Exploring the Florida Panhandle

Yesterday we decided to explore the area more broadly, so after a lazy start to the day we got in the car and headed west.  County Rte 30A has many rental houses and condos, alternating with small shops and restaurants.  It led to Route 98 which runs east-west along the Gulf.  While it was, at first, a pleasant ride, as we neared Destin there were strip-malls, outlet malls, chain restaurants, etc. etc. etc. along both sides of the road.  Do people really need so many places to shop???

Farther west in Destin, we came to tall high-rise apartments on the beach, then more stores and malls.  At Fort Walton Beach, we turned north and continued the loop around Chocktawhatchee Bay, going through Valparaiso and Niceville.  Then back south again to our starting point.  Before going back to the campground we did some grocery shopping, and in the process discovered an off-leash dog park that we will  need to try out.

After a late lunch we again took the bike path, this time going west. Along the path, there are small lakes like this one:

 We turned off into the small town of Grayton Beach which consists of many older rental beach cottages, some bars and restaurants, and (of course) a public entrance to the beach.

With the continuing cool nighttime temperatures, we enjoyed our first campfire of the trip, with Dan grilling brats on the grate.