42" Redfish - St. Joseph Bay, Cape San Blas

A Tropical Breeze has been booked with our wonderful guests all summer.  This past Wednesday was our first gap since mid May, so we took a quick trip down to enjoy the beach and do some fishing. This picture was taken on Thursday in the St. Joseph Bay.  My son, Cody and his buddy caught the fish about 1:30 in the afternoon using a pin fish as bait. They netted the pin fish just outside of Eagle Harbor and hooked the red fish about 1/4 mile out of Eagle Harbor.  The fish was too big to keep but after a two hour fight to land it, they managed to get this great picture to share, before releasing it back into the bay.

While they were fishing, I spent several relaxing hours sitting on the beach in front of A Tropical Breeze. The weather was perfect!  

 One of the highlights of the trip for me was seeing the three sea turtle nests on the beach in front of A Tropical Breeze.  Last year we didn't have any nests near our home so this was a wonderful surprise.  Maybe I will be there to see them hatch.

www.atropicalbreeze-capesanblas.com

The Star: A Glimpse of the Cape San Blas Sunken Lighthouse

Sunken Lighthouse as it appeared in 1885

By Herman Jones

Special to The Star

This article first appeared in the "Panhandle Beacon" in June 2000. With renewed interest in the Cape San Blas Lighthouse, I thought it would be of interest to rerun this story with a few changes.

The 1980’s and 90’s were the “Golden Age” of diving. There were still virgin wrecks and reefs, plenty of fish, not as many fishermen, less rules, and inexpensive gas. Whenever the Gulf was calm and the weather good, I, my wife, Pam, friends Erik Tomlinson and Regina Capps would explore new dive sites—one was the third Cape San Blas Lighthouse.

We watched with subdued excitement as our depth recorder printed the silhouette of a large pyramid-shaped object rising from a depth of twenty feet to within a few feet of the surface. Being a half mile from Cape San Blas, I found it hard to believe that just a hundred years ago a proud lighthouse stood here surrounded by pine and palm forests and family or two of lighthouse keepers.

We had been here several times before, but each trip was doomed because the chocolate-colored Gulf had prevented us from diving. Today, with tides and currents in our favor, the water was an eerie translucent green; clean enough to dive but not enough to make it enjoyable. We gazed apprehensively over the side at the dark shadow just below the surface.

The iron skeleton tower that sits on the Cape today is the fourth tower to have been built here. It was preceded by three impressive brick towers that now lie far offshore. In fact the Cape San Blas lighthouses were not the first lighthouses in what is now Gulf County. The first lighthouse was built on St. Joseph’s Point on the end of St. Joseph’s Peninsula. (I use the possessive as the old cartographers used). It was finished in February, l839 for shipping to the ill-fated city of St. Joseph that stood where Oak Grove is today. It was only 45 feet tall. After the demise of St. Joseph in the fall of l841, the tower was abandoned.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend on Cape San Blas!

Cape San Blas is normally known for fresh fish, scallops and shrimp but on Memorial Day weekend, seafood takes a back seat to the Volunteer Fire Department's Annual Boston Butt Roast sale. This community event is part of the annual fund raiser which includes donation requests. Funds collected are used to improve the fire departments ability to provide emergency services to the community. To place an order or make a donation go to www.sgcfire.com.

Last year, the Volunteer Fire Department added a second fire station on the north end of the Cape in close proximity to A Tropical Breeze.  This new station keeps the fire apparatus and emergency equipment in close proximity to the volunteers and has helped reduce response time on the north end of the peninsula.

Thank you to our fire fighters and emergency response volunteers.

Weber's Little Donut Shop on the Cape - Great New Addition to Cape San Blas

I stopped by the Trading Post this morning to check out the new donut shop and had a lovely visit with the owners, George and Betty Weber. It was about 10am and they were already out of many flavors and the summer season hasn't even started.  George wakes up at 4am to mix up the donut batters and start the cooking.  They open at 7:30 am and stay open until they are sold out.  During spring break their days were short since they sold out about 8:30am.  The local residents know to arrive early so they don't miss out on their daily donuts.

                

Each day there is a special donut of the day. Today it was cherry chocolate donuts and tomorrow is blueberry.  I bought two donuts today, the cherry chocolate and the chocolate coconut and they were both delicious.  I'm heading home tomorrow and plan to buy a dozen to take home to my family.  Hopefully I won't sample them all on the drive home. The Weber's Little Donut Shop is a wonderful addition to Cape San Blas.  Be sure to stop by on your next visit to Cape San Blas, but plan to arrive early while the donuts are still warm and before they sell out.

 

Working Hard on Cape San Blas

The summer rental season is just days away.  A Tropical Breeze will be the vacation home to families from as far away as Oregon this summer.  The first guests arrive this weekend, with new families arriving every Saturday for the next 11 weeks.  I took the opportunity to drive down from Atlanta yesterday to make sure everything is ready at A Tropical Breeze.  I must admit that it's not been all work.  Here's a picture of the bike path and my shadow. I took this picture this evening while riding to the new ice cream shop at the Trading Post. 

The new Coffee and Ice Cream shop serves Edy's ice cream, milk shakes, smoothies and gourmet coffee and if that's not enough, there's a new hot donut stand just steps away.  The donut shop is only open in the mornings so I will be sure to go back tomorrow so I can report my findings.  The Trading Post owner says the donut maker gets up at 3:30 am to mix up the donut batter fresh.  There is also a special donut every day plus all of the regular favorites. Check back tomorrow for donut details.

Plein Air Painters To Capture Forgotten Coast

Mark your calendars for this wonderful event and if you're looking for a place to stay, A Tropical Breeze is still available during the 7th annual Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational.

 

More than 20 nationally acclaimed artists will gather on Florida's Forgotten Coast in early May to participate in the 7th annual Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational, America's Great Paint-Out, May 3-13, 2012. Painters will set up their easels and pull out their brushes to document the landscape and culture of this last vestige of authentic "Old Florida" – the coastal stretch of scenic North Florida between Mexico Beach and Alligator Point.
"Plein Air", a French word, simply translated means "open air". The roots of plein air painting are found in 19th-century Europe. An Englishman, John Constable, believed that artists should forget "formulas" and trust their own vision in finding truth in nature.

Cape San Blas or Hilton Head, Where Would You Rather Be?

A Tropical Breeze- Cape San Blas

Why am I in Hilton Head when I should at A Tropical Breeze on Cape San Blas?  Instead of enjoying the beautiful white, uncrowded beach in front of A Tropical Breeze,  I find myself in the land of brown sand, jelly fish and packed beaches, in other words, spring break on Hilton Head Island. Did I mention the traffic?

Hilton Head

OK, maybe that's a bit dramatic.  The weather has been great and we have done lots of bike riding, however I do miss walking out the front door of A Tropical Breeze and heading to the beach.  I hope our guests at A Tropical Breeze are having a wonderful time. Happy Easter to all of our Cape San Blas friends!