Alpha Chi Omega (Work and) Fun at the Beach 2014

I spent Saturday and Sunday with the FSU Alpha Chi Omega for their 2014 Executive Board Retreat at St. George Island. The house this year, Aisle of Palms, was beautiful, and ideal for a conference or special event. Gorgeous, right?

It was clear and sunny on Saturday when we arrived. Here is the view from the deck: 

It was beautiful but chilly. We worked inside all morning and afternoon, setting goals, identifying strengths and opportunities, bonding, and planning

In the late afternoon, we went outside to take photos of each exec board member and of the group as a whole for the chapter's website, blog and instagram. (Thanks Jenn for the action shot!) 

It was really cold out on the beach! And windy!! In this one, you can really see how the wind was blowing everyone's hair around!

We did manage to get some really great pictures near the water:

We moved up to the pool deck and had great light and a little bit of shelter from the wind

In all, I took 180 photos on Saturday! 

We had a pretty sunset on Saturday (above) and awoke to a warmer morning Sunday that quickly turned into rain. I captured the double rainbow off our front deck (facing the street and the bay) right as the weather moved in.

The weather went out as quickly as it had come in, and luckily we ended up with a beautiful day - sunny and close to 60 degrees. More advisors arrived Sunday so we had our own mini-photo shoot: 

After a morning of small group meetings, some outdoor time was welcome. After lunch, I packed up and headed back home (with my travel companions, Tara and Meagan). What a wonderful time with good friends and an impressive group of chapter leaders. If this retreat is an indication, they can look forward to a great year!

Monday Trip to the Beach

We took Mom for a drive on the beach Monday at Cape San Blas and Indian Pass, in Gulf County, about 100 miles southwest of our house. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, around 80, with a light breeze. First we had a picnic on the beach.

Then we went for a walk. In case you can't tell, Mom walked in the water the whole way!

Next we drove over to Indian Pass and went all the way around the Cape as far as there was space to drive, then walked a little farther. We wondered where all the debris (mostly trees) on the beach comes from. 

We admired the local art - someone had used shells, rocks, sticks and driftwood to make this dragon.

We saw lots of birds. Mom will be sad to learn that none of them were exotic. They are pelicans and other water birds.

Brown pelicans (the tops of their heads looked yellow in the sunlight but on film and in real life they are tan).

On the drive to and from the beach, in Franklin County, there are lots of bear crossing signs. We have yet to see a bear, but we were definitely on the lookout as we drove through the forest and along the coast!

Flashback: 2004 Trip to St. Joe State Park

In January 2004, we spent a couple days in a rustic cabin at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, just a few miles north of where we drove on the beach last week. Being back there again in the winter reminded me of how the white sand looks like snow - though of course this was diminished this visit by the 70 degree weather! The upper end of the peninsula has big sand dunes (not present at Cape San Blas). They are reportedly some of the highest in the US.

When we visited in 2004, the weather was cold with day time temps in the 40s. Climbing up and over the sand dunes to get to the beach in our winter jackets made me do a double take - in that kind of winter mindset the sand really looks like snow:

Here is a view of the dunes from the beach. I love that you can see my foot prints, though it definitely looks less like snow from this angle. 

Look how little a 5 and 1/2 year old T was! 

 We saw lots of wildlife at the park, including this buck (above) and doe (below), who were just wandering in and near the road near the park entrance on our arrival.

Another great feature of the park is access to beautiful sunrises and sunsets - here is the sunrise over the bay:

T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

8899 Cape San Blas Road
Port St. Joe, Florida 32456
(850) 227-1327
Hours
Fees
Camping/Cabin Reservations

Getting a Beach Driving Permit

A few quick tips from us on getting a permit to drive on the beach in Gulf County.

When you go to the Gulf County Courthouse, you'll need your license and registration. Note there are metal detectors at the entrance so leave your change in the car!

The drivers license office in Room 100 handles the permits. (The website says it's Room 147 so ignore that.) There is a little bit of paperwork to fill out - the forms are not online; you'll have to take care of that in person.

Gulf County Court House
Port St. Joe, FL 32456
(850) 227-5628
Monday - Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm EST

http://www.gulfcounty-fl.gov/

Driving on the Beach

We took a ride over to Port St. Joe today to get a permit to drive on the beach in Gulf County. It was a gorgeous day for a ride and for spending time at the beach!

at Cape San Blas

the permit (good for one year)

This picture below shows (in green) the beaches you can drive on. The dotted line between the two sections is closed during turtle nesting season (May 1- October 31) but open the rest of the year. Note on the map all the sections in white are water. (It feels to me like they should be blue not white! The land is pink.)

from the Gulf County forms page

We drove first on the southern beach at Indian Pass (at the bottom of the map). We went straight down CR 30 from St. Joe to the first beach access point and headed right (west) with the idea that we might be able to drive around to Cape San Blas (on the west side of the peninsula).

This part of the beach is not developed - very few houses even. There are more houses if you head to the left. We saw a few other Jeeps, a few people out walking their dogs, and some people riding horses. 

Here's my view from the back seat:

We drove into the turtle nesting area but right after rounding the bend at the tip, the path was obstructed by big pieces of driftwood (some of them looked like whole trees). We turned around and headed over to Cape San Blas to check out that side. We drove down the beach a couple miles and then stopped to take a walk and have our picnic. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves:

We could not have asked for nicer weather - it was 71 and sunny! Crazy for December 30th. The sand was warm enough to go barefoot (which of course I did). After our picnic (turkey sandwiches, hardboiled eggs and pirate booty), we packed up and headed home. Here's the view from the driver's seat:

We're looking forward to more adventures driving on the beach this year!

Beach Reads

A sample of what we were all reading at the beach!

 A few from Chrissy's pile: How to Tame a Modern Rogue and To Defy a King

 Mom enjoyed The Lucky One

John read Crystal Gorge Book Three - The Dreamers and Red Mars (see left stack, below)

Gayle's pile (on right) included All I Ever Wanted, The Cinderella Deal, Nothing But Trouble, Practice Makes Perfect, Dinner First, Me Later? and How to Tame a Modern Rogue (wonder if we really had two copies?). Gayle says, "I'm a fan of Rachel Gibson & Jennifer Cruise - I'll read anything of theirs. Fun beach reads."

I am reading (on the kindle so no fun photos) Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (as recommended at Recruitment Training), A Knight's Enchantment and with Thomas, The Trumpet of the Swan 

  

I didn't get a photo of the stack of books Ethan (age 10) and Elliot (6, though he told everyone he is 7) brought along but one that their Mom was trying to get them to read looked great to me: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. (It was a Newbery Honor Book for 2010.)