Cape San Blas
The wind died down today so I decided to head out the Cape San Blas. This is a peninsula close to Panama City Beach that has incredible view and beaches. Also, it is one of the few places where you can see the sun rise out and set back into the water. I headed East to get on Hwy 30A.
I have done the ride out there before. Get on Hwy 98 and go past Tyndall AFB, Mexico Beach, and Port St Joe. The difference is you need to make a hard right turn to get on the peninsula. The peninsula is about 17 miles long. It reminds me of riding in the Outer Banks with water so close to the road. In sections, you look left and see water and you look right and see water. There is also one section that has a bend towards the ocean. You can see that they have really built up a wall of rocks to protect against erosion. Those are some massive stones.
Eventually near the end of the peninsula, you will come to T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph State Park. I did not ride into the park but I have heard it has a lot of nice beaches and walking trails.
One place I did stop was Cone Heads. This a Bar and Grill that does have some amazing views from their deck. If you can, head to the deck. One thing I did notice is that there are not any sign to this place. There used to be but I think a storm knocked them all down. Easy to find...if you hit the park entrance, turn around.
After quick refreshing drink, I headed out to Apalachicola and St. George Island. There are two incredible bridges I wanted to ride.
The first is the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge. It takes US 98 over the Apalachicola Bay. This bridge is not really long but has two parts. The bridge and then where they have had to build up the road in the bay to get you to the other side. You feel like you are riding a bridge for 3-4 miles.
Once in Eastpoint, look for the signs for St. George Island. Now this is a bridge! It is 4 miles long and quite exhilarating.
I would not advise doing either of these when it is really windy. It was blowing about 15+ when I crossed and you can really feel it when you are that exposed. The best part is that I get to do it once again to get back to Eastpoint. While in Eastpoint, I stopped at the Eastpoint Beer Company. They are located right on the water and it looked like a great spot to have a drink and look out over the water. I forgot to take a photo but will head back to that area and stop again.
Once done with my beer, I headed back east getting to cross that first bridge again. From there, it is back to real life. Even though you do have to drive through some towns, the traffic is not bad and most all the views are great. I will definitely being doing this loop again.