2020 AAU Cross Country National Championships December 5

Camilla has been doing cross country since August and has chosen it as her main sport. In the beginning of November, she qualified for the National championships in Tallahassee Florida and we bought plane tickets. Since it was just a 3 night trip, we decided that just 2 of us would go(me and Camilla). Florida has not been on my top places to visit, but I have never been to the south and thought it might be a nice place to visit.

We arrived in Florida on Friday December 4th. It was raining, but I drove us to the nearest beach anyway. We went to St Marks off of the gulf of New Mexico. We had fun collecting seashells and examining the types of houses near the beach.

All of the homes are raised high off of the ground. Stilt houses are well suited to coastal regions and subtropical climates. They protect against floods, maximize views and allow homeowners to build on rocky, steep or unstable land. They also keep out animals and vermin, provide ventilation under the house and minimize a house's footprint.

Then we went to Porter Island seafood. Camilla got clams and I got shrimp. We ended up eating seafood every night. Florida has some amazing seafood! Our first impression of the south is that everyone calls you, "Darlin'"

The only time we actually stayed in the City of Tallahassee was for Camilla's race. The 2020 AAU Cross Country National Championships was huge! There were over 300 girls in Camilla's age group. The course was beautiful with pine forests all around. Camilla's team ended up coming in 2nd place.

After the race, we drove to Bald Point State Park. We saw canoes, crabs, butterflies, coastal marshes, pine trees, and oak thickets.

Then we continued driving down The Big Bend Scenic Byway to Alligator Point. Alligator point is 4,065 acres of beautiful beach area. We walked for 3 miles playing in the sand and collecting seashells.

Then, we drove to Carrabelle for dinner. Carrabelle is a small town with only 1300 people. We ate ate a place called Fathom's steam room. It was a very unique place where we ate on the patio with a fire pit, stage, and friendly people. We must have stood out because many people were asking us, "Where are you from?", "Aren't you cold?", and "What brings you here?" Camilla had scallops and I had the best grilled shrimp. As we walked out, we saw that their Christmas tree was decorated with beer cans for ornaments.

On Sunday, we drove to St George Island. We went over a long bridge to the 22 mile barrier island which has no high rises or chain stores.

It is a very serene and quiet island. It had majestic dunes, bay forests, sandy coves, and salty marshes. The sand was so white! We found a starfish in the sand and a jellyfish. We climbed to the top of the lighthouse. The Cape St George Lighthouse is located at the center of St George Island. It was built in 1833 to help guide ships to the thriving cotton port of Apalachiola.

We then drove to Apalachiola, the oyster capital, where Florida gets 90% of their oysters. It is a small southern town with a strong maritime culture. We saw an outdoor theatre show and ate at Up The Creek Raw Bar. It is a funky waterfront bar on the Apalachiola River. Camilla ate a dozen oysters and then ate most of my French fries.

On our last morning, we went to Wakulla Springs State Park. We took a nature trail walk in the old growth forest. Then we walked out to the dock and saw so many manatees.

Overall, I really liked Florida. The warmer temps were nice and I loved the abundance of parks, beaches, good food, and hiking trails. However, I do not like the large amount bugs flying around or the political views of the people. Even when the businesses posted that people need to wear masks, many people ignored it. Thankfully, we were able to stay outside most of the time to stay safe from COVID-19.