Destin Florida

I had no idea that the beaches on the northwest Florida gulf coast were so beautiful. They are beautiful white sand and go on forever. We were also very lucky in finding a great place to stay. I went on line to try to make reservations while we were in Gulfport because I knew that this is another week of spring break and was concerned that we would have trouble. There are many state campgrounds on this beach, but they were all filled. Only one had one spot that was available for a few days. I tried the private campgrounds and was appalled at what they were charging for a spot that was 20 feet wide ($70-90 per night). There is a website called rv parks reviews. I went to it to check out the campground that had the one site. Henderson State Campground. The reviews were all excellent. So, even though the one site did not look great, I reserved it for four days. Wow. Am I glad that I did.

This is a beautiful campsite surrounded by very full foliage. It is very clean and we have lots and lots of room and lots and lots of privacy. There is a paved path and a board walk that takes you over the sand dunes (to protect them and keep you from walking on the dunes) straight to the beach. Beautiful walk to a beautiful beach.

When we got here the weather was fine. We had been having a little trouble with our camp stove that is attached to the outside of the trailer. Bob has been meaning to fix it for about a week now. On our way here we saw a Camping World supply store so we stopped in and Bob bought all of the parts that he thought he needed to make the repair. The day was perfect for working on the repair so Bob started. Well, anyone who knows Bob knows that he actually did not have all of the parts. One real plus of this camping site is that there is a Home Depot located right outside the state park. So Bob drove to the Home Depot and got the part. He came back and worked so more and then decided that he needed another part. He also discovered that the step that we use for the trailer door had gotten damaged and he could not repair it. So he called Camping World and they did not have the part in stock but agreed to get it from another of their locations. Bob went back to Home Depot and got what he needed to finish the stove and also got a small plastic step for us to use for the back door. The step really works well. Then in the middle of dinner last night Bob realized that he had asked Camping World for the wrong size step. So we canceled the order and are just getting by with the plastic step.

Today we drove around the area. We needed groceries and that is always our excuse to do some exploring. As gorgeous as the beach is, this place is too touristy for me. It is full of strip malls with restaurants and beach stuff, condos, and big national chains. I am enjoying the beach, but not the touristy stuff. So we came back here. We took a long walk around the campground and across the beach. It is a little too chilly to go into the water, but the beach is gorgeous. We took out the bicycles and rode around on them for a while. My thighs are now officially sore. I haven't ridden a bike in quite a while.

Bob is currently making stew for dinner. It looks like it is going to rain tonight. That means that we might get to test the leak repairs. I am sure that if this repair does not work Bob is going to want to buy a new trailer to finish the trek. The problem is that all of the trailers that I have seen are much too big for me. The idea of one of those monsters is more than I can stand. We will just have to pray that the leak is fixed.

In the meantime, this is a beautiful place and a beautiful site and only three more days until I see my sis in St. Augustine. It is about 400 miles from here, but we can easily make it in one day.