Heading South in Texas

Thursday, 19 December
Somewhere on TX-35 South

After four nights in Pensacola, we’re on the final leg of a five-day trip that will end in Port Aransas today.

We didn’t do much more than chores and errands while in Pensacola.  Using a run to Joe Patti’s to stock up on fresh fish and shrimp as an excuse, we did squeeze in lunch at McGuire’s Irish Pub into our schedule — yummy Senate bean soup and naked fish & chips as good as always.  We had hoped to share that lunch with Chuck and Anneke (of Goldenshoe RV Trip fame), but since both Anneke and I were nursing colds, we postponed the meet-up until the next time our paths cross.

We left Pensacola bright and early on Sunday, 15 December.  The lack of traffic made for an easy day of driving.  We were unfortunately witness to two sad events en route.  The first was a pick-up truck in flames along I-10W; at least the driver and passengers were standing safely outside the vehicle — something for which to be grateful.  The other was a man on the “wrong” side of the railing on the Horace Wilkinson Bridge in Baton Rouge.  The eastbound lanes of the bridge were locked down with traffic backed up for a couple of miles while the police were attempting to talk the man down (no pun intended).  I searched the web the next day hoping for news that they were successful, but the only item I found seemed to indicate that the man did in fact jump.  One has to wonder what would drive someone to take such a drastic step during the holiday season.

The first three days of our trip covered 548 miles (877 km) from Pensacola, FL to Houston, TX.

We drove 329 miles (526 km) on Sunday to overnight at the Frog City RV Park in Duson, Louisiana.  Tucked in behind a Super 8, and with easy access to I-10, this Passport America campground welcomed us not only with warm chocolate chip cookies, but a special Christmas treat as well!

Welcome treats from the Frog City RV Park!

We found Frog City to be quiet, clean, and well maintained with decently spaced pull-through FHU sites ($20.17 Passport America rate).  In fact, we would consider basing ourselves here to explore the Lafayette area when our travels take us back to Louisiana.

Phaeton settled into Site 14 between Green Frog Lane and Mystery Frog Lane.

After a good night’s rest, we were up Monday at 5:30a for what we hoped would be an early start to our next stop — Beaumont, TX.  After all, the reason we had driven all those miles the day before was to hopefully carve out some time on this day to stop by and say an unannounced hello to Judy (of Travels With Emma fame) at Anahuac NWR.  One look at the 35F (1.6C) on the thermometer had us delaying our departure until the temperature rose to a more comfortable 50F (10C).  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen until 10:00a, thus changing our plans for the remainder of this travel day.  (Sorry, Judy; we’ll catch you another time.)

The 128-mile (205 km) drive on I-10W was another easy one.  The only stop we made, other than to top off our diesel, was at the Orange Visitor Center just over the LA/TX stateline.  After picking up a selection of brochures and maps, we extended our rest break with a walk on the short boardwalk that leads out to the Blue Elbow Swamp.

Glimpse of the swamp and the end of the raised boardwalk at the Orange Visitor Center.

Our mid-day timing was less-than optimum for sighting any wildlife.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed the short walk in the sunshine, taking the time to read the informative panels along the way before returning to the coach for lunch.

Informative panels like these provide interesting information as one walks the swamp boardwalk.
[click for more legible versions if interested]

It was after 2:00p when we rolled into the Gulf Coast RV Resort in Beaumont, TX.  Could we have pushed onto Houston, our destination for the next two nights?  Absolutely.  However, we had a service appointment at Beaumont Freightliner the next morning.  Hence the overnight here.  Our reservation netted us a pull-through end site in the front row where we joined the rest of the transients for a one-night stay.  The $36 rate (with a 10% Good Sam discount), included breakfast in the club house served between 7-9:30a.

Little did we know that there was a Phaeton convention at the campground!
(not really, but that’s what it felt like with two other Phaetonites in the sites to our left.) 

After we were settled, Mui hopped in the car to go find the Freightliner shop.  Should have guessed things weren’t going to go the way we had planned when he returned to say all was good, but that there were only two RVs in the parking lot.  (More on that later.)  Anyway, as it was already 4:30p by then, we headed out for an early dinner at Pappadeux Seafood Kitchen nearby.  I neglected to take my camera, so no photos of the calamari and grilled flounder we shared; or the chocolate cake we doggie-bagged to eat at home later.  Suffice it to say that the food was good — if a bit overpriced for the area.

Tuesday morning we were up at 5:30a.  Again the temperature was 35F (1.6C).  Since we had an 8:00a appointment with Freightliner, however, we didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the day to warm up this time.  At 7:00a, we walked over to the club house to avail ourselves of the self-serve breakfast, which included biscuits and gravy as well as make-your-own waffles.  By 7:30a, we were parked at the Freightliner facility just a few miles down the road from the campground.

The Phaeton waiting for the Freightliner service bays to open for business.

Mui went to the service counter and had the ticket written up for our annual maintenance work.  8:00a came and went with no sign of anyone coming to take the Phaeton into a service bay.  Normally, that wouldn’t bother us as we know that truck centers often run on a different schedule.  This time, though, Mui was antsy to get going as we had business to take care of in Houston, and he didn’t know how long that would take.  So, when 9:00a also came and went with no sign of any movement, he made the decision to cancel the service and move on.  Technically, we have until February-March 2014 to get our annual service done, so we’ll try again after the first of the year — this time at an RV service center.

(Once we’re settled in one place for a while, we will question Gaffney about Beaumont Freightliner’s membership in the Oasis Network.  This network is, in their words, “tailored to the motorhome customer.”  From what we saw, that’s not the case in Beaumont.)

The short 87-mile (139 km) drive to Houston was uneventful.  With helpful hints from the Z’s, our Texas-based friends and fellow-Phaetonites, we navigated easily through the non-rush hour traffic to a campground MBZ had suggested.  Located just off the South Freeway, and 11 miles (18 km) from the Galleria area where most of our business was centered, Advanced RV Resort turned out to be the perfect place for a two-night stay.  The gated facility was well-maintained, with none of the clutter that usually marks campgrounds that have a large resident population.  Our pull-through FHU site came to $45/night with the Good Sam discount.  Yes, a little pricey, but worth it for the convenience and comfort factor.

The Phaeton in site 810 at Advanced RV Resort.

We made short work of settling into our site.  By 12:30p, we were on our way to the Turkish Consulate to drop off the paperwork for a power of attorney and a few other documents that we needed to have verified.  We went there hoping that if we dropped off the paperwork on Tuesday that we could pick up the documents the next day.  Surprise, surprise!  They asked us to wait and we had everything we had come for in our hands within the hour.

The rest of our business in Houston went just as smoothly, and by 4:00p we were back at the campground for a quiet evening at home.

Unlike the beautiful blue skies that had welcomed us to Houston the previous day, Wednesday dawned foggy and overcast.  Neither lasted long, but for a while we could barely see the Houston skyline (seen in the photo above) through the haze.  Undeterred, we headed back into the city around 9:30a for a Costco shopping run before meeting the Z’s for lunch.

My online friendship with MBZ started what seems like ages ago when we exchanged information about past trips.  We had an opportunity to meet the Z’s in person for the first time in 2010 when we happened to be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to embark on Caribbean cruises leaving within a day of each other.  Having hit it off so well then, we were really looking forward to getting together with them again … if only for a few hours.

At their suggestion, we met up at Danton’s for a delicious seafood lunch that included raw oysters and campechanas (both of which are pictured above).  Alas, we were having such a grand time that I completely spaced out having the waiter take a picture of us.  Oh well, next time.  And there will be a next time … hopefully sooner rather than later.

And thus we concluded our brief stay in Houston.  We were on the road south by 7:15a this morning.  But, that part of the story will have to wait until another time.  We’re about to take the Phaeton for its FIRST ferry ride.  I had better pay attention to make sure that Mui pays attention to the ferry loaders’ directions ;-)

And So Our 2nd Year of Fulltiming Begins

Thursday, 12 December
Oak Grove park — NAS Pensacola, Florida
Temps: Lo 38F (3C) / Hi 61F (16C)

Had we not pulled in headfirst to the back-in waterfront site we snagged when we arrived at Oak Grove Park yesterday, we likely would have missed the brilliant red sunrise belt that trimmed the horizon at dawn this morning.

Definitely worth the hassle of connecting the hook-ups on the wrong side of the coach!

It was only 6:30a, and it was still a quite chilly 45F (7C), but we quickly bundled up and made our way to the sugar white beach a short distance from our site to enjoy a few quiet moments.  Alas, it wasn’t long before the breeze drove us back to the cozy shelter of the Phaeton.  Beach walks are going to have to wait until later in the day until the temps warm up!

Our day was otherwise uneventful.  We came to Pensacola to do some chores and provision the coach after being away from our “condo on wheels” for 3½ months.  The story of those months away is yet to be told.  In the meantime, it’s time to begin the story of another year of fulltiming.

When we put the Phaeton in storage on 24 August, we knew that the rest of our first year of fulltiming would be spent away from the motorhome.  At the time, the map of our travels to date looked like this …

Our Phaeton Journeys … at the point when we called a temporary halt to our
days on the road, we had traveled 4,710 miles (7,536 km) in our home on wheels.

When we disembarked Celebrity Constellation following the TransAtlantic cruise that returned us to the US on 9 December, we wiped the miles-driven-slate clean to begin our second year on the road.  An easy drive brought us from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando.  We picked up the Phaeton from storage, stayed overnight at the Orlando Winter Garden RV Resort, and turned our wheels north and then west on 10 December.

As a side note, I should mention that we were very happy to find that no uninvited guests — I speak of the 4-legged critters known as mice — had visited the Phaeton during her incarceration at the storage facility.  As well, the solar panels had done a great job of keeping all the batteries charged up and the coach purred to life as soon as Mui switched the ignition on.  The toad’s battery didn’t fare as well, I’m afraid.  Mui had installed a solar panel to charge the CR-V’s battery, but somehow the connection got loose.  In short, the car was dead as a doornail.  Still, it wasn’t a huge problem as the storage facility had the means to give us a jump and the short drive to the campground in Orlando was sufficient to bring the battery back to full charge.

The only problem we had with the coach was a minor one — the doorsteps refused to extend.  Mui was all set to check that out in Pensacola, but a miracle happened at the end of our first full day on the road — I opened the door when we arrived at the campground and the steps extended of their own volition.  Ours is not to question why, but to accept when such gremlins work themselves out ;-)

OK … back to the story of these past few days.

Whereas our first year of fulltiming started in Virginia, our second year starts in Florida.

We split the 444-mile (710 km) drive from Orlando to Pensacola into two days, driving a little more than half the way on Tuesday.  We stayed at the Beaver Lake Campground in Quincy, Florida that night.  As we had stayed at this campground when we made the trek from Jacksonville to Pensacola in January of this year, we knew not to expect much.  In fact, this Passport America campground is little more than a big grass field with pull-through FHU sites ($20/night with the PA discount).  This time we were in site 4, which was identical to the site we had stayed in the first time around.  The campground served as a convenient overnight stop and we got a good night’s rest with no traffic noise despite our close proximity to I-10.

In her infinite wisdom, The campground manager bunched together the five rigs that are here.
No big deal; it’s for one night only and our neighbors are as quiet as church mice.

Wednesday morning we were up at 5:30a with plans to be on the road by 8:00a — wanted to give the 39F (4C) temperature to which we woke up a chance to warm up before we had to go outside to break camp!  We would have met that timelime if not for a stubborn jack that refused to retract.  No matter, going through the troubleshooting steps, we re-programmed the “home” position for that leg and were on the road after a mere 30-minute delay.

We drove the remaining 176 miles (282 km) to Pensacola in good time, arriving at the Oak Grove Park at NAS (Naval Air Station) Pensacola in time for lunch.  And who should welcome us but the Navy’s elite Blue Angels.  I had heard that they were grounded due to the sequestration, so seeing them whizzing about was a delightful surprise.  Alas, no photos as we were in the midst of setting up, but here’s a link to a blog post from September 2012 when we were lucky enough to catch another practice session.  One of these years we’ll time it right to see an actual show!

Site 50 has plenty of space separating it from 49 (left) and 51 (right).

We’re in site 50, which is described as a “waterfront” site.  Since we pulled in headfirst, we do have a glimpse of Pensacola Bay through the trees and brush that separate the campground from the beach, but the water is several hundred yards away.  No matter, the beach access is just steps away, and we’ve already walked out that way a couple of times.

Glimpse of Pensacola Bay through the Phaeton’s windshield.

The waterfront FHU sites are $27/night.  At first we debated paying the $4 surcharge over the daily rate for the standard FHU sites, but after this morning’s beautiful sunrise, we’re agreed that we made the right decision.

Left: The beach access is just steps away from the sugar white sands and the bay.

Right: Can you see the Phaeton in site 50 in the top photo?  If not, I’ve included a
close up of her to prove that she is indeed hidden back there amongst the trees.

Ah yes … this is the beach we remember from September 2012.  It was hot then and Mui
delighted in swimming in the bay.  With the temp much colder now, he has no plans for a dip.

White sand … tall trees … puffy clouds … blue skies … sunshine …
and a campground nestled behind the treeline.

Once we were settled into our site, we ran over to Walmart for a few essentials, then returned to the coach to tackle the chores awaiting us after being away from home for such a long time.  Today was similarly taken up with chores.  Mui drove to our Pensacola-based mail service to pick up 3½-month’s worth of mail and the boxes of Arctic gear we shipped back from Iceland in early October.  Next he finished provisioning the Phaeton with a much-anticipated trip to the commissary.  I got a head start on the laundry and the household bookkeeping.  When Mui returned to the Phaeton, we took a break for a short walk on the beach.  It felt good to be out there in the sunshine even if we did have to bundle up.

My first shorebird photograph as we begin year two of fulltiming is of a willet
on the beach at Oak Grove Park.  Hopefully many more will follow!

We’ll be in Pensacola a few more days before we continue west to Texas, where we plan to spend the winter.  Not sure if we’ll be doing much of anything fun during our remaining time here.  I’m nursing a cold and Mui’s battling a sinus infection, so it’s probably best we take it easy before we embark on our week-long drive on Sunday.

"Two to Travel" is Back Home

Monday, 9 December
Winter Garden, Florida

We concluded our 107-day vacation this morning when the Celebrity Constellation docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

By 3:00p, the Phaeton had broken her shackles and left storage.  She is celebrating her freedom at the Orlando Winter Garden RV Resort tonight. Tomorrow, we head to Pensacola for a few days of provisioning before heading further west for the winter.

We're back home!

What? Water in Fuel! Tell Me It Ain’t So …

Friday, 8 August
Pelican Roost RV Park — NS Mayport, Florida
Temps: Lo78F / Hi 87F [feels like 94F] (25.5C / 30.5C [34F])

When I clicked the “post” button on yesterday’s blog entry, we were about to pull into a Flying J in Georgia to fill up the Phaeton.  Little did I know then that our heretofore uneventful drive from South Carolina to Florida was about to take a slight turn towards becoming worrisome!

Our travel day had been dry up to that point, but just as we were approaching exit 29 on I-95, the skies opened up in a downpour.  Good timing, we thought — we can wait out the rain at the truckstop.  Turns out the canopy over the diesel pumps was leaking like a sieve!  No biggie; we’ve fueled in the rain before.  Except that when Mui finished topping off the tank this time and came inside to set the wheels rolling again, we got a much-dreaded alert: ! WATER IN FUEL.  Oh sh*t!!!!!

Mui drained some fuel from the filter and tried the engine again.  Same result — the amber light blinked on and off, but the text alert remained.  So, we vacated the truck lane we were in and found a parking spot amongst the semis.  Out came the phone and Mui dialed the number Mike Cody had drilled into our brains at Camp Freightliner — 1-800-FTL-HELP.  After discussing the problem, we were advised to get back on the road since the amber engine alert had gone off and all that remained was the text alert in the dash display.  It was strongly suggested that we head to the nearest Freightliner Service Center to get things checked out.  Turns out, that was in Jacksonville, Florida — our destination.

After filling out an incidence report with Flying J in case a claim needed to be filed, we got back on I-95 South.  We’d been told that water in the fuel would severely impact our speed, so Mui kept a close eye on the speedometer.  That we were able to maintain a speed of 60-65 mph (96-104 kph), and the Phaeton wasn’t handling any differently, gave us some comfort that perhaps the problem was minor after all.

Shortly after 4:00p, we pulled into the Tom Nehl Truck Center.  Mui had already spoken to the manager of this 24/7 Freightliner service center and had been assured that they would somehow fit us into their already packed service calendar … if only to verify the extent of the problem.  So, we completed the paperwork, unhooked the toad, found a spot out of the way of the trucks buzzing around, turned on the generator to get the A/C units humming, and settled down to wait.  Long story short, it was 9:30p before we got our turn at a bay.

The tech drained some fuel and then hooked the Phaeton up to a computer to run diagnostics.  The result: replacing the fuel filter and sensor should clear the problem.  And it did.  We both heaved a huge sigh of relief when 30 minutes later Mui turned on the engine and the text alert was gone.

It was nearing 11:00p by the time we were ready to pull out.  We had already driven more than we had planned for the day and debated staying overnight in the parking lot of the service center.  In the end, we decided to push on to the campground instead.  Of course, had we known that the exit we needed to take for the most direct route to NS Mayport was closed for construction, we might have reconsidered that decision.

What should have been an easy 338-mile (540 km) day,
turned out to be a not-so-easy 381-mile (610 km) day.

So, with Murphy striking a second time, we found ourselves taking a convoluted route to get to the base.  The good news — the roads were sort of familiar from our stay at the on-base campground last December, so we weren’t freaking out about getting lost.  Once we turned onto Mayport Road and saw the NS Mayport gate ahead of us, we heaved our second huge sigh of relief in as many hours.

Not so fast.  Murphy had another hurdle for us to jump — namely, the barriers that you find at the entrance to every military facility these days.  During the day, the barriers are easy to negotiate, but they place them in a tighter formation at night.  They’re OK if you’re just driving a regular vehicle; it’s more of a challenge when you’re 40 feet (12 m) long … and you’re towing to boot.  Anyway, another long story short, they had us go around the barriers, but the turn into the gate lane was just too short.  So, we had to hurry up and unhook the toad before we could make it through.

Finally, we were in the clear.  Despite the dark roads on base, we had no problems finding our way to Pelican Roost RV Park where we had reservations.  Of course, at 00:30a, there was no one around to check us in.  As luck would have it, however, one of our preferred waterfront sites was sitting empty.  We pulled in without wasting time, hooked up the electricity, opened the bedroom slides, and called it a day.  Dropping the jacks and completing the rest of the set-up chores could wait until morning.

Put on the breaks!  Murphy had one more trick up his sleeve.  I’d been reading in bed while we were waiting to be called into the service bay at Tom Nehl’s.  When the tech knocked on the door, I didn’t give the cup of water sitting on the ledge next to the bed another thought.  Yes, you guessed it.  It had fallen on the bed when we put the Phaeton in motion and there was a great big wet spot right where I was about to lay myself down!  So, to top off everything else, I got to sleep on the sofa last night.  Too tired to mess with making the sofa into a bed, I just put a spare sheet on the cushions and fell into bed.  Good thing I’m short enough to fit on the sofa ;-)

Despite the late bedtime, we were both up before sunrise this morning.  The perfect time to be out enjoying the cool morning and the light breeze.  We were too tired to head to the beach, but we did go out for a walk around the campground to take a look at the available waterfront sites in the light of day.  It didn’t take us long to realize that Site 11 was the best of the lot — FHU with more patio space than most of the other sites, and a clear view of the boat basin, which is surprisingly empty of vessels this time.  (Daily rate of $21.)

Once quiet hours were over, we unplugged from the electric pedestal, pulled in the bedroom slides, and properly positioned the coach on the concrete pad.  Before long, we were settled into our site, ready to make the most of it for the next two weeks.  While we got the afternoon sun at our site at Lake Greenwood, here we get the morning sun.  So a shift in routine is going to be essential.

View from the front of our site.

When the sun is out, it is hot, hot, hot.  But we knew that would be the case when we made the decision to return to Florida for a couple of weeks before our off-road adventures, which will commence on 25 August.  The good news is that we’re in full shade in the afternoon, and a lovely breeze makes it possible to sit outside in comfort.  In fact, I’m writing this post on the patio and loving every minute of being outdoors on a beautiful blue-sky day.

Not bad … not bad at all!

The beach is just down the road from the campground.  We skipped it today, but I see daily beach walks as part of our routine here.  There were a ton of birds on the beaches when we came here in December; hopefully they are still around.  I guess I’ll find out.  In the meantime, we’ll just let the dolphins in the boat channel entertain us.

Wrapping Up Mid-Bay Shores

Sunday, 19 May
Mid-Bay Shores, Maxwell-Gunter Rec Area — Niceville, Florida
Temps: Lo 69F / Hi 82F (20.5C / 28C)

Our time at Mid-Bay Shores is coming to an end.  Tomorrow, we take off for new stomping grounds.  But first, a wrap up of the past several days.

Thursday, 16 May …

We were up and out the door early to hike the nature trails at the Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park — one of the many Florida “gold medal” parks in this vicinity.  It is just 3.8 miles (6 km) from Mid-Bay Shores, so we initially planned to trike over there, but the heavy traffic on Route 20 was a deterrent.  Instead, we drove over, arriving a few minutes before they opened the gate at 8:00a. ($5 day-use fee.)

First on the agenda was a drive through the campground to check it out for a future stay.  Turns out we had to drive through part of it anyway to get to the trailhead.  Nice campsites in a heavily wooded area; private and large; several with glimpses of Rocky Bayou; $16/night for W/E.  Sorry, no photos.

Starting out with a short walk from where we parked the car to get to the trailhead, we had our choice of two loops — the Rocky Bayou Trail (6/10ths of a mile [~1 km]) and the Sandpine Trail (1 mile [1.6 km]).

a polite reminder to enjoy the woods without doing anything to harm them.

Stream restoration is in progress in this area just before the trailhead.
In part, The sign reads: “In the 1950’s this stream was dammed to create what is now called
Puddin’ Head Lake.  This artificial lake is being drained and the steephead stream is being restored.”
(Click the photo on the left for a legible version of the sign.)

I’m not sure I can say that we enjoyed ourselves.  Our displeasure had nothing to do with the lack of critters to be seen.  Rather, despite our early start, it was already hot and humid, and our walk turned into a sticky one that was far from pleasant.  Add to that the flies that kept pestering us when we stopped to read about the plants and trees from the trail guides we had picked up.  In the end, we pretty much quick-stepped our way, taking some comfort in the fact that we were at least getting some exercise.

In the restoration area, pitcher plants are making a comeback.
Located right along the edge of the bridge, the only stand of pitcher plants
we saw were hard to photograph, but I did my best to capture them anyway.

Anticipating a walk to Rocky Bayou, we first did the shorter trail, which winds through “three distinct natural communities: sand pine scrub, coastal flatwoods, and slope forest.”  The only others we came across on this trail were two birders searching high and low for the birds chirping deep in the woods; they were disappointed at the lack of sightings.

A short side trail through the coastal flatwoods leads to the estuary of Rocky Bayou.
So far, we have hiked from 10 feet (3M) above sea level to 1 Foot (30 cm) above sea level!
Wow … was that strenuous or what ;-)))

From the signage: “After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,
Lt Col James Doolittle spent March 1942 at Eglin Field preparing his B-25 squadron
for the first retaliatory bombing of Japan. This historic 500 pound (227 kg) concrete
bomb from WWII is similar to those dropped by the B-25 bombers for training purposes.”

Sponge-like deer lichen (aka deer moss) is plentiful on the trail.
Lichens have no root system and absorb compounds from the atmosphere
for their nutrients.  Thus, their extensive presence is an indication of
good air quality.  They are also a good sand stabilizer and aid in the formation
of new soil.  The patches in the park have taken 75-100 years to develop.

Each lichen is a combination of a fungus and alga working symbiotically.  The alga
contains chlorophyll and can use the sun’s energy to make sugar, which becomes food
for the fungus.  The fungus absorbs water and nutrients from the soil and air for the alga.
[all deer lichen information from the trail guide]

Next we tackled the Sandpine Trail, which we had entirely to ourselves.  At one point, the trail splits off and one path runs by the stream, while the other one continues through the sandpine forest.  We attempted to walk the stream path, but it quickly became overgrown, so we returned to the main path to finish our walk.

Left: Bullrush gone to seed.
Right: teaberry

Can’t decide if this is a yellow-bellied slider or a Suwannee Cooter.
[park signage mentions the latter, but not the former.]

Hot and sticky after our walk, we welcomed the rush of cold air that came out of the car’s AC as we next made our way to Eglin AFB to fill the larder.  But first we went by Camp Robbins again.  I mentioned in a previous post that based on the description we had of cement pads that we didn’t think we had found the right place.  Turns out we had, and the pads in question were the small ones under the picnic tables.  It’s a rustic campground with FHU sites that didn’t look all that level to us; wi-fi coming this summer.  The real problem is that Eglin is a huge base, so this campground is quite a distance from everything.  We would probably stay here only a night or two just to do our grocery shopping and such on our way to a more conveniently located campground.

After completing our grocery shopping at the commissary, we made one more stop on base … this one at the FamCamp at Postal Point where Boggy Bayou meets Choctawhatchee Bay.  This campground is little more than haphazardly situated W/E sites in an open field; there is cable, but no wi-fi.  All the sites have expansive water-views, and the marina nearby makes it attractive for boaters and fishermen.  For us, it would make a good chill-out place.

(Sorry, no photos of either campground.)

Back home … quiet afternoon and evening to wrap up the day.

Friday, 17 May …

Hot and humid once again … good for a day at the beach.  After running some errands, we headed over to check out the Eglin Beach Park.  The FamCamp Manager had already alerted us that there was a special army event scheduled there, but we were hoping she had exaggerated the expected attendance of thousands of people.  She had not!  With the parking lot already filled to the gills, cars were parked for miles on either side of US 98.

So, we continued on to the Destin Army Rec Center to check it out for a future stay.

I’m going to have to admit that we were disappointed.  The sites were really closely spaced.  Probably not all that different from a lot of private campgrounds, but we’ve been staying in state parks and military campgrounds with some lovely sites, so this one came as a bit of a shock.  Add to that the fact that the campsites are located behind the cabins, and it didn’t take us long to decide we wouldn’t be taking advantage of the hospitality of this Rec Center.

I did manage a quick snapshot of the mural in the office before we left, so all wasn’t lost ;-)

And so we moved on to the fun part of our day and headed over to Henderson Beach State Park.  We had seen on the Destin beach cam that the gulf was choppy today, but we weren’t expecting the red flag flying at the park’s entrance.  Unwilling to shell out $6 to just sit on the beach, we drove on to one of the public beach access points.  The plan was to just take our chairs to sit and enjoy a late lunch on the beach.  But seeing the yellow flag flying on this segment of the beach, we parked at the Barracuda access path and took all of our paraphernalia with us instead.

Turns out that the public beach in this section is a narrow segment squeezed in between two private resort beaches, which had no-trespassing signs and warnings that the police would be called if someone should dare to occupy the chairs set up for their guests.  No problem; there was enough space in the public section for us to get a front row spot with a view of the rough surf.

What happened to the pond-calm water we enjoyed on Monday?

Not that the surf stopped us from going for frequent dips in the shallows.  In fact, the water was so warm that even I went for a full-dip.  No photos; Mui was in the water to give me an anchor to hang on to ;-)

No photos of us; but here’s one of the beach — beautiful despite the rough surf.

Quiet evening at home after our fun afternoon on the beach.

Saturday, 18 May …

Hot and humid ruled the day.  Disappointing because I was hoping for outside time to enjoy our site here at Mid-Bay Shores.

After chores during the first half of the day, we took off to check out one more campground located about 15 miles (24 km) from Mid-Bay Shores … one that came highly recommended by a lot of people.  Admittedly, we didn’t explore the trails or the beach at Topsail Hill Preserve, so we might have completely missed the attraction of staying here.  Those who have been … do tell what we missed!  We’re open to changing our minds.

All was not lost, however.  On the drive back home, I spotted a Bruster’s shop just a short distance before the turn-off for the Mid-Bay Connector.  Having read quite a bit about “the real ice cream” served there, we stopped to check it out.  Hmmm … hmmm … good.  Sorry no photos; it was too hot to dally with the camera.

Dinner consisted of grilled fresh grouper, which we picked up from a seafood market in Niceville yesterday.  Let me quickly disabuse anyone of the notion that Mui’s toasting a great stay at Mid-Bay Shores with a glass of milk.  Well, some do call it “lion’s milk,” but it’s more commonly known as rakı.  It is an unsweetened, anise-flavored alcoholic drink that is not dissimilar from the Greek ouzo.  I’ll take a  beer, thank you very much.

Back to today …

Dare I say that it was hot and humid … again?  Well, it was.

Today was pre-departure prep day, so we stayed home.  Since our next campground is water/electric only we took care of all the chores that require water.  Mui took advantage of the cooler morning hours to take down the screen shelter, and pack away the trikes and the tripod satellite dish.  After seeking shelter in the Phaeton during the hottest part of the day, we had a light dinner at our picnic table and went for a final walk on the beach.  Not an exciting day.

We’re not going far tomorrow … just a little over 100 miles (160 km), but the drive will take the Phaeton to a new state — the sixth one this year.  See you when we get there!

On the Water

Wednesday, 15 May
Mid-Bay Shores, Maxwell-Gunter Rec Area — Niceville, Florida
Temps: Lo 56F / Hi 81F (13C / 27C)

Mui had it in his mind to wash the coach today … it turned into a wash and wax job.

While Mui was working on the coach, I went for my morning walk on the beach.  I got a rather late start, so there weren’t many birds around.  But I did come across an American Coot not far from the boat channel at Lake Pippin.  I’ve seen coots before, but always from a distance, so I especially enjoyed the “see-the-red-of-its-eyes” close encounter.

It might swim like a duck, but The American coot is a closer relative of
sandhill cranes than of mallards.

I continued my walk around to White Point to check on the osprey family.  Mom and dad were home, but the chick was nowhere to be seen.  I didn’t wait around for junior to make an appearance as I had an assignment to take care of before the temp rose even higher.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

What did I need to do?  Rent a kayak from the campground office.  Taking advantage of Mui’s mid-morning break from coach-washing, we set out to enjoy the calm waters of Choctawhatchee Bay for a few hours.

The campground has a selection of tandem kayaks for rent for $5/hour.

Ready … set … kayak!

Not bad for a photo taken with back focus!
We really are offshore, but the water is not very deep.  How shallow is it?  See below.

Mui decides to go for a walk; and while at it, plays photographer.

Our kayak outing was lots of fun … even if we didn’t see a whole lot of birds or other critters.  Papa osprey flew over a couple of times, searching for sustenance for junior.  And there were some terns diving as well.  They looked a lot smaller than the ones I’ve seen in other places, so I was hoping they were least terns.  Sure enough, when one of them landed on the beach, I got my proof.

Least tern in breeding plumage
(as indicated by the black cap with a clean-cut white forehead chevron).

We returned home shortly after noon, had lunch, and Mui got started on the driver’s side wash and wax job on the Phaeton.  He kept at it all afternoon; by 6:00p, he was ready for happy hour.  Now that the coach is all slick and shiny, it should cut through any air resistance we encounter on the road like a hot knife through butter;-)