathaway Bridge, which is the only direct connection between Panama City and Panama City Beach.

Following the coast eastwards, we arrived at a small hamlet called Mexico Beach

Mexico Beach became a village in 1967.

Before Hurricane Michael, the town was a boutique village also called old Florida, a collection of 50-year-old bungalows, old trees, holiday homes on stilts, where tourists walked on sugar white sandy beaches.

On November 22, 1985, Hurricane Kate passed over Mexico Beach. The fierce winds and high tides destroyed beachfront homes and businesses.

33 years later Hurricane Michael’s eye pasted over Mexico Beach, and the village was wiped out. All homes were destroyed and the community was referred to as “ground zero”.

The elementary school and city hall were among the buildings devastated; the pier washed away, and the water tower was knocked down and wiped Mexico Beach of the map. It also caused extensive damage to the nearby Tyndal Air Force Base.

Before we crossed the 7 kilometer bridge to St George Island we visited Apalachicola on Apalachicola at the mouth of the Apalachicola River

Apalachicola is still the home port for a variety of seafood workers, schrimpers and recreational fishing. More than 90% of Florida’s oyster production was harvested from Apalachicola Bay in past years. Today the oyster industry has completely collapsed due to lack of water flow in the Apalachicola River. However, the yearly Florida Seafood festival is still being held.

Our next stop was St. George Island a beautiful 35-kilometer barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. Home to the most unspoiled, serene beaches and great beach camping. St. George Island’s pristine bay marshes offer lots of wildlife and stunning views of the sunset. The residential part of the island has luxurious Gulf-front homes and amazing 5-star luxury small boutique hotels.

Unfortunately for us we were evacuated from the island due to the upcoming Hurricane Debbie. We left the island and decided to ride out the hurricane in Ocala at the Cracker Barrel carpark with torrential rain and some wind during the night. Major flooding all around us, hence we decided to continue further south to Tampa.

Trees all stripped of their leaves courtesy of cyclone Debbie

Tampa is a city on the West Coast of Florida. It is located on Tampa Bay and the third largest city in Florida. Our plan was to stay at Hillsborough River State Park but the remmants of hurricane Debbie had the park flooded so another night in a carpark, this time the Walmart carpark. No cruise ships in town due to the hurricane and we were lucky that the De Soto National Park re opened and found a nice waterfront spot for our truck.

With miles of serene, sandy shoreline, this much-loved county park covers five islands and 1,136 acres on the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, De Soto beach named America’s top beach in 2009 by trip adviser, did get a hammering, but the sun came out and we enjoyed the abundance of natural beauty as far as the eye can see. De Soto Park consists of five interconnected islands (keys). These keys are home to mangroves, wetlands, palm hammocks, hardwoods, and lots of native plants.

Fort Myers situated at the coast of South West Florida, has a little bit of everything, Nature reserves, beaches, Beach bars, lots of beachfront dining and fresh seafood.

The waterways surrounding Fort Myers and the islands are amazing places to visit. A must do are Sanibel captiva Island with long stretches of white sandy beaches and lots of wildlife