Mar 5 - Santa Rosa Barrier island & Gulf Island National Seashore

 Lots of sightseeing today.  The barrier islands off the coast of the panhandle of Florida have the Gulf of Mexico on one side, and various bays/sounds on the other.  They do a lot to protect the mainland from storms.  We started driving across a beautiful, long bridge from Niceville, FL over to Destin, FL on this sunny, windy day.   I actually mentioned as I was driving over this bridge, that I was so relaxed, compare to the last bridge, when I thought we'd be swept of in the wind and the rain.  What we realize, is that all these places on the maps look so cool, so interesting, and so inviting.  But, what is actually the case, is that unless it is a National Park or a State Park, then most of these places are very developed, with lots of high rise condos, gated communities, and shops.  Those can be interesting to drive through, for a short time. 
   We stopped at Henderson State Park.  A nice little community beach on the Gulf.  Fortunately, we had our winter coats and hats in the car, which we needed for walking on the windy beach.  Incredibly beautiful white sand, and the colors of the water in the Gulf were amazing.
   We then drove over to Santa Rosa Island, and stopped at the John Beasley Park, again on the Gulf side.  This park was originally created to address the issue that blacks in FL did not have the same nice beaches as the whites.  So this one was a black-only beach.  In 1964-65, all State Parks became de-segregated. 
  We noticed, off in the near distance, a long pier jutting out into the Gulf.  Of course, I wanted to explore it, so we hiked the beach over to it.  It was the Okalossa Beach Fishing Pier.  No fish, but a nice pier.
  Crossed over to the mainland, and drove down the coast to the Gulf Breeze National Seashore.  Hiked a few trails, went through the Nature Center that was mostly dedicated to the Living Oak and it's importance in FL history.  Walked on the very pleasant, isolated beach on the bay side,
  Then we crossed back over to Santa Rosa Island, at the west end,  at Pensicola Beach.  We drove back toward Destin, through the National Seashore--7 miles of incredibly beautiful, powdery white sand beaches on the Gulf. 
  We had dinner at a little Mexican cantina, in the harbor in Destin.  Since this was Mardi Gras day, it was a bit celebratory. 

Henderson State Park Photos:

Sea Slug found on the beach --interesting:

John Beasley Park and Okalossa Fishing Pier photos:

Gulf Breeze National Seashore photos: