When we first were planning this trip, I wanted
to rent a place in Alabama. But after looking
at VHBO condos across the gulf coast area, we settled on a condo on
Perdido Key. Now, I realize that we accidentally backed into finding a place that I love.
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| Sunrise from the balcony |
Perdido Key is an island, connected on both ends with bridges to the mainland. Located less than a mile into Florida, it is about as far west in the Florida Panhandle
as you can be. In other words, due north
of us is west Alabama. The Spanish first claimed this island after Don Carlos Siguenza discovered it in 1693. Translated from the Spanish, its name literally means “Lost Key.” I don’t know if it was “lost” until Siguenza found it, but the Native Americans living here probably would disagree.
The ocean is seen – and heard! – out both our
living room and bedroom windows. And, the water is much closer than I imagined; Jim estimates it to be 200 feet from our
building. Our unit is on the 8th floor, giving us a long horizon and the potential for beautiful sunrises. The eighth floor is also the top floor. Pelicans fly by at eye level when we are out on our balcony. How cool is that?
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| Gulf Islands National Seashore |
Perdido is a narrow island, no more than a few hundred yards wide in most places, and sixteen miles long. Most of its coastline is covered with that sugary-white sand. In fact, the road crew here has to deal with sand drifts, rather than the snow drifts I’m used to!
The majority of the
island's Gulf shoreline is not
developed, and never will be because 62 percent of the island is state or
federal park land. Jim and I drove out
to the nearest national park – part of the Gulf
Islands National Seashore. It was amazing to look
in both directions for miles and not see a single development!
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| Where's the (sand) plow? |
Two Random Things I Learned This Week:
- The Intracoastal waterway. Obviously, the Gulf of Mexico is to our South, but to our north is a body of water called Ole’ River locally. This waterway seemed to connect to various man-made canals in the area. So, I had to ask Google what was going on, and asked something brilliant like: “What’s the history of the canals around here?” It answered me that “the canals are part of the Intracoastal Waterway, a 3000-mile inland waterway that runs along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals.” 3000 miles! Intracoastal waterway? It turns out the United States has a waterway that starts in Boston and runs southward along the Atlantic to the southern tip of Florida, and then across the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Brownsville, Texas! Its purpose is to provides a navigable route without the hazards of open sea. It's still used today to ship goods. I had never even heard of it before!
- Loons. We have also seen a few dull-colored loons…. and I had heard that Minnesota loons “go south” to the Gulf of Mexico. So I decided to look that up and that is true. What I hadn’t thought about is that once they reach the ocean, loons must adapt to life in salt water. Fortunately, loons have glands in their skull between their eyes that remove the salt from the water and excrete it from ducts in their beak. Isn't that incredible?
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| Not your usual golf hazards |
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| Jim is proud of this bunker shot (notice ball placement) |
(One golf course called "Lost Key" is known locally as "Lost Balls!") We played bridge two days in Pensacola and encountered very friendly people. Due to an introduction from a mutual friend, we met up with a couple from Cold Spring MN
for lunch. And, we went to my first ever Mardi Gras parade! (More about this on my next blog post.)
We look forward to this next week and a
little more "sun" in The Sunshine State!
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