I have finally gotten around to writing about my Florida road trip. Five other students, a professor of invertebrates and I took a road trip to Florida to observe the invertebrates that we discussed in class. We collected samples to look at (all of which we returned to their natural habitat when we were done observing them).

We left good old Conway, AR at 7:30am (we drove a university van) and observe such wonders in Arkansas as Phermone traps for bugs near cotton fields, Lake Chicot which is the largest Oxbow lake in the United States, and a fish farm that was harvesting Bighead Carp to send to Canada. We camped that night at the Big Biloxi camp ground in Mississippi. The camp ground was very nice and if you are planning to camp in that area I would suggest you stay there. The camping spaces are large and the bathhouse is very nice. But bring your bug spray--deer flies are numerous in this area and they pack a mean bite!

The next day we left the camp ground and made our way to the Pensacola Naval Base. We had lunch on the base at McDonalds which was the most efficeint McDonalds I have ever eaten at. We took our McDonalds to the seawall and ate in view of the ocean. We were lucky enough to be able to see Ospray and Blue Heron while on the base. There is also a Naval museum on the base which we did not visit, but I hear is very good. From the base, we went to Gulf Breeze where we traveled over a 3 mile bridge. We visited the Allan Davis Shell Shop there. He has a nice selection of trinkets you can take back to the folks at home. He also has a very unique collection that you can look at that is behind glass. There are some very rare shells in the collection and the now deceased Allan Davis collected them all himself. You should stop and take a look at this collection it is very unique!

After Gulf Breeze we went to Santa Rosa Island, where we walked across the island observing Sundews (carnivorous red plants) and did some wading in the water to observe a Florida Crown Conch, Periwinkle Crabs, Parchment Worms, Lug Worms, Hermit Crabs, Sea Cucumbers, Blue Crabs, and Blue Herons. That night we camped at St. Joe's Bay (very small camping spots, but no flies--also nice bath house) and took a night walk on the beach in which we saw ghost crabs. One thing about camping at St. Joe Bay is that you should watch out for the raccoons. If you leave out bags with food inside they will open the bag and steal your food.

The next day we went over to the east side of St. Joe's bay and went snorkeling. We found sea urchins, scallops, hermit crabs, and other interesting animals. We had a picnic lunch at the park area near St. Joe's bay. There were some nice picnic tables there and you can feed the birds who will catch tidbits in the air. We then went to the city of Apalachicola. We went to the National Estuarine Laboratory there. We were given a talk on the ecology of a estuarary and then allowed to look at the animals that they had on display in tanks there. They had all kinds of interesting invertebrates, fish, and turtles.

We ate dinner out that night and lunch the next day at Julia Mae's in Carabelle. If you are in the area you must eat there. They have fresh seafood and a very comfortable atmosphere. They make fresh pies on Friday and Saturday which are delicious. I can recommend their shrimp dinner (about $10-12), their shrimp burger ($6) and the coconut pie ($2.5). The price for the amount of food is not too bad. I also had a chance to taste the fried squid that someone else in the group bought and shared. It was also delicious.

We camped that night at Ochlocknee. The camp ground was very nice with a great bathhouse and large camping areas. It was off a creek or river. Alas, the biting flies were once again in full force here.

The next morning since we were a school group, we arranged to go traweling on a pontoon boat with a man from the FSU Marine Lab at Turkey point. We spent several hours at this and caught all kinds of cool organisms (all of which we returned to the ocean without any harm done). Then after lunch again at Julia Mae's, (we had to drive out of our way to get back to the place--it was that good.)we traveled to Wakulla Springs State Park. We took a boat ride there in which we saw different snakes, alligators, herons, and other nifty critters. This boat tour is open to the public there and costs $4.50 a person. We camped that night at Ozark, AL at a RV park the Trave-L-Park. It was a very nice place and I would recommend it for camping as well.

The next day we stopped at two fossil collecting sites Braggs, AL and Jefferson, AL, were we found shell and nautaloid bites, teeth, and bivalves. At Braggs you can see the K-T boundary which is the rock layer that seperates the time when the dinosaurs lived from the time after they were extincted. Then we went home.

I cannot tell the entrance prices for camping in the parks. Our professor took care of that expense. Although, it is possible to look the parks up on the internet and get that information. You can also reserve a space at some of the campgrounds through the internt. It was a very interesting, educational, and fun road trip. Florida is a great state to visit to see natural wonders and I would recommend a road trip like this to just about anyone.

Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Students
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May