John Pennekamp State Park, Key Largo, FL

Date of Stay:  Monday November 11 - Monday November 25, 2013 (14 nights)

Rate:  $23/night (Gin’s disabled FL resident discount)

Website:  John Pennekamp State Park (FL)
   102601 Overseas Highway
   Key Largo, FL  33037
   305-451-1202

Description:  New paved road in the gated cg.  All the sites were narrow for a state park and no plantings for privacy.  We were on site 43 with water/electric (50A).  The sites are all gravel and ours, along with some others, were not quite level.  We used our rubber stall mats and were fine.  We had to drive through the day use area (pretty busy) to get to the cg.  Very nice Visitor Center with aquarium, marina, couple of swim beaches, and canoe trails amongst the mangroves.  Boat tours go out daily to the nearby coral reef for snorkeling.  There is also a glass bottom boat that operates from the marina (maybe next time).  Cannon Beach, one of the swim areas, is a nice place to practice snorkeling with a planted sunken shipwreck.  We could see a few cannons and anchor along with a few fish swimming around.

Activities:  We enjoyed more time with friends here.  Gail and Rick were on one side of us for a week and Dan and Tricia were on the other side of us for both weeks.  We all noticed that there was much more turnover at this cg versus Curry Hammock.  Must be the tight quarters of the narrow sites.  It rained more often here and we were ready to relax a bit.  Gin and Rick fished some and we all went out to eat some during the first week.  The weather improved during the next week and we paddled the canals with D&T.  We also swam some at Cannon Beach and tried snorkeling there.  It was our first time in salt water.  I stayed on top of the water and floated with my face under water breathing through the snorkel.  We all walked some of the trails there and I walked the Grove Trail to an old Key Lime orchard.  Yes I picked one off a tree!  They were working on improving the bike trail beside the highway so we just peddled around in a nearby neighborhood.

Trash and Recycle:  A couple of dumpsters in the cg.  Recycle bins at the dumpsters take aluminum and plastic.

 
D&T on site 44, us, R&G on site 42                                  Site 43

 
Visitor Center                                           Snorkeling is popular here
 
Far Beach swim area                                Cannon Beach swim area
 
Glass bottom boat leaving the marina           Snorkel boat returning to the marina

Curry Hammock State Park, Marathon, FL

Date of Stay:  Monday October 28 – Monday November 11, 2013 (14 nights)

Rate:  $23/night (Gin’s disabled FL resident discount)

Website:  Curry Hammock State Park (FL)
   56200 Overseas Highway
   Marathon, FL  33050
   305-289-2690

Description: Another great Florida State Park in the Keys!  We were in site 17 with water/electric (50A) with paved roads and level pea gravel pads.  Native plants separated the sites nicely and we were right on the calm Atlantic Ocean!  We used the bathhouse for showers (clean) to conserve our tanks.  The park’s day use area is separate enough from the gated cg to give us quiet days.  There is a nice paved bike path across Hwy 1 which we used often with our friends.  Located midway along the chain of the Keys, with Publix Grocery and KMart nearby.  Close enough to Key West for a couple of day trips!

Activities:  We were here with some great friends!  I still don’t know how we all managed to get 5 sites together here for two weeks.  There was Dan and Tricia, Bruce and Laura, Rick and Gail, Bill and Nancy and us all together relaxing and playing in the tropical paradise!  I ‘lost’ many of my pictures but we took an evening trip to Key West with D&T, B&L, and R&G hitting some shops and restaurants.  Another day trip was in order with D&T and R&G to check out the Southernmost Point and walk around some more.  Plenty of nature right there at the cg.  Our first visitor was a big iguana right at our door!  We all paddled our Sea Eagles in the mangroves around the park a couple of times and saw really huge iguanas then.  We also saw some nice property for sell $$.  We all peddled together on the nice bike path across the highway.  I know I lost several pictures of this.  The group also went out on the Sea King for some deep sea fishing on a very windy day.  Unfortunately, Gin and Nancy got sick.  The rest of us had fun though.  We spent many hours visiting each other and just relaxing at our sites.  The water is quite shallow but we all spent some time floating.  It was a wonderful couple of weeks!

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpsters near the dump station with full recycling!  Glass, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard!

Nancy, Rick, Gail, Gin, Bruce, Bill, Syl, Tricia, Laura, Dan (from Nancy’s blog)

 

Site 17

 

Visitors to our site

 

Cruise ship at Key West                        Love the name of this KW shop!

 

KW Southernmost Point

 

Right at our back door!                             Cruising the mangroves

 

 

Love the wildlife!

 

Notice the tilt of the boat (rough water)

Gin and Syl in KW at sunset

Midway Campground (Big Cypress National Preserve), Ochopee, FL

Date of Stay:  Thursday October 24 - Monday October 28, 2013 (4 nights)

Rate:  $15/night (Access Pass discount)

Website:  Midway Campground Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
   US 41 (mile marker 52)
   Ochopee, FL 34141
   239-695-1201

Description:  Paved road and pad with 50A.  Potable water at the dump station if needed.  We started with a full tank so we did just fine.  We were on site 14 which is as far from Hwy 41 as possible.  No one else was here when we first parked and then, we only had one or two other campers join us for the week end.  Great stopover on the way to the Keys or a day at Shark Valley.  Had to swing out onto the grass to back in since the road and sites are narrow.  Volunteers work here for about three months starting in December.  All sites face a pond which does have a resident alligator.

Activities:  Very quiet here but thankful for the 50A service.  One day trip was to the Oasis Visitor Center where we saw lots of alligators, fish and migratory birds.  Another day was spent driving Loop Road which is not paved so the Suki got quite dusty.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpsters and recycle cans available during the winter season but not at this time of year.

 

Midway Campground site 14

 

Our view and us across the pond

Alligator at Oasis Visitor Center

 

Sunning on Loop Road

Avalon Landing RV Park, Milton, FL

Date of Stay:  Saturday April 6 - Thursday May 9, 2013 (33 nights)

Rate:  monthly $547+electric ($71 for us) and $39/night for 3 more nights

Website:  Avalon Landing RV Park
   2444 Avalon Blvd
   Milton, FL 32583
   850-995-5898

Description:  Near Pensacola and convenient to I-10.  Two sections both fairly new.  We stayed on site 65 in the brand new East section which has paved roads with gravel pads and concrete patios.  The West section is at the office and has a boat ramp, small swimming pool and clubhouse.  Those sites are grass/gravel with paved road.  All sites are FHU 50A and about 40 feet wide.  Located on a canal leading into Escombia Bay.  New trees planted and woods around East section help cut back the traffic noise somewhat.  Wendy in the office is friendly and informative about the area sights, stores and restaurants.

Activities:  We stayed here because it was very convenient to our doctor’s offices for our wellness checks.  Gin finally got new glasses.  Turns out she didn’t need eye surgery, just needed prescription eye drops.  There is a lot to do in the Pensacola area but we didn’t do it all.  We checked out Crestview since our mail forwarding service is located there.  The Blackwater Heritage State Trail is a nice paved Rails to Trails bike path in Milton.  We biked 16.5 miles one day.  We went to Fort Pickens to check out the Fort and it’s museum.  The beach there is very nice and there are a lot of free public access parking lots to the beach all along the coast.  We certainly did our share of shopping and restaurant hopping.  We never made it to the Naval Aviation Museum so I guess we’ll have to go back.

Trash and Recycle:  Each section has it’s own dumpster.  No recycle at the rv park but there is a county bin at the Suntrust Bank near the Rail Trail in Milton.  Also a recycle bin just before entering Fort Pickens property.

 

 

Office at entry to East section

 

Our “apartment building” and “apartment”

  

Fort Pickens cannon                                  Parade ground at Fort Pickens

 

View from the top of the Fort                       the Gulf and the Bay

 

Overcast cool day at the beach

Ho-Hum RV Park, Carrabelle, FL

Date of Stay:  Tuesday April 2 - Saturday April 6, 2013 (4 nights)

Rate:  $33/night

Website:  Ho-Hum RV Park
   2132 Highway 98 East
   Carrabelle, FL 32322
   850-697-3926

Description:  On the Gulf of the “Forgotten Coast”.  Pea gravel throughout this small park, all FHU 50A with some sites overlooking the water.  We were on site 4 and lucky that no one parked beside us on the patio side so that we had a good view of the water (a very small Toyota Class C did but we could easily see around them).  Tall mature pine trees in our half of the park.  A hurricane had taken out the trees in the other half.  Verizon internet spotty here although phone reception was ok.  Close sites.  Nice place to walk on the beach.  Fairly close to Apalachicola and St George Island.

Activities:  We stopped here on our way to Pensacola and glad we did.  We had made plans to stay on I-10 but decided to surprise Vel and Maggie who were staying here after leaving Cedar Key to visit family in Nebraska and their summer job in Iowa.  We all went to Apalachicola and St George Island for day trips.  I really enjoyed walking their dogs with them on the beach at this park.  One day, Sherry, David and their daughter Carrie came to visit since they were in a nearby state park.  Also one morning during my jog in a nearby neighborhood, I saw a big Black Bear trot across the road about a block and a half in front of me.  I slowed down.

Trash and Recycle:  No recycle.  Dumpster at corner of park has teeth/claw marks from area bears.

 

We’re on site 4 next to work campers          View from our patio

 

Entry and office                                         RV park from their pier

 

Sunrise at the park                                    Vel, Maggie and the furkids visit Gin

 

Wilson and Old Man of the Sea beach trash art