The amazing Topsail Hill State Park

March 26-30,  Destin, Florida

Site 127 at Topsail

Wow! Now we understand the rave reviews this park consistently receives.  It turns out it used to be a private RV resort, which explains why there is cable, a pool, sewer hook-ups, and luscious landscaped sites.  The drive in to the park takes you along two large ponds filled with water lilies which were in full bloom this time of year. 

There is shuffleboard by the pool area and bass fishing in the ponds.  The park also runs a tram to take you to the beach which is less than a mile away on a private trail (also an easy bike ride or walk). And what a beach it is, no condos here, only lush white sand and crystal clear waters. 

We set up everything on our patio and took off on our bikes for the beach as soon as possible, Vic carrying the two folding chairs in their canvas bags and me carrying our beach umbrella and backpack.  Within fifteen minutes, we were relaxing in our chairs, squishing our toes in the sand.  What a luxury to be so close to a phenomenal beach.  I could get real used to life at Topsail.  We definitely plan to return for the full 14 day stay they allow—and more if we can do back to back reservations. 

The park really was full, especially with families on spring break.  It made us miss our grandchildren as the last time we saw the boys was at a state park on the ocean in Oregon.  We couldn’t help but think all our kids and grandchildren would love this place—who wouldn’t.  The positive energy flowing out of this place seems to create a happiness vibe that is palpable. At least I noticed I had trouble wiping the smile off my face. 

To add to the happiness vibe, Vic and I ventured south what is well-known in this area the 30A, a scenic highway which extends all the way back to Panama City Beach. Along the 30A, unbeknownst to us, are planned communities which look absolutely idyllic.  The first planned community is Watercolor, then Seaside, and Rosemary Beach.  The most famous of these villages is Seaside, the place where the Truman Show was filmed. All three have unique architecture centered around beach life with a town center full of small cafes, boutiques, and art galleries.  We were blown away by how attractive the lifestyle appeared to be with bike trails everywhere and inviting accesses to the sea.  The idea of a planned community does not typically appeal to us, but the intimate size of these villages makes living here seem very alluring.

Waking up to the roar of lions

March 25, Panama City Beach, Florida

The panhandle  is a place I have never been before—almost a first for me on this journey.  It doesn’t even feel like Florida—even the time changes to Central Standard Time.  It is way more open and greener and the air feels crisper—could also be the absence of live oaks dripping with moss.  There also seems to be less poverty—maybe because we are in tourist areas.  The park we chose, Emerald Coast Beach RV Resort, was a gorgeous surprise. We are staying in one of their older sites, but it is spacious with beautiful landscaping. There are two pools here, one salt and one chlorine. 

The new area of the park has wide sites with pavers centered around a lake with sand volleyball, bocce ball, basketball court, shuffleboard, and fenced dog run. 

Dog bath at Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort

The most comical part of the park is that the old section backs up to a zoo.  We actually awoke to the sound of a lion roaring and a monkey screeching.  I loved it! Apparently, there is a giraffe that pokes his head through into the park from time to time.  We were so impressed with the park that we inquired about monthly rates and were surprised to learn that their high season is March-August. Apparently, many tourists from the interior southern states come to this Emerald Coast in the summertime.  Rates during high season were about $1000 a month and $700 during low season including elec., cable, and taxes—not bad for such a lovely park less than fiive minutes to the Gulf beaches.

Our friends who live in Panama City Beach, Gavin and Betty, came to the park to see our motorhome and learn a little more about our new lifestyle before heading to their home(only ten minutes away) for dinner.  Even though it had been almost ten years since we had last seen them, it was easy to rekindle our friendship and spend the evening catching up on the past decade of our lives. Vic and I were especially intrigued to learn what drew them to this area (beyond employment) as our first impressions were much more positive than we had anticipated.

The next morning, we took time to check out the beaches in the area.  Evidence of spring break with college students was everywhere as there were music venues set up all along the beach with big banners welcoming students from across the nation (even Oregon State was included).

The sand felt like baby powder and looked like white sugar; the water had the typical turquoise color of the Gulf of Mexico but looked even more dramatic in contrast with the white sands. We were a little surprised by the presence of tall condos and hotels, but they took up only less than a mile of the shoreline. Something about this area reminded us of the golden zone in Mazatlan. For us, that is a very nostalgic feeling as we miss Mexico so much. One thing for us to keep in mind was the weather this winter in Florida has been much warmer than typical.  The high today was supposed to be in the mid-80s, about ten degrees warmer than usual.  Spending a winter in the panhandle would not be nearly as warm as Naples or even the Bradenton beaches, and this doesn’t seem to be a shelling beach.  Might be a good place to spend November or April of next year?

A week with family in Zephyrhills

March 18-25, Zephyrhills, Florida

March 18^th would have been my mom’s 82^nd birthday and we are heading back to the place she lived the last years of her life.  They say getting through the first year of someone’s death is the hardest as the calendar moves through anniversaries that evoke different memories and trigger corresponding emotions.  Two years ago, our whole family came to Zephyrhills to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday.

My mom on her 80th with seven of her grandchildren

Leaving Cortez seems emotional on another level as it marks the beginning of our trek northward to new vistas outside of Florida. My niece texted me with plans to hold a birthday memory party for my mom, so all my family in Zhills will be gathering today at 4 p.m. to celebrate my mom.  So sweet.  I feel lucky to be in the area and to keep these connections going as it would have meant the world to my mom to know we are staying close without her to draw us together.

Jesse and Aunt Terry

While in Zephyrhills, we are staying in the same park we stayed out for the whole month of December: Majestic Oaks.  It is an Encore/Carefree park but they do not offer the Passport American 50% off discount Jan-March; however, their daily rate of $28 is terrific as the park is spacious and immaculately kept with well-maintained amenities.  Another bonus this time is that an open field lay right behind our motorhome, a perfect place for the dogs to run and play.  Our plans for the week are to visit as much as I can with my son Jesse and my aunt Terry and check out what we can do to generate more interest in my mom’s mobile home for sale—like dropping the price considerably. I also am taking the opportunity to have my haircut with Kelly at the HQ Aveda salon in Wiregrass—something I did in December when we here (ahhh, the challenge of haircuts on the road).

We had planned to go and check out the Tampa beaches while here, but just didn't feel inspired to deal with the spring break traffic that was likely to be there. One place I had always wanted to check out in this area is Ybor City, a historic area settled mostly by Spanish and Cuban immigrants, well-known for the production of Cuban cigars.  I also heard that since the economic downturn, Ybor City has become somewhat run-down, but still worth checking out.  We enjoyed a lunch of Cuban roast pork sandwhich with mojo sauce--so good and wandered around the main street enjoying the scenes in the photos below:

This week went so quickly and once again I am faced with saying goodbyes as we don’t plan to be back here until November.  It was much easier to head south and say “see you in a month or so.” I need to be mindful of the luxury this lifestyle affords us in terms of having much more time available to spend with the people we care about and having so many options of places to visit.  It has been a priority for us to seek out friends and family to reconnect with along the way and we are so grateful for this opportunity.

One of those reconnections is about to happen in Panama City Beach—our next destination.  In 1982, my close friend Pam from Crystal Lake, Illinois introduced me to Betty and Gavin, a couple she and her first husband befriended yeaearly int their marriage.  I have only seen them about once every ten years, but it is our good fortune that they have recently moved to Panama City Beach. 

Uncharacteristic of us, we have actually booked out the next eleven nights.  Throughout my research of Florida parks, the name Topsail State Park kept rising to the top as one of the finest state parks in the country.  Because of its popularity, it is hard to get in. I bookmarked Reserve America with the specific details of my request and kept trying the last two weeks.  Voila—one day at Buttonwood I found four nights available at Topsail March 26-30 and booked it.  After studying the calendar, I realized that only left March 25 (my deceased father’s bday)  for a chance to see Betty and Gavin.  I found a park  10-10-10 rated park in Woodall’s called Emerald Coast Beach RV Resort and booked it.  We also hoped to be able to stay at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  Since this time of year is spring break for many, this park was also busy, but we managed to find openings April 1-5.  Since that left March 30 and March 31 open, I looked at a map and remembered an advertisement for Navarre Beach Campground, just about an hour west of Topsail.  That is the story of how we ended up with reservations for eleven nights in a row.  We are starting to learn that making the commitment of a reservation isn’t so bad if it is in a place you know you want to be.

Falling in love with Cortez

March 11-18, Cortez, Florida

With our three days at Arbor Terrace up, we felt unsure of where to go next.  Our plans to spend another week in Zephyrhills before heading to the Panhandle were not for another week.  I kept trying to get a reservation at Fort de Soto in Tampa, but every time I tried on-line the campground was full.  We were not too eager to drive to this busy area of Tampa across the skyway bridge only to find there was no room at the inn. Again, our friends BJ and Mike came to the rescue.  On their way to Bradenton Beach, they checked out a campground they had seen last year when they were staying at the very lovely (and rather expensive) Holiday Cove in Cortez. The campground, called Buttonwood Inlet, has undergone major remodeling and the addition of big-rig friendly sites with pavers and lovely landscaping surrounding a small pond.  It sounded like a place we should check out as we really like this part of Florida and would consider it for a long-term stay—maybe next year. We drove to Buttonwood on a Sunday (only 20 minutes from Arbor Terrace) and the office was closed, but we managed to find another worker who told us where we could stay at least for that night.  We were immediately impressed with the back area of the park. Everyone was incredibly friendly, the sites were gorgeous, the proximity to the beach was incredible (1.5 mile), and the price was good for high season—about $60 a night. 

Our site at Buttonwood

On Monday when the office was open, we asked if we could have our site for a week; we were lucky to work it out as this was spring break in the local area.  After talking to many others in the park who just loved the place, we decided to find out what reservations for next year looked like.  They had a waiting list of 50-60 people already.  It turned out Dec. and Jan were still open, so we put our name on the list with the understanding that there is no cancellation penalty if you are more than 60 days out.  Our immediate attraction to this place surprised us both. We had not anticipated wanting to stay anywhere for more than a month, but we could both envision it right away--felt good to be feeling the same vibe. 

Exploring this area for one week actually increased our attraction to this part of Florida (and this park in particular). There are no park models here—only fifth wheels, trailers, and motorhomes—and there is a canal access for fishing and kayaking right in the park itself.  Across the street from the park (walking or biking distance) are several local cafes and even a tiki bar. Cortez used to be a well-known fishing village and it has kept its laid-back charm and old Florida innocence.  Across the bridge to Bradenton Beach (1.5 mile) is a large public beach area (Coquina Beach) and a cute downtown area of locally-owned shops and restaurants.  Just a little to the north (on Anna Maria Island) is the town of Holmes Beach which allows dogs to use its municipal baseball park for an off-leash area when no baseball is going on. At the north end of the island is a well-known fishing pier and more cafes. Further to the south of Bradenton Beach, takes you across a bridge to Longboat Key (which is where we went to a more secluded beach almost daily).

Shorebirds at our favorite beach on Longboat Key

We also discovered a sweet little county park about two miles east of our park that allowed dogs off-leash in an area where they could actually swim in the bay. The downside was the traffic during spring break over the bridge to the beach—but we could walk or ride our bikes, plus we discovered if we went to our special spot on the beach by 9 a.m. and returned by noon, we had no traffic issues.  Another downside to the park itself was a lack of organized activities--such as Zumba! (but we did attend a St. Patrick’s Day potluck complete with live music.) Considering all the pros and cons, we would be thrilled to spend a few months here next year.

A whimsical store next to Buttonwood

Packing up at Buttonwood

From Seminole to Arbor Terrace

March 8-11, Bradenton, Florida

Packing up at Seminole

Leaving Seminole was more emotional than I imagined. We certainly grew close to Mike and BJ who almost felt like family by the time we left.  For some reason, I also felt overwhelmed with going back to researching campgrounds and making decisions about where to stay every few days. Our plan for the short term was to go without reservations to Lake Manatee State Park and then to Fort De Soto County Park in Tampa. Our drive to Lake Manatee was picturesque and we arrived shortly before two in the afternoon hoping we could get lucky and find a site.  The campground full sign was out, but we asked at the office anyway and they confirmed no sites were available. Plan B was to go to a Sun RV Park in Bradenton called Arbor Terrace. I called and we were able to use three nights for the cost of two coupon (thanks, BJ!) which sounded good.

We appreciated the rate of $88 for three nights at Arbor Terrace, but the site they gave us left much to be desired.  Their pull-throughs in the back of the park oppose each other with little room to offset patios, so you better like your neighbors.  We were not even inspired to put out patio furniture. Our intentions were to explore the area anyway during the day, so we spent very little time at the park.  We went to the Bradenton Beach the first day where BJ had told me to look for sand dollars.  The traffic on Cortez. Rd. was pretty light and we made it to the beach in about 30 minutes—pretty good considering how far we have been in most other locations.  The beach was terrific (80 degree day, light breeze, turquoise water, white sand) and I was able to spend a few hours in the water looking for sand dollars and other shells.  I found one perfect sand dollar and several slightly broken ones. I also found some beautiful olive shells and a couple of small whelks. I could do this all day long.

On Saturday, I discovered that Sarasota and Bradenton both had farmer’s markets and I figured out how we could stagger our times and make it to both. Sarasota’s market was downtown in the historic district about twenty minutes from our park.  The market was about 6-8 blocks long in varying directions, filled with mostly arts and crafts, food stands, and some produce (unlike our Oregon markets which are mostly produce). I did find a stand with homemade pasta and also one with homemade sausage—always a favorite of Vic’s, so we stocked up on chorizo, kielbasa, and lamb sausage (with no nitrates or preservatives). The strawberries were from Plant City (well-known strawberry-growing area in central Fl), but Vic and I did not think they were very good-especially compared to the ones we used to grow in our raised beds in Corvallis.  We were impressed with the whole downtown area of Sarasota, sort of a small Portland feel, and agreed we would enjoy spending more time here. After checking out the market in Sarasota, we took a quick trip across the bridge to an exclusive shopping area known as St. Armand’s Square. Lots of boutiques and cafes, but neither of us was in the mood for a high end retail experience.

The Bradenton Farmer’s Market was considerably smaller, but quaint.  It was apparent that Bradenton is more of a working class town than Sarasota but the downtown had an inviting area of about six blocks with a good variety of locally-owned stores and restaurants. We also found a bar that looked interesting as it advertised Yappy Hour, a happy hour time for you and your dog.  Fun to be in a dog friendly place.

A puppeteer at the Bradenton market

While in Bradenton, we received a text from Mike and BJ that they had headed north to look for sand dollars.  I invited them to our humble site for dinner (pork rib roast on the grill) and some vino fino.  They were so cute to show up here in what seemed to be a world apart from our former campground in Ft. Meyers.

Ft. Meyers bucket list

Feb. 27-March 7--North Ft. Meyers, Florida

With only about ten days left at this campground, the list of things we still wanted to do was growing instead of waning.  Another visit to Sanibel Island rose to the top. It turned out Mike, BJ, Diane, and Steve were also interested so we took off around ten a.m. (hoping the bridge traffic was not yet bad) and ventured off to Bowman’s Beach on the north end of Sanibel.  The shell collecting was not as good as my first time here, but I managed to add to my jingle and kitten paw collection (pretty easy to do in Sanibel) and found a couple of good conch specimens. (Lest I sound jaded, I am still in awe of the 2-3 foot piles of shells that turn up on these shores.) 

On the way "home" from Sanibel, we stopped at a park none of us had ever seen before, Gulf Waters RV Resort—just on the other side of the bridge to Sanibel. The park was very spacious and nicely laid out with several amenities including a tiki bar by the pool.  The one down side I discovered was their brochure said they limited dogs to 40# and under; don’t know how strict they are about dogs in the 40-50# range. This park was also a mix of owners and renters with prices being a little high (daily rate of $60-$65 during high season) because of its close proximity to the beach.  Good possibility for a short term stay close to the beach.

 

Throughout the month that we were here we enjoyed many meals made by Mike and BJ and Steve and Diane, and one of the fun things for us northwesterners was eating southern style.  Diane introduced me to my first biscuit and gravy breakfast, white gravy made with sausage over homemade biscuits, that was tastier than I expected.  We went to a well-known restaurant in the area called Farmer's Kitchen and had a lunchtime feast of southern favorites including ham hocks, country fried steak, fried green tomatoes, okra, pickled beets, and dry lima beans. I even made a southern meal of shrimp and grits (a new recipe for me discovered at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill) which Mike requested an encore of before we left.  I also wanted to have Lois and Mike come to the campground and experience our new lifestyle (far from the Fred Astaire studio). I happened to catch a Rick Bayless, Mexico: One Plate at a Time series that inspired me to make flat iron steak tacos.  Lois and Mike added a fun mix to the group with their local stories (especially Mike’s about the parking lot scene he once experienced at the Farmer’s Market restaurant). We managed to finish the evening around the campfire again, one of the highlights of this campground, as most in the area do not allow open fires. Another fun eating experience was our celebration of Diane's 17th birthday (she was a leap year baby).  We just had to take advantage of her rare birthday, so the six of us went to dinner in at The Captain's Table, located in the Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda. 

One of the other activities on my Ft. Myers bucket list was to go to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Preserve—about 45 miles from our campground. I saw a documentary on the preserve and read some blog entries that piqued my interest.  Vic was planning a day of washing the motorhome but I talked Mike and BJ (what troopers) into joining me—he even volunteered to drive.  It is about 20 miles east of Naples where there is not much to see, but supposedly it as in internationally famous boardwalk where you are likely to see some rare bird species and typical Florida wildlife such as alligators, snakes, and turtles. The first mile or so of the walk was pretty in terms of looking at flora and fauna, but we saw few birds or other creatures.  A little more than a mile in we came upon a swampy area that had provided quire the natural setting where we saw a humongous alligator, several baby alligators sunning themselves, a turtle, a couple of water moccasins, a few anhingas, sand cranes, snowy egrets, red tailed hawks, a wood stork, and a kite bird. I loved the sanctuary feeling of the place where everyone respected wildlife by whispering and seeming to be more in tune with the balance of nature.  I think that is what made the place feel so special as you could certainly see most of these species in common settings all around Florida.  The only two things I didn’t see here and had hoped to were Roseate Spoonbills and Painted Buntings.  Gotta keep some things left on the list. I was sad Vic did not join us as I wanted him to have a real wildlife experience in South Florida, but he will have to settle for our nightly campfires. (He’s not into snakes and alligators. . . . )

Entry to the two mile Corkscrew boardwalk

Black racer snake

Waer mocassin, a safe distance away

Anhinga drying its wings in tree with turtle below to the right

Sunning baby alligators

Little Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

Red Shouldered Hawk

Snowy Egret in water

My favorite shot of the Snowy Egret

A new travel itinerary

March 6, North Ft. Meyers

As our final week drew to a close, both Vic and I started to feel a little anxious about our upcoming plans.  We agreed that we would be going to Red Bay, Alabama for some work to be done on our Phaeton and had intended to go back south to Louisiana and Texas afterwards, but a new plan was developing—thanks to BJ’s coaching. Vic and I had been talking about changing our residency to a state with no income tax since we were no longer property owners anywhere. After talking to some folks and researching the options, all roads lead to South Dakota.  We considered flying there to get our driver’s licenses and register to vote, but BJ suggested just going for it and traveling north, then back to the LA area via Colorado. I measured the mileage difference between our original plan and the So. Dakota one and was surprised to learn that the difference was only about 400 miles.  So our new plan is to head north via Kansas City and Omaha to Rapid City, SD after our Red Bay adventure in April. I have mixed feelings about the residency change as I am emotionally tied to Oregon--but not financially. We are starting to talk about traveling this way for two to three more years. It seems a little hard to imagine when I think about it chronologically, yet these past these past seven months have just whizzed by and there is so much more to of the country to explore. I actually was once a resident of North Dakota and must admit, other than the cold winters, it was one of the friendliest places I have ever lived.