2023 comes to a close

 12/30 - It was nice to have a down day here in Sopchoppy.  Zoe and I went for a walk down the road, then hung out in the sun and I finished my book "The Rosie Project", which was quite entertaining.  I had been reading "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck about his van travels in the 60s.  It was interesting as he made some comments about environmental changes and such that I would have thought it was a recent book.  I guess things are always changing.  Anyway, I had a really difficult time reading this book, though, of course the writing is excellent.  When I started reading "The Rosie Project" I had a hard time putting it down.  So, I guess I'm not into literature at this time...

We were chasing the sun and I noticed there was a dock, so Zoe and I went to the dock to get some good sun.  She was wandering around and jumped off the dock into the water!!!  It was all covered in green stuff (not algae), so maybe she thought it was solid ground?  Thankfully, it wasn't too deep, so she could touch and I was able to lift her out by her harness.  What a silly girl!!!  Since the water is brackish and very brown/red, I felt the need to rinse her off.  I was grateful for the outdoor shower setup and the fact that I had my hot water heater on since I'm plugged in.  This way, she got rinsed off with warm water as it was a cool 55 or so degrees and breezy too.  She still didn't enjoy it and was quite unhappy with me!

This is what she jumped into

Drying off after her rinse

Around 3 we walked into "town" and went to the Civic Brewery.  I had an IPA, which was quite good, and had my first (and best) Shrimp Po Boy from the food truck.  Pretty much every business in town is closed.  Food store, hardware store, cafe.  There was a boutique open, but all the windows were covered so I don't even know what the boutique sold.  It wasn't very inviting, so I don't imagine they'll stay in business long.  I guess the brewery is new and was doing a great business today.  I had some brief conversations with a couple of people, but was mostly alone and felt a bit lonely.  Oh, well.  Sometimes we meet people and sometimes not!  

Shrimp Po Boy.  YUM!

Somebody thinks I should share

There are more people at the campground tonight and I visited with a couple in a truck with a pop up tent on top.  I showed them the van since they are wanting something like this.  I visited with them and enjoyed their fire while some older folks provided quite the entertainment with their new to them pop up camper.  They were having all kinds of trouble with getting the beds pulled out and supported.  The light inside didn't work.  The electric inside in general seemed iffy.  And they have super strong southern accents which added to the comedy.  They had never used it before and they come after dark to set it up...

Beautiful stars and the sky is so black.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of lights in the park, so it's not prime viewing.  I should have gone for a walk where it's darker and now I'm too lazy.

I've noticed Zoe nibbling on her bed quite often lately.    The other day she was sucking on it, which I've not seen her do with this bed.  She used to do it with Roxy's favorite bed, so I gave it away 'cuz it's gross!  The nibbling isn't so slobbery so no biggie, but I wonder if this is a boredom thing or anxiety?  Either way 😕

12/31/23 - I didn't make it too far today.  We went to Bald Point State Park and it was quite underwhelming.  Of course, Zoe wasn't allowed on the beach and the paths we walked on weren't very exciting.  Oh, well.  Headed to Eastpoint and stopped at a brewery that was recommended.  The beer was good, view was good, and pizza was good.  So, I guess it was good!  

I parked at a very small public park overnight that was right on the water and I got to enjoy the sunset and get some good photos.  There was a person there when I showed up who looked like she might live out of her car, but then she left.  Later she came back, did some stuff, and left again and didn't come back.  

Around 8:30 two pickups came in while I was walking Zoe and she was barking at them.  I guess she felt it was her place and I appreciated her letting them know to skedaddle!  One immediately left and the other got out, did something to his truck, then got back in and left.  I think they went to the old ferry dock lot next door and maybe others joined them.  It was NYE after all!  Not too loud, but maybe they set off some fireworks at midnight?  I don't know - I heard some, but not sure if it was there or not.  Thankfully Zoe doesn't mind.  It was a pretty quiet night, surprisingly and no one bothered me!  

1/1/24 - Happy New Year to me!  And to the rare person who might read this!  😝 

Morning view from the van

Someone didn't want to start the first day of the new year.  

Today's drive was another beautiful drive along the coast.  I have to say, I've really enjoyed that here in the panhandle.  And I totally lucked out on the way finding a beach to stop at that allows dogs.  I just happened to stop at a pullout and saw a couple of dogs on the beach.  Yay!  We went down and started walking west on the beach and ran into a sign saying No Pets beyond the sign.  So we turned around and I expected to see another sign saying that (they often have small dog beach sections), but didn't.  I asked a woman and she said, "oh, that's fine.  Gulf County allows dogs on the beach.  Well, apparently, the sign was between the two counties, so Zoe and I had a nice walk on the beach!  

This chair is cool!  It's the time zone divide, along with the county.  Green side good (dogs OK on beach!), Blue side bad (No dogs on beach - Boo/Hiss!)