From Grayton Beach we went to Ho Hum RV Park. It is located in Carrabelle, Florida. We had a site right on the water. Jake loves all the smells on the beach. Stunning 180 degree views of the Gulf of Mexico. They have a nice 250 ft. pier.
Ho Hum
We had Amazon goodies sent to us at Ho Hum. The RV pad at Three Rivers State Park was soft sand. When we put the jacks down, they sunk over 6 inches. We put wooden blocks under the jacks so that we could level. I ordered jack pads and they arrived today. Also ordered a Thermacell mosquito repellent hoping we could spend more time outside at dusk. We will review them after we had a chance to use the products.
Otherwise the Ho Hum amenities were: 50 amp service, water, wifi, showers, washer/dryer, and sewer. No pool, children, or hot tub. A Jacuzzi sure would have been nice for my wrist and back strain.
The sunsets were incredable.
We had dinner at The Fisherman’s Wife in Carabelle. Unfortunately, they were out of oysters. Sandy had grilled grouper, which was very good. That night it rained with constant lightning for most of the night. Very dramatic. Jake did well in his first thunder and lightning storm and the RV is clean again. Yeah!
Next day we went sight seeing in Carabelle.
Worlds Smallest Police Station
In 1953, the phone company installed a phone-in call box bolted to the wall of a building. Here the officers could answer calls while out walking the beat. But then they began to have problems, people were making unauthorized long distance calls on the police phone. The phone was vandalized numerous times.
The policemen would get drenched while answering phone calls in the rain. They decided to move the wall phone into an old phone booth.
In 1963, the phone booth was moved to its current site on US 98 under the chinaberry tree. The Chief hired a man to do the lettering to mark it officially as The City of Carrabelle Police Station. It worked well and greatly increased the efficiency of the 2-man police force. They now could park the patrol car in the shade of the chinaberry tree, do required paperwork, and listen for the phone while watching for speeders and other suspicious characters.
People continued to sneak in and make long distance phone calls. Eventually, the dial was removed making it impossible to call out. Unfortunately, vandals have taken the phone from the booth, shot holes in it, and it was knocked over not only by vandals but also by Hurricane Kate. A tourist wanted to steal it, asking a service station attendant to help him load it into his vehicle.
Carrabelle History Museum
Unfortunately, it was closed on the day we went.
Legend of Tate’s Hell
Jebediah Tate bought 160 acres near Carrabelle, Florida. Jebediah made a pact with a medicine man for good fortune if he brought the medicine man a pig each year and never entered a nearby cypress forest. After 3 years of good luck, they decided to renege on the deal. That year Jebediah died from malaria, the pine trees gave little oil (for turpentine), the sugar cane was stunted, and cows disappeared. However, the pigs flourished. Cebe, Jebediah’s son, maintained the property. Cebe married a mail order bride from New York City. She was Jewish and refused to eat pork. His new bride wanted steak. Cebe went into the swamp in search of one of their cows. His dogs took off after a panther, and he lost his gun in the mud. The mosquitos were relentless, so he ventured into the cypress forest and fell asleep leaning against one of the Indian’s sacred trees. He was bitten by a poisenious snake and was dehydrated. He finally made it to Carrebelle and lived long enough to tell someone that his name was Cebe Tate and “I just came through Hell!”… then he died. Ever since, the area is known as Tate’s Hell.
Crooked River Lighthouse
The Crooked River Lighthouse, built in 1895, replaced three lighthouses on Dog Island that over the years were destroyed by storms. Three possible reasons Dog island got its name; 1) wild dogs were found on them; 2) the islands resemble a crouched dog, or 3) the early ships put their common sailors – known as dogs – on the islands before docking on the mainland so they could not jump ship.
The lightstation grounds originally included a house for both the Keeper and the Assistant Keeper, and several outbuildings. It was decommissioned in 1995.
Caravelle Bottle House
In 2012, Carrabelle resident Leon Wiesener started building a bottle house. Made entirely of glass bottles of all sizes and colors, this house became a beautiful example of alternative building materials and artistic whimsy. The house was constructed with over 6000 bottles. Unfortunately, when we visited, the floor was being replaced because of termites so we couldn’t go inside.
Gotta love a beach town, we really enjoyed staying at Ho Hum.
