Arrival Date 3/22/2015 Lucky Charms RV Park, Old Town FL - Ho Hum RV Park, Caravelle FL - Topsail State Park, Santa Rosa FL near Destin FL
This was a 9 day travel trip around the panhandle of Florida to get to Gulf Shores AL. Lucky Charms was just an overnight stop. Nice homegrown park 4 years old. The owners appeared to be doing most of the upgrades on their own. This park was in the middle of nowhere.
Ho Hum RV Park is a great little park on the beach on the Gulf Of Mexico. This RV Park is one of our favorites. Very nice owners. Beautiful setting right on the water. WIFI was decent. We have stayed here several times in the past. It’s a quiet part of the coast but we always find stuff to do there. We got the Sea Eagle (our inflatable Kayak) out for a spin. I think I figured why we had problems keeping the Eage on track in wind and current/waves. The dumb anchor I carry was screwing up the weight distribution.
We played golf at St James Bay Golf Club. Really nice course with a wonderful name. To bad it’s not on the James River then it would be perfect. We enjoyed it quite a bit and very reasonable. The staff was very friendly and the restaurant looked good. Unfortunately we did not get to eat there. Back at Ho Hum we met some people who just bought a lot next to the Ho Hum property. It was $36K and small 125 X 60 or so. Three lots back from the water, future redneck ghetto?
Toured St George Island. Beautiful island across a causeway from the mainland. Not a large number of full time residents but in the summer it swells with tourists.
Another day we went to Apalachicola. We really like that town. Good shops and a nice setting on the river that goes into the Gulf. We had roasted oysters at a restaurant on the river. I liked the Micro Brewery.
Topsail State Park is one of the crown jewels of the Florida state park system. I had another RVer tell me it’s his favorite RV Park in the US. It is a very nice park. Treed sites with full hookup. Most of the sites were very nice. Decent sized. Serviceable WIFI but again I am glad that I have my WIFI ranger. The good Florida state parks on the water are a bear to get into. In order to stay here four days we needed to switch into three sites. Beautiful beach with a tram that takes you from the RV area to the beach and back. We enjoyed bike riding around the park and down to the beach. One afternoon we spent most of the afternoon on the beach. Linda loved it.
To the east of Topsail was a beautiful beach community called Santa Rosa. This is the area of the panhandle of Florida that is a favorite vacation spot in the late spring, summer and early fall. We drove around the area several times. While at topsail we had some sad news, we had to put Inga down about 10 days ago. She basically stopped eating so we brought her to a local vet who said she was in renal failure so we had her euthanized. This vet was fabulous, couldn’t have been nicer to us or Inga. Wish there were more like her around. Inga certainly led a good long life so there are no regrets. It is definitely a little empty in the rig without her here.
Here is a note from a neighbor about Inga’s passing; We're very sad about Inga. So sorry for your lost. But as you said, she lived a full life, using all nine lives and probably a couple more. We're not going to tell Hersey (Hersey is their cat) as she would get upset and probably wouldn't eat for weeks. Will check in with you later in the week. Snowed a little this afternoon then changed to rain. Days are getting warmer. Next week, 57, 58, 60, 65 & 68. Yahoooo ! Will email later...Have fun etc….. Our reply; No way! No how! I forbid getting another cat! Oh Well Linda never listens to me any how. Maybe, if she really wants another one. We will see. Hard to imagine us with out a pet. I am pushing for a dog. I like cats BUT THEY ARE NOT DOGS! Of course Hersey is a great cat so she breaks the mold. We have been having the dog argument for a year or more. I think I am wearing her down. Snowed this afternoon! Really. Maybe we should stay in the south longer. Oh it has been a long time. We really do want to get back. I guess we will stick to our plan. BUT NO MORE SNOW!!!! It’s 76 outside and beautiful blue sky’s with a little breeze to cut the heat. It’s not easy being me but it sure is fun. Agent 68.5 over and out.
To the west of Topsail is Destin FL. We like Destin a lot. There is a side of the highway waterfront section that has a lot of shops and restaurants. It’s beautiful to sit on a deck/balcony of one of the restaurants and watch the bay. There is a Margaritaville restaurant and AJ’s bar & grill that are two of our favorites. Big news later this spring there will be a second LULU’s restaurant opening up! LULU’s is owned and run by Lucy Buffett, "Crazy Sista” of Jimmy Buffett. We love the original LULUs in Gulf Shores so it’s nice to hear of another one opening. We had drinks and listened to the band at AJ’s over looking the bay. Destin is getting bigger and busier. They now have a zip line that runs in front of Martaritaville and AJ’s.
