The beach is calling and I must go!

White sand and a beautiful water color = a great mood booster!

Saturday Pat, Mike, Sally and myself set off for a hike. Now we've been hiking (I said it was more like walking) on several trails in forested areas, trees, but flat. Sally likes to hike/walk to get steps in and I like to get somewhere, treats and such, or to see unique or at least different things. We hiked 3 miles in and then back out on the 18.4 mile Econfina section of the Florida Trail. The trail had a few ups and downs (nothing major, but a change of pace from flat Florida), tree roots, low tree limbs--watch out Sally, and something to hike to. 

Scott Road Trailhead on the Florida Trail.

Someone left a cute little scene on a piece of wood.  

We appreciated the 10 or so volunteers working on the trail clearing brush, rebuilding bridges, and other maintenance.

Maybe a yellow moss or lichen??

The trail followed Econfina Creek. It was flowing pretty good. It is fed mostly by springs and had several smaller branches flowing into it. This section is prone to flooding and was greatly impacted by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Pat remarked it would be good canoeing if not for all of the downed trees. 

Some treasures were left near the Two Penny Bridge sign.

Most of the bridges we encountered up to Two Penney Bridge had been boards, and in some cases just one board.

It was pretty stable for being a swinging bridge. 

Maybe a quarter of a mile after crossing the bridge we came to the Econfina Waterfall, our turnaround point. Once again, it didn't seem impressive compared to other waterfalls we've seen, but considering how flat Florida is...

Interesting lichen.

Sunday night we shared with Pat's sister and brother-in-law another free cooking class from Gia's Italian Kitchen. Today's lesson: Ratatouille with Pork Chops and Fennel. 4 of us working in a small RV kitchen! Everyone got put to work and we kept up with Kelley.  

We were so busy I didn't get a picture of the finished product. These containers held what we had left, plus just a part of the dirty dishes. 

Dinner eaten and kitchen back to normal.

We have had some cooler, cold, and rainy weather. We were all feeling a little closed in. Sally had a hankerin' for some seafood. Monday seemed to hold the least chance of rain, at least for the first part of the week, so we headed to Panama City Beach for some seafood and beach time.

Beautiful view as we ate.

Our fish siting for the day. 

Where are the Pieper's now? Bonifay, FL