Easter Sunday Thunderstorms - 03/31/13

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We awoke this Easter Sunday morning to severe thunderstorms passing through the Rocky Point Campground at Wright Patman Lake near Texarkana, Texas. Fortunately, the storm vacated our area by 10:00 a.m. without any damage. Unfortunately, for areas south of us, including Shreveport, Louisiana, the storms were expected to produce winds of 60 to 70 mph with the possibility of tornadoes. By 1:00 p.m. the sky in our area cleared and a warm sunny day prevailed for the remainder of the day.

We will depart Rocky Point on Monday morning for Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis BBQ here we come!

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

Warmer Weather Returns - 03/29/13

We were planning to depart the Rocky Point Campground at Wright Patman Lake near Texarkana, Texas today, but the return of warmer weather on Thursday changed our plans. We have extended our stay here through Sunday and will now depart for Memphis, Tennessee on Monday, 04/01/13.

We selected campsite #D31 for our extended stay for three more nights. We would have preferred sites D37or D35, but they had already been reserved. Site D37 has a view of the lake and the swimming beach and is partially shielded from the blowing wind off of the lake. On our future visits our campsite choices in order of preference will be: D37, D35 and D31.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

Rocky Point CG - 03/28/13

This is our fourth day at the Rocky Point Campground at Wright Patman Lake near Texarkana, Texas. The cold front is finally subsiding and the temperature reached the high 60’s under a partially cloudy sky. We decided this would be a good day to explore 4 of the 6 U.S. Army Corps of Engineering campgrounds at Wright Patman Lake. All of the campgrounds are located within a typical southern pine forest setting overlooking the lake

Clear Springs Campground – Camping Fee: $12.00 to $32.00
Located on the north end of the lake, west of US-59 on TX-2148, this campground is open year round. There are 88 campsites designated for RV or tent camping. A typical campsite consists of a paved surface parking pad, water and electric hookups, picnic table, barbecue grill, utility table and fire ring. All campsites have 30/20-amp electric service and 22 of these sites have 50-amp electric service. There is a non-electric section consisting of 10 campsites. A trailer dump station is provided for disposal of sewage, with 41 campsites that have individual sewer hookups. There is one restroom facility with flush toilets and showers. The campground has one multi-lane boat-launching ramp. Access into the campground is through a controlled gate attendant station.

Malden Lake Campground – Camping Fee: $20.00 - $40.00
Located on the western side of the lake, west on US-67 to south on TX-8, this campground is open year round. There are 39 campsites designated for RV or tent camping. A typical campsite consists of a paved surface parking pad, water and electric hookups, picnic table, barbecue grill, utility table and fire ring. All campsites have 30/20-amp electric service and 10 of these sites have 50-amp electric service. A trailer dump station is provided for disposal of sewage. There is one restroom facility with flush toilets and showers. The campground has one multi-lane boat-launching ramp. Access into the campground is through a controlled gate attendant station.

Piney Point Campground – Camping Fee: $12.00 to $22.00
Located on the same entrance road to Rocky Point Campground off of US-59, this campground is open from March 1^st through November 30^th. There are 48 campsites designated for RV or tent camping. A typical campsite consists of a paved surface parking pad, water and electric hookups, picnic table, barbecue grill, utility table and fire ring. All campsites have 30/20-amp electric service and 6 of these sites have 50-amp electric service. A trailer dump station is provided for disposal of sewage. There is one restroom facility with flush toilets and showers. The campground has one multi-lane boat-launching ramp. Access into the campground is through a controlled gate attendant station.

Rocky Point Campground – Camping Fee: $20.00 to $24.00
Located off U.S. Highway 59 South, 12 miles south of Texarkana, Texas, this campground is open year round. There are 124 campsites designated for RV or tent camping that are located within campsite Loops A, B C and D. The majority are wooded campsites providing plenty of shade from the hot summer Texas sun. There are lake-view campsites located within campsite Loops B, C and D that provide scenic views of the lake. A typical campsite consists of a paved surface parking pad, water and electric hookups, picnic table, barbecue grill, utility table and fire ring. All campsites have 30/20-amp electric service and 32 of these sites have 50-amp electric service. A trailer dump station is provided for disposal of sewage with 15 campsites that have individual sewer hookups. There are three restroom facilities with flush toilets, showers and one washer and dryer. The cost is $1.00 each for the washer and the dryer. A designated swimming beach is provided for RV and tent campers within the campground area. The campground has one multi-lane boat-launching ramp. Access into the campground is through a controlled gate attendant station.

Of the four campgrounds, we prefer to stay at Rocky Point.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Texarkana, TX - 03/25/13

Monday – 03/25/13

A busy morning is scheduled here at Little House Customs in Yantis, Texas. The owner, Larry, is going to install the fast-drain modification to our gray water tank on our Casita trailer. But first, I must rinse the black tank out into our portable tank to minimize any spillage when Larry cuts out a short section of the black tank drainpipe to accommodate the modification. At 8:00 a.m. all was ready for the installation.

Larry finished the fast-drain modification in a short period of time. It really looks good and we are looking forward to faster drain times of the gray water tank at the sewer dump stations. At 12:05 p.m., we had the trailer hitched to our tow vehicle, said our good-byes and were on our way to our next destination.

We are traveling a short distance of 100 miles to Texarkana, Texas. It is a beautiful sunny day with the temperature in the mid-50’s. It is a good day for traveling. We prefer not to travel on the Interstate highway systems whenever possible, in order to enjoy the scenic and cultural flavor of the local communities along the way to our destinations. In keeping with that tradition, our route out of Yantis, Texas took us east on TX-515 to east on TX-11 and then north on US-59 to Texarkana.

We arrived at the Rocky Point Campground at Wright-Patman Lake at 2:15 p.m. and selected campsite #A37 for our stay of four nights. Our campsite is located in a wooded area away from the lake. It is quite windy today with wind gusts up to 30 mph. The woods between our campsite and the lake provided an effective barrier to the gusty winds blowing off of the lake. The temperature is expected to drop into the high 20’s tonight so we are prepared to spend a warm cozy night in our Casita trailer.

Camping Fee: $10.00 per night with our Golden Age Passport.
Campsite: A37

Total miles traveled today: 100

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Little House Customs - 03/24/13

Click on WeatherUnderground Graphic for Weather Conditions on March 24, 2013

Sunday – 03/24/13

Busy day today! We will have breakfast, shower, stow away loose items in the trailer, hitch up our Casita Trailer, wash our E150 Ford Cargo Van and trailer, then travel to Yantis, Texas for a 10:00 a.m. appointment with Little House Customs.

We awoke at 5:00 a.m. to a very dark cold morning with the temperature in the high 30’s. Compared to the warm weather we had enjoyed in southern Florida for the past three months, hitching up the trailer in this cold weather was brutal. We departed the South Sulphur Unit Campground at Coopers Lake State Park in Sulphur Springs, Texas at 7:30 a.m. The rain had thankfully passed on to the east and we were greeted with a clear sunny sky. The downside was the wind, which was forecast to have gusts up to 35 mph throughout the day. Our first stop was to the McDonalds in Sulphur Springs for our morning caffeine fix. We ordered two of their Caramel Lattes, large size, of course! Our next stop was to a self car wash. These types of car washes are perfect for cleaning our tow vehicle and trailer while hitched up. After about 45 minutes, we had our tow vehicle and trailer washed and ready to roll. We arrived at Little House Customs at 9:50 a.m., ten minutes early for our 10:00 a.m. appointment. I hate to be late for an appointment!

Little House Customs is well known to owners of Casita Travel Trailer. The owners, Larry and Debbie, provide a mail-order business of parts and accessories for our trailers. They also provide installation services for numerous upgrades for Casita and other fiberglass trailers at their shop and also at fiberglass trailer rally’s.

Our first visit to Little House Customs was in December 2012. At that time Larry installed four BAL Stabilizers, a two-step entry step, an extended length door latch and fabricated and welded a metal frame to the tongue of the trailer to hold a DeeZee Tool Box.

On this visit Larry installed three window awnings, and two MaxxAir window vents. We are very pleased with our selection of the color and pattern of the awnings. The awnings and window vents look great and will provide us with additional shade on sunny days, as well as more privacy at night with the window blinds open. The window vents will provide us with additional ventilation during inclement weather. Once again, Larry did an outstanding job on the installations. On Monday, Larry will install the fast-drain modification on our gray water tank.

With the projects scheduled for today completed, Larry and Debbie invited us to dinner at the East Fork Restaurant, located a few miles from their shop at the intersections of TX-515 and TX-154. We had dined with them at this restaurant during our visit in December 2012. This is a very large restaurant with one section containing a bar with a large dance floor. The food is delicious, featuring all-you-can-eat daily specials. On Sunday nights, all of the all-you-can-eat daily specials are available to order. The servings are quite large, so I don’t think they have too many takers for additional servings.

Aside from enjoying good food at the East Fork Restaurant, Larry and Debbie are very enjoyable people to socialize with and carry on interesting conversations. Sharon and I truly enjoy their friendship, hospitality and accommodations during our visits.

After dinner, we returned to their shop and retired to the kitchen to enjoy a dessert Debbie had made earlier that day. The dessert was a delicious peach and apple combination type of cobbler. OMG! This dessert is to die for. If this dessert was listed on their mail-order website, we would order it!

Time to retire for the evening. Larry and Debbie retired to their home, located a short distance from the shop, and Sharon and I retired to the comfort of our Casita trailer parked inside of their shop.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Sulphur Springs, TX - 03/23/13

Saturday – 03/23/13

A cold front from the north dipped down into northeast Texas this weekend, plunging temperatures into the low 50’s during the day. We had rainy weather throughout the day on Friday and Saturday, making for some cold and damp dreary days of camping. Fortunately, our trusty electric heater kept us warm and cozy in our Casita trailer.

We decided to take a tour of Sulphur Springs, Texas today. Downtown Sulphur Springs is a quaint old town square that has been wonderfully restored. The interior of the lovely landscaped and brick paved square is anchored on one corner by an amazing courthouse that was entered into The National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The exterior surface of the courthouse has been restored with a beautiful shade and pattern of black and pink speckled granite stone. The streets surrounding the square have been restored with brick pavers that complement the exterior color of the courthouse. As the visitor enters the Town Square from any direction, their attention is immediately drawn to this magnificent courthouse.

Another interior corner contains a wonderful memorial to U.S. Military War Veterans from Hopkins County, Texas. Seven massive white marble pillars, approximately five feet high by ten feet wide by two feet thick, are seated on a base and topped off by granite stone two feet square by ten foot wide. The granite stone has the same speckled color and pattern that is used on the courthouse. The pillars are positioned about ten feet apart forming a semi-circle. Both sides of each pillar have the names of the war veterans inscribed on their surfaces. A flagpole is positioned in front of each pillar, with each pole flying the flag of a particular branch of the U.S. Military Service with the first pole flying the flag of the state of Texas. The flag of the United States is proudly flown on a flagpole positioned in the center of the square.

Very unique features of the town square interior draw the visitor into two spaces. One side of the Town Square contains a chessboard inlaid into a concrete surface. Movable chess pieces approximately two and one-half foot high are positioned on the chessboard. Another side of the Town Square contains a checkerboard inlaid into a concrete surface. Movable checker pieces approximately one and one-half feet in diameter and one foot thick are positioned on the checkerboard. The positions of the game pieces on both game boards appear as though the games are actually in progress.

An unusual feature we have never seen in our visits throughout the United States to other town squares is the restroom facilities the Town Square of Sulphur Springs possesses. The visitor to this town square is presented with a vision of two buildings, approximately six feet square by seven feet high. Both are constructed with a reflective mirror-like material on their outer surfaces, including an access door. Upon opening the door, the visitor discovers there is a functional stainless steel flush toilet and stainless steel wash basin inside, available for use by the visiting public. One building is located adjacent to the chessboard and the other is located adjacent to the checkerboard. What a novel approach to a public comfort station!

The various businesses surrounding the square are comprised of sandwich shops, boutique shops and antique shops. It was so refreshing to have visited a revitalized and what appeared to be a thriving town square.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Cooper Lake SP, TX - 03/21/13

Thursday – 03/21/13

We departed the 24-hour Walmart on Mansfield road in Shreveport, Louisiana at 8:45 a.m. Our destination today is the South Sulphur Campground at Cooper Lake State Park near Sulphur Springs, Texas. We arrived at the campground at 12:20 p.m. We selected a lakefront site, #13, and in no time at all had our campsite set up for a 3-day stay.

A cold front from the north has pushed the daytime temperature here down into the 50’s and 60’s and nighttime temperature into the 30’s and 40’s extending into next week. This is quite a dramatic change in the weather for us compared to the 70 and 80 degrees daytime temperatures we enjoyed during our stay in Florida.

South Sulphur and Doctors Creek comprise the two units of Cooper Lake State Park and offer a great variety of water and land recreation. With 2,560 acres and more than 25 miles of shoreline, visitors can enjoy the park’s spectacular scenery by boat, foot or on horseback, or just enjoy breathtaking sunsets over the 19,300-acre lake.

The South Sulphur Unit has four campgrounds: Bright Star, Deer Haven, Oak Grove and Buggy Whip.

All of the campgrounds, except Oak Grove, offer RV and tent camping, with electric and water hookups at each campsite. Oak Grove offers primitive tent camping only. Buggy Whip is an equestrian camping area and provides hitching rails for the camper’s horses. There are restroom facilities at each campground with flush toilets and hot showers.

We look forward to a restful night in this lovely state park.

Camping Fee: $16.00 per night plus $5.00 per adult per day park entrance fee.
Campsite: 13

Total miles traveled: 153

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Goodbye New Orleans - 03/20/13

Wednesday – 03/20/13

Time to move on. We have completed a wonderful 3-day stay in New Orleans. Our destination today is Shreveport, Louisiana.

We departed St. Bernard State Park in Braithwaite, Louisiana at 12:15 p.m. Our route will take us west on I-10 to north on I-49 to our destination. We arrived at the 24-hour Walmart on Mansfield road in Shreveport at 7:10 p.m. This will be our home for the evening.

About 8:00 p.m. a young woman, probably in her mid-20’s, drove up and stopped to inquire about our trailer. She travels frequently to participate in horseback riding events and has been looking for a small trailer to replace a tent she uses for living accommodations while away from home. We provided her with a tour of our trailer and a brochure on Casita Travel Trailers.

We settled in for a good night’s rest.

Camping Fee: Free

Total miles traveled: 362

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Wedding Anniversary - 03/19/13

Tuesday – 03/19/13

This is our special day of the year; we are celebrating our 34^th wedding anniversary. We are so fortunate to continue to enjoy such a special loving relationship together all these years. We have truly found our soulmates in each other. We spent a laid back morning and early afternoon relaxing and enjoying the warm sunny weather, with the temperature in the mid-70’s. Later in the afternoon we drove into New Orleans for a late lunch at Katie’s, one of our favorite restaurants.

Katie's Restaurant was featured on Diners, Drive-in’s & Dives on the Food Network in 2011. It is a small restaurant, about 20 tables plus a bar, with outside dining also available. It is located on the corner of Iberville and Telemachus streets in a residential neighborhood. It is quite far from the French Quarter and definitely not within walking distance from there.

Parking is free, but finding an open parking space in the neighborhood can be difficult. The streets are very narrow and will challenge your parallel parking skills, especially if you have a large SUV or full size Van. Since we have a full size van we found adequate parking to accommodate large vehicles on Bienville Ave. Parking on this street puts diners within two blocks of the restaurant.

Katie’s provides the diner with delicious innovative food preparations and a friendly, attentive wait staff. On this visit, Sharon ordered the fried catfish platter and I ordered the stuffed shrimp seafood pasta. Both dishes were outstanding. We really appreciate the joy of dining at Katie’s. We will return again next year.

We enjoyed the gift of sharing another day together.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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New Orleans - 03/18/13

Monday – March 18, 2013

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning at the St. Bernard State Park near New Orleans, Louisiana. The temperature is forecast to reach 80 degrees today. A perfect day for a visit to the French Quarter in New Orleans, so off we go!

The mighty Mississippi River winds it way through New Orleans on its way to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. This presents special challenges to motorists driving into New Orleans from the surrounding areas. Fortunately, there are water ferry’s available to provide shortcuts to get into the city. Five miles from the St. Bernard’s State Park campground we boarded the Plaquemine Pride Ferry in our Ford E150 Cargo Van for a seven-minute ride across the Mississippi. The ride is free going and costs $1.00 per 2-axle vehicle coming back. We then drove 10 miles to the parking lot for the Algiers Ferry at 1 Morgan Street in New Orleans. All day parking is $5.00 on weekdays and $10.00 on weekends. The Algiers Ferry transports pedestrians and vehicles across the Mississippi River in five minutes and docks at the entry point to the French Quarter in New Orleans. The ferry is free for pedestrians and charges $1.00 per 2-axle vehicle. Taking the two ferries’s saved us driving an additional 15 miles.

Upon our arrival to the French Quarter at 1:30 p.m., we toured the Riverwalk that runs parallel to the Mississippi River. This is a fascinating area to explore in terms of viewing the numerous massive ocean freighters entering the New Orleans port from the Gulf of Mexico. We were fortunate to observe a cruise ship departing the port that will hopefully provide its passengers with a pleasurable cruise; free of any malfunctions that has recently plagued some cruise lines.

We toured Bourbon Street and Royal Street, two of the most popular streets in the French Quarter. Most of the tourists must have worn themselves out on St. Patrick’s Day, because there were not that many people or street performers on the streets while we were there.

Around 3:30 p.m. we decided we needed to give our legs a rest and have a late afternoon lunch. We discovered a quaint restaurant, Pier 424 Seafood Market on Bourbon Street. We secured a street side table so we could pass our time people watching. It felt so good to sit down and relax in an air-conditioned area after having walked about 5 miles. I ordered ½ dozen of their oyster rockefeller as an appetizer and for our main course we both ordered the jambalaya pasta. We finished off the meal with a piece of cheesecake covered with a berry sauce. The food was delicious, the service was exceptional, the lively activity on Bourbon Street enjoyable to observe. This restaurant is now on our list for a return visit next year.

We returned to the Riverwalk around 6:00 p.m. to hopefully catch a glimpse of any ocean freighters or barges traversing the Mississippi River. We were not disappointed. A barge ship was approaching the Riverwalk area pushing 20 barges, 5 across by 4 deep. We had never seen a barge ship pushing this many barges before. As the barge ship approached us, around the bend in the river some distance behind the barge, was a massive ocean freighter approaching. It soon became apparent the ocean freighter was traversing the river faster than the barge ship and it’s cargo. Within a matter of minutes the ocean freighter caught up to the barge and passed it. Soon, both vessels disappeared under a bridge in the distance.

A magnificent ending to our day of exploring the French Quarter in New Orleans.

We returned to our campsite at the St. Bernard State Park contented with our exploration for the day.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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St Bernard State Park - 03/17/13

Sunday – March 17, 2013

We spent a restful night in the RV parking lot at the Boomtown Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. We headed over to the casino for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. There were a few cars in the parking lot and once inside the casino it was like a ghost town compared to the mass of people there the night before. There were a few people working the slot machines and one woman gambling at one of the gaming tables.

The buffet did not open until 11:00 a.m. so we headed over to the 24-hour grill. They had an excellent breakfast menu posted. I ordered two scrambled eggs, with two sausage patties and whole wheat toast. Sharon ordered the pancakes with two sausage patties. We both ordered decaffeinated coffee. We ordered our breakfast to go so we could enjoy it in the comfort of our trailer. The breakfast was delicious and we were now fortified to continue on our journey.

We departed the casino at 8:05 a.m. Our destination is the St. Bernard State Park in Braithwaite, Louisiana. This park is conveniently located 19 miles from New Orleans. We arrived there at 11:00 a.m. Since it is Sunday, the park was still partially filled with weekend campers. However, there were four campsites available; we selected site #32 and got settled in. We had stayed at this campground in late December 2012, and were told at the time that this campground never gets filled up. We will spend three nights here on this visit.

There are 51 campsites at this state park, with electric and water hookups at each site. There is one restroom facility with flush toilets and hot water showers. The restroom facility also contains two washers and two dryers in a separate part of the building. The washers and dryers cost $1.00 each. There is free WiFi available throughout the campground, but it was being repaired due to damage from hurricane Isaac in 2012.

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing under a sunny sky with the temperature in the mid-70’s.

Camping Fee: $22.00 the first night, $16.00 for each additional night.
Campsite: 32

Total miles traveled: 98

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Boomtown Casino, Biloxi, MS - 03/16/13

Saturday – March 16, 2013

Our hopes for a peaceful nights rest was not to be here at the St. Andrews State Park Campground in Panama City Beach, Florida. We were awakened at midnight by several college students talking very loud with continuous laughter. In addition, a large campfire had been started and someone was chopping wood! The four college girls camping on one side of us, had been joined by the three college boys and two college girls camping on the other side of us, plus two more college boys had joined the party. This boisterous party continued until 2:30 a.m. before quiet returned to the campground.

I awoke at 6:30 a.m. and decided it was payback time for our college partygoers on both sides of us. I was walking around our campsite, coughing quite loud, slamming the doors on our van, and talking in a loud voice to Sharon. The noise I had generated had aroused a couple of dogs in RV’s close to our campsite and they started barking incessantly. I could hear murmurs coming from the college tent campers on both sides of us. One of the college girls came out of her tent, groggy and sleepy-eyed, and gave me a dirty look. I just smiled at her. Pleased with myself, I retired inside our trailer to get ready for breakfast.

We departed the campground at 7:40 a.m. to meet my son for breakfast at The Egg & I Restaurant in Panama City Beach. As we were leaving our campsite, the groggy looking college girl was still sitting outside, apparently sleep deprived and not feeling too well. We could relate to the sleep deprivation that they had caused us for 2-1/2 hours earlier in the morning.

We had a wonderful breakfast with my son, said our good-byes and returned to the St. Andrews State Park campground to hook up our trailer. We have completed our two-day stay here. We departed the park this morning at 10:15 a.m. Our destination today is somewhere close to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Our route to New Orleans took us west on US-98 out of Panama City, Florida. This route was bogged down with heavy traffic due to college students returning to school from their Spring Break. Traffic crawled along at about 25 mph for about 15 miles. The majority of the traffic was taking FL-79 north up to I-10. We decided to continue west on US-98 and take US-331 north to I-10. Once we passed FL-79 the traffic opened up and we were able to travel at the speed limit of 55 mph. We took US-331 north, but at FL-20 the northbound traffic was backed up to I-10. Thankfully, we were in the left lane and able to take FL-20 west to FL-85 north up to I-10. Once we got onto FL-20 we were able to travel at the speed limit with minimal traffic. We made a mental note to never again visit Panama City, Florida during Spring Break.

Traffic on westbound I-10 through Florida was moving at the speed limit until we approached the tunnel at Pensacola, Florida. Traffic was backed up for about 8 miles. There were no reports on our CB radio of any accidents on westbound I-10. Once we got through the tunnel, traffic resumed to the speed limit. It is a long tunnel, so I guess the backup was due to drivers being overly cautious driving through it.

Slow travel through Florida ruled out any hope of reaching New Orleans before dark. We decided we would spend the night at a Gambling Casino RV parking lot in Biloxi, Mississippi. We discovered a nice location at the Boomtown Casino at 5:55 p.m. They have a large RV parking lot, patrolled by 24-hour security. There were several other RV’s there, so we felt this would be a safe location for us to spend the night.

Once we got settled in, we walked over to the Casino to check it out. The place was packed! It looked like just about every slot machine was being played and the gaming tables were filled. The Buffet area had a long waiting line, so we did not have an opportunity to see what it had to offer. We are not gamblers, but felt it would be appropriate to visit the Casino in appreciation for the free parking space they provided us for the night. We decided we would have breakfast at the Casino in the morning.

Camping Fee: Free

Total miles traveled: 246

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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St Andrews State Park - 03/15/13

Friday – March 15, 2013

We awoke to a warm sunny morning at the St. Andrews State Park Campground in Panama City Beach, Florida. Much to our surprise, the college students that are camped on each side of us were well behaved and quiet, allowing us a much-needed night of rest last night.

The weather forecast is for a sunny day with the temperature in the low 70’s. Sounds like a good day to explore St. Andrew State Park, so off we go.

Well-known for its sugar white sands and emerald green waters, this former military reservation has over one-and-a-half miles of beaches on the Gulf of Mexico and Grand Lagoon. Water sports enthusiasts can enjoy swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, and canoeing. Two fishing piers, a jetty, and a boat ramp provide ample fishing opportunities for anglers. Two nature trails wind through a rich diversity of coastal plant communities - a splendid opportunity for bird-watching. Those wanting to relax can sunbathe on the beach or enjoy a leisurely lunch under the shade of a picnic pavilion.

The St. Andrews Park campground has 176 campsites with electric and water hookups. There are four restroom facilities with flush toilets and hot water showers and two dump stations. The downside to this campground is the campsites are very close to one another and offer no privacy between campsites.

My son, his wife and our 13-year old grandson were planning to visit us at our campsite this evening, but only my son could make it. Our daughter-in-law and grandson were not feeling well and running high temperatures. My son arrived at 4:00 p.m. and we had a very nice visit. He had to work that evening and left at 5:30 p.m. We agreed to meet for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday at The Egg and I restaurant in Panama City Beach.

We retired for the evening at 10:00 p.m. hoping to spend a quiet restful evening.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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Panama City FL - 03/14/13

Thursday – 03/14/13

We departed the Wright Lake Campground in the Apalachicola National Forest at 8:05 a.m. Our destination is the St. Andrews State Park Campground in Panama City Beach, Florida. We took FL-65 south to US-98 west.

Route US-98 takes the traveler past the Tyndall Air Force Base, home to the awesome F-22 Raptor fighter jet. The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation super maneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles. To see these jets take off, soar through the sky above and land was a wonderful display of the powerful technology these jets possess.

We arrived at St. Andrews State Park at 10:35 a.m. We had made reservations for a two-night stay, one week prior to our arrival. This is a very scenic campground overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. However, as we have seen in our many visits to other Florida State Parks, the campsites are densely populated throughout the campground, offering very little privacy between campsites. We generally avoid these types of campgrounds, but we are meeting with family members who live in Panama City Beach, and this area provides a convenient meeting location.

Checkout time is 1:00 p.m. and our campsite was still occupied. To kill time, we dropped our trailer in the Visitor Center parking lot and drove six miles to a Walmart to get a prescription filled for Sharon. The Walmart was adjacent to a Strip Mall that contained a Five Guys Hamburger retail outlet. It was 12:30 p.m. Time for lunch! This was our first visit. Sharon ordered the cheeseburger and I ordered the bacon cheeseburger with one order of french fries. OMG! The hamburgers were outrageously large, but oh so good. The french fries were very tasty and enough to actually fill two orders of fries at any other hamburger chain.

We returned to St. Andrews State Park at 2:10 p.m. Our campsite was now empty and available for us to occupy. We settled into our campsite and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

We met my son, his wife and our 13-year old grandson for dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Boatyard Restaurant in Panama City Beach, Florida. It had been a few years since we had seen them, so we had a wonderful time reestablishing our relationship. We enjoyed a delightful dinner consisting of french fried shrimp, fish tacos and a shrimp bow-tie pasta dish. During dinner my son informed us we were visiting Panama City during Spring Break for the college students and it would probably be noisy at our campground that night.

After dinner, we invited my son and his family to visit us at our campsite on Friday afternoon.

We returned to our campsite at 9:00 p.m. True to my son’s predictions, several college students had settled into the campground. There were three boys and two girls pitching their tents in the campsite next to ours on one side and four girls had already settled into the campsite on the other side of us. Our campsite was now sandwiched in between two groups of college students on Spring Break. Both groups were respectful of the other campers and kept the noise to a tolerable level. We retired for the evening at 11:00 p.m. hoping to spend a quiet restful evening.

Camping Fee: $28.00 per night.
Campsite: 77

Total miles traveled: 106

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

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