Beach Sand Looks Like Snow if You Squint

Well I survived. I camped again. Hey, this time I didn't even get sick! In fact, I had a great time. You see, there's this group of ladies at my church that enjoy a little outdoor adventure every now and then just like I do. The size of the group varies, but so far this year, I've gotten to go camping three times this year with them. And let me tell you, if you've never been camping with a bunch of women, you need to...because it's awesome!! Uninterrupted girl-talk from sun up to sun down while setting up the tent, sitting in chairs around a roaring fire under the stars, going for a bike ride to a nearby town for some shopping, having a photography session on the beach at sunset, and having a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs cooked before your eyes in the open air....

We went to Grayton Beach State Park, in the panhandle of Florida. I was a little skeptical of camping on the beach because the last time I'd done it, I had sand in my teeth for a month. Or was it my hair? (Maybe both.) But I have to say, this place was wonderful. Our spot backed up to a small lake, which backed up to big white sand dunes, which backed up to the Gulf of Mexico. The sunset picture, above, is of that scene, but it was beautiful all the time--sunset or not. The sites were divided by thick trees and underbrush, making them the most private campsites I've ever seen. We hardly saw hide or tail of any neighbors the whole weekend. Human, at any rate. We did however, have some very near neighbors of large field mice living in the brush next to us. A squirrel also visited the picnic table and chewed a hole in a bag of mixed nuts. Oh yeah, and did I mention the alligators?

Debi, enjoying the view of the lake.

Well, to be honest, we never actually saw any alligators, just signs. Where DO alligators go in the winter anyway??

The second day, we rode our bikes over to Seaside. It is an adorable little town that many people remember for its perfectly manicured foliage and the movie The Truman Show with Jim Carey. We parked our bikes and walked all over the town, shopping, looking at houses, visiting art galleries, and eating lunch. By the time we left to ride back to camp, the sun was getting low and we were pretty cold with the wind blowing in our faces. Luckily, we had dressed warmly. It became a joke that our hats were going to become a permanent fixture on our heads because we never took them off the whole weekend!

We made it back to camp just in time for the sunset and decided to have a photo session on the beach. The lighting was great! We had fun just thinking up new ways to pose in the sand for the shot. One of these days, I'm going to get an actual tripod for these kinds of things. I kept having to balance my camera on my lumpy backpack while setting up the shot and the timer. (Hey, Christmas is coming soon...hint, hint..:) )

Sunset in the background. Me, Debi and Catherine. (Angie had gone to get her camera.) Now I have sand EVERYWHERE.

Me, Debi, and Catherine. Used the flash on this one, thought there wouldn't be enough light without it. I was wrong, because after this, I just used the ambient light and it was beautiful!!

Debi, Angie, Me, and Catherine. It almost looks as if we're playing in the snow, eh? I set the timer, then ran and squeezed between Angie and Catherine.