Sunday, July 19, 2015

Turtle Beach Inn, Port St. Joe, FL

Originally published April 23, 2009

Trish Petrie loves the beach. The abridged synopsis of her life story is that she wanted to live on the beach and so created the Turtle Beach Inn. Of course her life's story is a lot more detailed than that, but this was a theme she kept returning to in our conversations. She wanted to live on the beach. Driving out to the Turtle Beach Inn is quite an exercise; but one that's well worth the effort. The Turtle Beach Inn is near an airport (Apalachicola Airport; if you're familiar with the area) but really the Turtle Beach Inn is a place that you need to travel a ways to get to. So you should stay a while. My wife and I recently visited the Turtle Beach Inn; just for the night (alas); but we were left with an indelible impression of why someone would want to live their whole life here and why people would definitely want to vacation here too.

The Turtle Beach Inn is located in Port St. Joe. Port St. Joe has one other real attraction (besides the grand and sweeping ocean views) and it's within sight of the Turtle Beach Inn; the Indian Pass Raw Bar; a renowned Oyster shucking bar. The only other thing you're going to find of note in Port St. Joe are jealous visitors questioning their decision not to major in oceanography and tourism in college.

Port St. Joe and the Turtle Beach Inn are truly sights to behold. While we were driving there; through tiny town after tiny town, it suddenly occurred to me that this place was virtually at the ends of the earth! Quite literally the Turtle Beach Inn is neighbors with the Gulf of Mexico; the beautiful vistas we saw along the way there were dwarfed by our third level from the ground (second floor) deck which sat just outside our room. As you can see from the attached photographs, quite literally you could hear, see, and smell the ocean from the bed! The views and sights and experiences from the Turtle Beach Inn are literal spectacles.

Turtle Beach Inn gets its name from the season that's just about to be upon us; turtle season! The turtles slough their way from the ocean, lay their eggs and bury them in the sands directly adjacent to the Turtle Beach Inn. Turtle season runs from May through October; all the more reason to come to the Turtle Beach Inn. While my wife and I didn't see any turtles when we were there, Innkeeper Trish told us the morning we left that there were eagles on the shore (my wife saw one as we sped past the beach that same day) and I was sure I saw an alligator lurking in the waters along the road from Turtle Beach Inn.

Innkeeper Trish also told us of other pastimes that her guests tend to have success with: relaxing and enjoying the peace and solitude of the area. That was where I was at the morning we left; I almost forgot myself and couldn't pull myself from the relaxing deck porch-swing. According to the Turtle Beach Inn website, the big draw to the inn is to, "enjoy Florida the way it used to be - unspoiled beaches, abundant wildlife, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets."

I will testify to the magnificent sunset which burned through the late day clouds on the evening that we were there. According to Innkeeper Trish, in the wintertime the sunrise and sunset both happen on the water making spending your whole day staring into the abyss of the ocean twice as rewarding.

For more information about the Turtle Beach Inn, I cede to the website: "The area waters (Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola Bay, St Joseph Bay, lagoons, bayous, lakes, creeks and rivers) provide the setting for all types of aquatic adventures. Canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing, swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving are all available in the area. St. Vincent Island, a federal wildlife preserve, is just a short paddle or boat ride from the inn. The beaches of Gulf County and nearby state parks are some of the most beautiful beaches in the United States. Land lovers can enjoy hiking, biking, shelling, horseback riding, and golf. Excellent shopping and dining are also available in the nearby towns of Port St. Joe and Apalachicola."

Really, at heart, I'm a city kid. I love the bustle and life and activity and noise and feel and all of it. But at Turtle Beach Inn, all the rest of that washed away. I became elemental; getting back in touch with my senses; wondering, loving, reflecting; and felt my way back to the origins. There will always be the city but get me back in commune with the ocean, feeling the waves, hearing the surf, loving the experience, like at the Turtle Beach Inn. There is nothing else like it!



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