Wind. That is the word of the day, really strong wind. In this post, we say a final goodbye to the beach at St. Augustine and head northwest toward the farm in Alabama. The weather had started to turn unfriendly due to a cold front that was sweeping across the country, so it was time to return to the house and start the wood burning stove.

St. Augustine at Sunrise

We weren’t in a great rush to leave the ocean where we feel so much at home, so we took time to enjoy the day before daylight even arrived.

We left our campsite early and headed over to the main parking lot where the boardwalk gives you access to the beautiful enormous beach, to watch the sunrise over the water one last time before heading back. The day use area (parking lot) didn’t open for a few more hours, so the only people that could access the area were those who stayed overnight in the campground. So the lot was basically empty, which meant the beach was as well.

Side note: I will never understand why people park right next to you when there is an entire parking lot of spaces available. Does this happen in your world? We experience it all the time and it is on our list of pet peeves. You cannot see the other car in this lot, because they parked on the other side of the van, literally 3 feet from it. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, the one thing that I will remember the most about this morning was that it was crazy windy! The cold front was coming at us from the west, but the wind was blowing in from the ocean at 25+ miles per hour. The waves were huge and the sea foam was blowing across the beach. It was beautiful. Scott went up the beach on a walk and had to return by walking backwards most of the way back because the wind was just too strong. That was interesting.

St. Augustine Light Station

Sunrise was magical, as it usually is over the ocean. After it had risen and we had some breakfast, we headed out of the park to see the nearby lighthouse. I don’t think I have ever seen a lighthouse that was so removed from the water, and at the same time, so inaccessible, as the St. Augustine Lighthouse was. Usually, lighthouses are on the rocks, beach or very close to the obstruction they are there to warn about, or at least out in the open expanse. The St Augustine Light Station, even though it is “close” to the water, is in a neighborhood, and the residents clearly don’t care for the traffic it brings. There were signs everywhere warning of no through traffic or no parking, etc., while full size tour busses sat idling outside the parking lot.

Once we were able to locate the parking lot for the light station, Scott went to get some photos and really had a difficult time getting close enough to the structure to even get any full shots of the lighthouse. The light station is surrounded by a wrought iron fence on several acres and there is an $18 charge per person for admission. So, the shots you see below were from outside the fence on the “free” sidewalk.

Heading Inland

Turning to the northwest, we headed out of town and away from the ocean on US Hwy A1A. We snapped some last minute photos of the water and then we were greeted by the logging industry’s endless pine forests fairly soon after crossing into Georgia.

Suwannee Visitor Center

Fargo, Georgia was not on our list of must see attractions for this trip, we didn’t actually even know we were going to be in Fargo until we arrived. However, the very best part of traveling the backroads, is finding places like this. They seemingly just appear out of nowhere and are a true treasure to explore. We were ready for a break and looking for a place to pull over when we happened upon the Fargo, Georgia Welcome Center, or as it was once called the Suwannee River Visitor Center.

The center is located just off of the Suwannee River on the banks of the Suwannoochee Creek. It has a boat launch and a two story welcome center building. The most interesting thing about this place is that the welcome center is completely abandoned.

We stopped here for lunch, took a walk down to the creek’s edge, and then Scott went over to the building to have a look around. What he found was something on par with a Zombie Apocalypse. The scene was surreal. All the display cases were there showing information on the area, wildlife, and local attractions. It looks like all the people just closed the door one day and never came back.

The building was huge and the architecture was beautiful. The residents of the building, however, looked to be birds, bats, and probably rodents (though none were present the day we arrived, thank goodness). We didn’t know at the time when it closed, but it really seemed a shame to have such a nice place like this standing in ruin.

Update: So after some research on the building it looks like it shuttered around 2011 due to budget constraints due to flooding and a bat problem. Both of which makes total sense when you see the place in person. There is actually a great post about it called the Suwannee River Visitor Center 2022-12-29, which goes on to explain the history and some great information about the Suwannee River. In another post, Budget and Bats: Suwannee River Visitor Center, they explained why the visitor center had to close.

Places like this are the exact very reason why we don’t take the Interstates when we can. The history you can learn, and the places you see, are worth every minute. In spite of the shuttered condition of the visitors center, it was one of the most interesting finds on our trip. We certainly know more about Fargo and the Suwannee River than we did before.

Valdosta Georgia

Valdosta, Georgia was our final destination for this day. We were surprised at how busy the roads were in the downtown area. This town sits at the crossroads of an interstate and several state highways, so the traffic was far more intense than expected.

Valdosta still has that typical old southern town square flavor with unique downtown brick architecture. The old theatre is still there, along with city hall, and many other historic, turn of the century (circa 1900) buildings. This town has also adopted the latest tourism scheme of painting murals on some of their buildings as a sense of pride and showcasing the local interests of the community.

We really enjoy seeking out these murals in all the towns we visit and we have a list of the ones we know of located on our page Murals by State. This is a list we are still compiling, but we are trying to make a list that others can also use. Enjoy!

Cracker Barrel

As many overlanders know, almost all Cracker Barrel locations across the country will allow for overnight parking. They almost always have dedicated RV parking, and there is usually no charge. If you choose to stay the evening in one of these graciously provided spots, please remember to head inside and make some sort of purchase. We will not stay at Cracker Barrel without a minimum of a cup of coffee and local souvenirs purchase, and most of the time it is more like a full on breakfast before heading out back on the road. We appreciate what they provide for us when traveling.

The Cracker Barrel in Valdosta is just off of I-75 and the RV parking is in the back of the building. We went inside when we got there to ask and make sure it was ok to park overnight. The staff was so kind and generous, asking where we came from and where we were going and wanted to make sure we were going to be warm enough with the freezing weather coming in. We had a wonderful evening watching a movie and a fabulous breakfast the next morning (though it was super cold). Thanks so much, Valdosta Cracker Barrel, you were one of our best stops.

Thanks for coming along with us on Day 7. Tomorrow we get to see the last day of the trip and our drive home. If you missed some of the other days click one of the links below, see you for Day 8 next time!

A Week Around Florida

• A Week Around Florida Auburn to Tampa Day 1
• A Week Around Florida Tampa to Tamiami Day 2
• A Week Around Florida Tamiami to Bahia Honda Day 3
• A Week Around Florida Key West to Homestead Day 4
• A Week Around Florida: Homestead to Okeechobee Day 5
• A Week Around Florida: Istokpoga to St. Augustine Day 6
• A Week Around Florida: St. Augustine to Valdosta Day 7
• A Week Around Florida: Valdosta to Eufaula Day 8