It didn’t take us long to reach Navarre Beach once we realized that we couldn’t cut across the beach from Okaloosa Island.
We had a few cocktails at Juana’s Pagodas, chased by several shots of tequila before we pressed on.
Though it was a road walk, this was the part of the trail I’d been looking forward to since the beginning.
Fifteen miles into the day a fisherman heading home offered us a ride on the back of his pickup, a few miles down the road got us to the secret beach camp, but Longshot kept running into town for a hotel room, chicken wings, and a beer. Nana Man, Gas Monkey and I stayed on the beach, watching the sunset behind the towers of the Portofino Island Resort.
The last time through I wanted to stay as long as possible… but the next morning we pushed ourselves to the end, an early finish having skipped some miles, but everyone was done, and it felt like a relief.
Nana Man got us a hitch soon after reaching the terminus, they were headed to Pensacola to rent a car, I jumped out at a busy intersection while the light was red. Parting ways, I ran back to the beach camp, this time alone, maybe for a few days I had hoped, except the weather turned, and as soon as I setup my tent the rain didn’t stop. All night, all next morning.
I wasn’t going to get my beach time this trip either.
#FloridaTrail #goodtimes