Find something on the Forgotten Coast

As we prepare for our trip back to snowy Canada, we look for a sunny, calm day for our annual March trip to the "Forgotten Coast."

As we leave Destin east on Highway 98, our first stop is about 20 minutes east of Sandestin at the Eden Gardens State Park located at the north end of C.R. 395 at Point Washington.

Whether to stroll the beautiful gardens, tour the 1800's Wesley mansion with the second largest collection of Louis XVI furniture in the country or just to sit and enjoy Tucker Bayou, it is certainly worth the short side trip.

When we leave the park, we head east through Panama City past Tyndall Air Force Base toward Mexico Beach a city which is a laid back town with a population of about 1,000. I imagine this is what Destin looked like about 60 years ago.

Mexico Beach is as big as the beaches of Destin/South Walton, but the sand is not quite the same as ours and the water lacks the emerald' of the Emerald Coast. However the beaches are almost always empty and are much better for shelling than our area. Tammy's Fish House and Toucan's are two favorite eateries to enjoy lunch at after a tough couple of hours walking, shelling and lounging. Make sure you stop at George Daacon's "Scoop's Up" for a delicious ice cream cone or sundae for dessert.

We leave Mexico Beach in the early afternoon and make the 45 minute drive southeast toward Apalachicola. Entering Apalachicola reminds me of a giant step backward in time. With its stately 19th century homes and moss-covered trees, it seems like a cross between southern Georgia and Key West. First and foremost, Apalachicola is perhaps the home of the world's best oysters. If you love oysters you have come to the pinnacle.

After a tour of the quaint downtown and Grady Market, where you can pick up a unique gift for the home, you can stop at The Old Time Soda Fountain for a milkshake to die for. As we near the end of the day we drive nine miles to the east and tour the 28-mile-long barrier reef St. George Island and walk its beautiful beaches. Finally, with reservations made, we head back west and stop for dinner in Apalachicola at the rustic Gibson Inn. The Avenue Sea restaurant is one of the best around. As sun begins to set we leave Apalachicola and the "Forgotten Coast" for the 2.5 hour drive back to Destin.

In closing, I would like to settle a discussion that came up the other day. Jimmy had the right answer to the question of what makes our beaches so white. About 20,000 years ago when the northern waters were stored in ice sheets, the Gulf waters were much lower. Then a warming occurred and the Apalachicola river began delivering quartz-filled melting waters from the Appalachian mountains into the Gulf. Over the years the quartz-filled waters drifted west and continue to do so thus our white sand.

Have a safe trip home snowbirds.

Brian Cosgrove and his wife, Nancy, are Snowbirds from Canada.