On to Florida!

Florida here we come!


On May 20 we got back on Interstate I-10 and headed toward Mobile, Alabama. We had done our research and we made an executive decision to blast through Alabama and head to Pensacola, Florida. Driving through Mobile we saw huge bridges and they have nice highways.

When we got to Pensacola we headed for Big Lagoon State Park and we found a nice campsite with power and water ($22/night).  Down here you have to have power to run the air conditioning…we couldn’t live without it. This is a nice park with nice facilities including day-use picnic areas, beautiful white sand beaches, and nature trails. We actually had an armadillo visit our campsite. The State Park is in the Perdido Bay area which is like a resort area, with beautiful houses and boats all along the coast line. The change we noticed is that the beaches are white sand and the water is beautiful and clear. Through much of Texas and Louisiana the Gulf of Mexico was a dirty colour. There is a private RV resort on Perdido Key that charges $85/night for camping on their waterfront sites. I drove past it and it is a glorified parking lot, and the waterfront sites have boats parked in front of them, not a beach like you would think for that price.

We had an armadillo visit us at our camp site.  We had to put Hooch in the back of the truck so that he wouldn't chase after it.

I went and played Lost Key Golf Club which is an exclusive course in the area. I got to play for a special price ($60 including cart and taxes) and it is pretty fancy. The bad part about the course design is that there are wetlands (swamp) on either side of narrow fairways so you tend to lose a lot of golf balls. The guys I was playing with said they should name the course “Lost Ball Golf Club”. I had fun though…met a couple of nice guys from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, whacked the ball around, and had a few beers!

We did a driving tour of the old town of Pensacola and learned that the town calls itself the oldest settlement in the USA.  Apparently Pensacola was where the first Spanish explorers hit land when they discovered America. Who knows, I am sure other places in the USA think they were the first.

Today we heard the sad news that the oil spill had made landfall in Louisiana. The scary part is that the well is still spewing oil at an incredible rate and many other areas are likely to be effected. Now all the Gulf Coast is watching the direction of the current and the wind to determine what areas will be hit and how much oil will wash ashore….it is in Mother Nature’s hands now.

May 22, 2010 We left Pensacola and headed along the coastline highway. The sand is a beautiful white colour and there are many areas of fancy subdivisions along the water. We continued down to a town called Destin and was it ever a happening place. There were tons of water craft zooming around in the bay area, party barges (a number of water craft tied together) and a lot of people on the beaches. The town seemed to consist of bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, and more bars. The promotion for the area is “It’s like Spring Break is happening every day”. If the Beach Boys had been from Florida, this is the area they would have sang about.

We continued down to Panama City only to find that it is a bigger version of Destin…party, Party, PARTY!!! We checked into St. Andrews State Park ($31/night) that is located on a dune. No golfing fans, the name has nothing to do with golf. I knew for the price that it must be something special and it certainly is. We have a nice view of the water and the sites are pretty nice; power and water, nice washrooms, shade trees, beautiful beaches and 2 onsite convenience stores. Some of the sites back right on to the water. This must be one of the more popular State Parks around as there are license plates from many different states. Checking in on a Saturday, the park is full of campers. I went to the beach for a few hours even though the temperature was 93 F. Then I made a run for the RV and air conditioning and a nice cold beer!  It is a beautiful place!