Carrabelle Beach

Two days before we were ready to head out of New Orleans, I took the dog out to go to the bathroom. As I’m standing there, my teeth are chattering together. Mind you, it’s about 70 degrees and I’m in New Orleans. Yea, I think the ‘creeping crud’ that was being passed around the crew had finally found me. So yes folks, I ended up getting taken down.

While I didn’t take my temperature, it was clear that I would not be dodging this bullet. The following night my throat was scratchy. We tried to get as much as we could done the night before we were to head down the road. They were calling for rain and the last thing I wanted to do was have a bunch of stuff to unhook and put away while I was sick and getting rained on.

We said goodbye to New Orleans under rainy skies and began our journey to Carrabelle, FL. The drive was pretty smooth. When we finally made it, we were greeted by lots of bugs. It seems nearly every time I’ve stepped foot in Florida these last few years, I’m eaten alive by no-see-ums. They’re vicious and leave red welts all over me, ugh!

Our first few days were spent in recovery mode. We were all coughing uncontrollably by this point and we were out of medicine. We made a trip to the small grocery nearby to get decongestants and cough drops. About three days in, we started to feel alive once more.

Can you spot the dog?

Carrabelle was nice enough but it was pretty secluded. You may be wondering how I decided on this location. I tried to find a coastal place that was pretty much in the middle. I wanted relatively six hours of driving time on each end. And Clarrabelle fit the bill. It was also east of the Mississippi River. Remember, I wanted to test out the clear water theory. Was Galveston’s waters murky because the Mississippi River was flowing into it?

So you may be wondering if the waters were clear? The claim was they would be. However, the beach where we were did NOT have clear waters. It did have sand as white as sugar though. Our white dog was definitely amongst camouflage. But the water was a funky reddish brown color. Upon questioning some of the natives, it does seem the river theory does play into the clarity of the water.

brown water, boooo

There is a river nearby that drains into the part of the ocean where we were. I was told that if I drove over to St. George’s Island, I would find turquoise clear water. So, we decided to give it a try. We decided to go to the state park. We parked and headed out over the dune. While we had more amazingly white sand, the water was still not clear. What in the world?!

The beach was very secluded with nobody on it but us. It had a raw and wild feel to it. I was nervous letting my lil beach bum in the water. The waves were a bit rough and I could imagine a shark or rip-tide pulling her under. And there was no one around to help if anything were to happen. I tried not to show too much concern as I don’t want to spoil her love for the ocean. So I cautioned her not to go in too far.

There were a lot of shells to be found and we got right to it. After an hour or so in our own little paradise, it was time to find something to eat. On our way out of the park, I asked the park ranger why the water wasn’t clear. Seems to be another river blaming scenario. I was told the water normally is crystal clear. However, they’ve recently had a LOT of rain and the nearby river has spilled over into the ocean water.

Our private paradise on St. George Island

So there you have it folks. Anytime you have a river anywhere near the ocean and the currents are just right, it affects the clarity of the water. Of course, there are other reasons why ocean water isn’t clear but I think this proves the river theory.  Here’s the science to back it up.

And while the Mississippi River wasn’t to blame, the other local rivers were. So I was done searching for clear water. I knew our next destination wasn’t going to hold any promises so my quest was over. That is, for now ;-).

Would I come back to Carrabelle in the future? Probably not. I didn’t like how secluded it was and the path to get there was a little wacky. We drove through national forest and didn’t see anyone for miles and miles and miles. Our next location is another coastal charm. Hilton Head Island, I haven’t been here in over 10 years! I’m anxious to visit again.

{HUGS} from the Crew!

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