Florida State Parks, Beaches & Flexible Plans

Who said we couldn't be spontaneous with our plans?  (I think I did.)   After spending most of January in SW Florida, we originally planned to head to the panhandle around the 1st of February; but a few other opportunities came up.

Birthday Lunch at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grill - Lakeland

A few days before leaving SW Florida, Beth and Kevin were in Orlando for Kevin's birthday celebration.  We met them for lunch in Lakeland (Free desserts for the birthday people, Kevin & me).  It was so great to see them.  After lunch, we made a quick stop at the Detroit Tigers Spring Training complex which was busy with activity getting ready for the upcoming season.  This was our first visit to Lakeland and even though it was brief, it got me thinking about how we could get back there for some Spring games (more on that later).

RV Window Repair

RV Repair:  Before leaving the Ft Myers area, we made an appointment to have the fogged windows in the living area of the RV repaired.  We had some minor fogging when we first bought the RV, but it has been getting worse.  This commonly happens over time when seals in the double pane windows age and deteriorate letting moisture in between the panes.  No leakage problems, mostly an aesthetics issue, but we decided to have five windows repaired.  Suncoast Designs in Hudson, FL (45 minutes north of Tampa) specializes in repair options as opposed to window replacement. (As long as your window glass isn't damaged, the windows can be taken apart; cleaned, polished, resealed and reinstalled.)  At their facility, free RV hookups are offered so you can stay there in your RV while the repair is being done.  We got a tour of the facility and the process they use and were impressed. They did a great job and we are VERY happy with the results. Suncoast warranties the work for as long as you own your RV.
 

Super Bowl party

Super Bowl party practice

Super Bowl in North Carolina:  With the RV repair scheduled to take 3-5 work days sandwiched around the first weekend in February, it got me thinking we might be able to consider a side trip.  With the Tampa airport about 40 minutes away, I checked into the possibility of flying to Raleigh to spend Super Bowl weekend with Cheryl, Darren & Ellie.  It all came together and we left the RV in safe keeping with Suncoast Designs, and drove back down to Tampa to catch a flight to Raleigh.  Luckily timing and everything worked well and we were fortunate to be part of the celebration since Darren and his family are lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fans.  We got to do a little babysitting and attend the big Super Bowl party (for a short time - then we took Ellie home).  We even wore our Eagles t-shirts - the band of course. Very happy for Darren that the Eagles won the Super Bowl; everyone concluded that Ellie is the lucky charm!

Continuing on a family note, several people have asked me how we get our "snail" mail.  Currently we have maintained a home address in Michigan using our son's Saline address.  Dan gets our mail and sorts through it.  Since most bills and banking are handled on line, he only occasionally has to send a packet of mail to our current location or scans something to e-mail to us.  It has worked very well and we appreciate Dan and Christie doing this for us.  So here is a current picture of the rest of our family that was sent to us in our last packet from Dan.   As you can see in the pictures, the granddaughters are growing up way too fast!

Rocky Bayou

RV Site at Rocky Bayou Park

Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park:  After returning to Tampa and picking up the RV, we finally headed to the panhandle; arriving at our first stop; Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park near Niceville, FL.  Located across the Choctawhatchee Bay from Destin, the park was very nice (electric and water hookups) and reasonably priced which was much appreciated after the high prices of southern FL.  A natural setting with large sites and several walking paths.  Unfortunately, we had a couple days of heavy rain while were were their, but won't hold that against a possible return visit.  We visited Destin via the 3.6 mile "Mid Bay Bridge", enjoying a trip to the beach and checking out the area we will be staying at later in the month.

Walking trails at Rocky Bayou Park

Destin Beach

The Park is named after Air Force Colonel Fred Gannon who helped preserve this site with beautiful "old-growth longleaf" pine trees, several more than 300 years old.  The pine needles grow 10-15 inches long.  In some ways reminded me of "up north" MI.

Beach at TH Stone State Park

T.H Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park:  Leaving Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou SP, we headed east about 125 miles to another Florida State Park, T.H. Stone Memorial St Joseph Peninsula.  This is quite a gem.  Located southeast of Panama City, the park takes up a large portion of the St. Joseph peninsula that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico.  With the Gulf of Mexico on one side and St Joseph Bay on the other this narrow peninsula has great water views on both sides.   If you like miles of pristine beaches (9.5 miles to be exact), no commercial development and the feeling of getting away from it all, this is a great location.  The website claims the park to be "rated as one of the best state parks in the U.S. and one of the best beaches in the nation".

Large sand dunes along the beach at TH Stone Park

No obstruction sunsets

The park offers a good number of camping sites, but a limited number for larger RVs, all have water & electric hook ups.  Great bike riding here too; miles of paved road within the park and a bike path outside the park that runs along the main peninsula road.

Dunes at sunset - T H Stone State Park

More from the website: "The park is noted as an excellent birding and wildlife observation area. During fall migration the peninsula is an important stopover point for a variety of bird species. The park has one of the most productive sea turtle and shore bird nest beaches in the panhandle".  They offer canoeing and kayaking on the bay side of the park as well as fishing and snorkeling.   The miles of natural beach with no high rises, no houses, no boat traffic, etc is refreshing.  The State has done a great job preserving this expansive beautiful area for public use; the TH Stone Memorial St Joseph Peninsula State Park is celebrating it's 50th year anniversary; love this park!

Apalachicola:  We took a short 30 mile drive further east along the coast to Apalachicola one morning.  An old, but well kept town on the Apalachicola Bay with small shops and a few restaurants. We saw an oyster processing facility with a huge mound of oyster shells and learned from visiting one of the parks, this one estuary provides people with shrimp, crabs, fish and approximately 90% of Florida's oyster harvest.

Back on St Joseph peninsula we stopped at a fresh seafood store and bought some fresh shrimp.  We peeled the jumbo size shrimp, put them on skewers and Jim cooked them on the grill - yum!

Panama City Beach pier

Panama City Beach

Panama City-Panama City Beach:  Another day trip took us back west into Panama City and Panama City Beach.  We needed to do some shopping and wanted to check out the area.  As you can see by the pictures, and as you may expect, it is the complete opposite of the area we have been staying.  A wall of high rise buildings line the beach and you have to look for public access points.  There is a nice public park with a pier, but there is a charge to walk out on the pier.  The beach is very nice and you can see why this area attracts a huge spring break crowd.  It was already congested with traffic due to major road construction on the main beach road.  Just a little too developed and "touristy" for me. 

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park: Our last Florida State Park on this trip is Topsail Hill Preserve located a few miles east of Destin between Miramar Beach and Santa Rosa Beach.  Within the park is a "RV resort" that offers additional amenities; full hook ups, including sewer and cable TV.  There are also rental cabins for non campers.  They tout 3.2 miles of secluded white sand beach and a long list of recreation opportunities.  This should be another great biking park.

One "tech" note: we have found the cell service to be spotty along the northwest coast of FL and at the locations we have stayed in the panhandle.  Not too surprising since they are more remote.  With trying to do some remote tax and accounting work, we are considering a cell booster.  I know, I want the best of both worlds; still researching this option.

Joker Marchant Stadium

Detroit Tiger Training Complex-Lakeland

Future travels:  By the end of February, we are expecting to meet up with friends and family that will be in the area as well as my sister who lives nearby.  The other change in plans is when we leave the panhandle area around the second week in March, we are heading back south to Lakeland FL to Spring Training.  Very excited that we were able to get a reservation at a private park in Lakeland so we can see some Tiger Spring Training games.  I know it's a "rebuilding" year (or two) for the team, but as a lifelong Tiger fan this is something that I've always wanted to do.  

 From Lakeland we will head back to NC for a couple of weeks, then on to Washington DC for a couple of weeks (hoping to catch the Cherry blossoms in bloom with Beth and Kevin).  Planning on being in Michigan by 3rd week of April for our granddaughter Anna's Confirmation.  Still looking at trips to Maine and out west later this year; however, looks like we are learning to be a little more flexible and spontaneous with our plans and it feels good!

On the Road Again - 2018

Anna & Megan - Christmas baking

Happy New Year 2018!  We spent about a month away from our RV during the holidays, leaving it in safe keeping in North Carolina.  After arriving in Michigan, holiday cookie baking kicked into high gear with Megan and Anna.  We appreciate the time we spent staying with Dan, Christie and girls.  A quick trip to Maryland to see Beth and Kevin a few days before Christmas was great.  They took us to the National Shrine Basilica in Washington DC and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Chantilly VA.

Basilica of the National Shrine, Washington DC

National Air & Space Museum, VA

The extremely cold weather in Michigan during this time made us feel good about our decision to NOT bring the RV to Michigan. 

Ellie - Shopping outing

We flew back to North Carolina in early January and spent a week at Jordan Lake near Cheryl, Darren & Ellie.  It was good to see how much Ellie had grown and changed; they are doing well.

Unfortunately, the bitter cold snap that gripped most of the eastern United States in early January, made it's way to North Carolina including a couple of inches of snow waiting for us when we arrived.

Winter Camping - Jordan Lake, NC

Usually cold snaps in North Carolina don't last too long, so we were ready to put ourselves and RV to the cold weather test.  Due to the extreme cold we had to rely on our gas furnace (propane) and a electric space heater. Both worked well, but we emptied the propane tank within a few days and had to go get it filled.  Staying below freezing for days and single digits at night, the park was having trouble keeping water lines from freezing, so no water was available at the sites.  The Park Ranger let us fill up our tank at the Park maintenance building and it was enough to get us through.  After 5 very cold days and nights, the weather started to break.  We passed the cold weather test, but would prefer not to repeat the experience.  You may have guessed, there was only two other "campers" in the park during this time; so it was very peaceful and if we could stand the cold, star gazing was really good.

Harbor Lakes - Port Charlotte, FL

A few days later we headed south!  We modified our January plans to take us to southwest Florida for a few weeks before heading to the Destin/panhandle area.  After two days on the road and staying one night in southern Georgia, we made our way to Port Charlotte, FL.

Harbor Lakes - Port Charlotte, FL

Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training Park

Harbor Lakes RV Resort is a large RV Resort with lots of people here escaping winter.  We like the layout and location of the park, full hook ups, and a few extra amenities including a pool area.  They also have tennis and volleyball courts and of course shuffleboard.  It is a combination of permanent winter homes as well as sites for RV's to pull into for a night, month, or winter season.  We started exploring the area and found that the Tampa Bay Rays spring training park is about two miles away.  There is excellent shopping, restaurants and beaches nearby.

Englewood Beach, FL

Ft. Myers Beach, FL

We enjoyed our time in Port Charlotte.  Jim was able to get some maintenance done on the RV; I began doing some work on my tax and accounting remote business; and we got in some beach time.  We visited nearby Englewood Beach for the first time and one day we drove down to our familiar Fort Myers Beach.  Weather has been a little up and down, but mainly up as far as we are concerned.
 

Cypress Trail Resort

Our next stop in Southwest Florida was south of Port Charlotte, in Fort Myers.  A little farther inland - Ft. Myers Beach (Estero Island) is about a 20 mile drive, and the increased traffic and people in the area this time of year is significant.  The trade off is we are staying at Cypress Trail Resort which is a newer resort and probably the nicest we've stayed in so far. In additional to the pool area, there is a club house, exercise facility, tennis courts, etc.

Cypress Trail Resort

Cypress Trail Resort

Cypress Trail Resort

Cypress Trail Resort is mostly made up of people who have purchased lots and stay here during the winter.  There is a smaller number of lots available for short term stays; we stayed 8 days.  There are strict association rules regarding landscaping and upkeep.  Even though it is VERY nice, I have to say I like the Port Charlotte location better.  I was interested to try a "resort" like this, but it's too pricey for our budget to do on a regular basis.  It was a treat to stay and enjoy the amenities.  Don't think we are ready to consider a permanent winter location.

Lunch with Melissa & Randy at Doc Ford's

We enjoyed a visit from good friends Randy and Melissa who are spending winter months in Naples.  They drove up to see us at Cypress Trail and take a look at our home on wheels.  It was a great visit and we enjoyed lunch at one our favorite places - Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille in Fort Myers Beach.  A really nice day!


We will be heading north next; first stopping north of Tampa for several days and then up to the Florida panhandle and Destin area for most of February.  Looking forward to seeing more friends and family while we are there.

Motorhome/RV Living Update

Jordan Lake Parkers Creek Campground - late November

I have been wanting to write a post giving an update and status of our ongoing transition to RV/Motorhome living and I have found it more difficult than I expected.  Perhaps because our transition included more than becoming full time "RVers"; it's retirement, selling our home, and being away from family and friends in Michigan for a longer period for the first time.  Whatever the case, the last 3 months or so have been very good and we are learning a lot.  Here are some current thoughts and an update. 

Jordan Lake near campsite

As previously mentioned, we have been enjoying some extended time in North Carolina since mid October.  We started out at Jordan Lake State Park and then went to a private park closer to Raleigh for a month.  A few days before Thanksgiving, we moved back to Jordan Lake State Park - Parkers Creek Campground for a couple of weeks before we head to Michigan for Christmas. This location is closer to Cheryl's than where we were staying previously.  The scenery is better too.

We were fortunate to have the flexibility to come to North Carolina several weeks before the birth of our granddaughter, and even though she arrived a couple of weeks later than expected, there was no pressure to leave and we've been able to spend time here with Cheryl, Darren and Ellie.  At the same time, we have our own place to come home to at the end of the day. While traveling on the road with our home is great, we can also stay put near family for extended periods of time and still be at "home".

Overall, we are very pleased with the new lifestyle.  We feel like we still have a lot to learn and need to go through a whole year or more to better evaluate and reflect.  Since we have kept very busy, I have to say we haven't missed our jobs, just the friends and family.  The feeling of freedom from time restraints, home ownership responsibilities, along with the ability to drive to places we want to see in this beautiful country is everything I expected and more.  We have only scratched the surface.

Prodecotech E-Bike - "Stride" Model

E-Bikes:  Recently we made the decision to purchase electric assist bicycles.  From our travel experience so far, we think we can make good use of them, especially in the parks and small towns we visit.  After some research and test drives on these bikes, we were sold.  We chose bikes manufactured by Prodeco Tech with a rear hub motor powered by a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. The bikes can be operated just like a regular bicycle; equipped with 8 speeds and disc brakes.  The electric assist part can be used when needed with a turn of the throttle on the handlebar.  Depending on how much you use the motor, they have a range of 25-30+ miles per charge. 

Folding Bike model

Bike ride - Jordan Lake

One unique feature,  and a factor in our decision to buy from this manufacturer,  is they are "folding" bikes. The frame folds in half and we are able to transport them in our car or RV without the need for a bike rack.  Since these bikes are heavier than regular bikes, it would require a heavy duty rack probably attached to the RV.  This along with the bikes being out in the weather when we are traveling led us to consider the folding bike option.

Travel Planning:  When we are traveling, I still like to do quite a bit of planning.  I know part of the RV lifestyle appeal can be to go where the wind takes you and be spontaneous, but for us it hasn't been that easy.  Maybe we will get better at this as we gain more experience, but for right now we plan.  From looking at the driving routes we want to take, to where we want (or can) stay, to area attractions, we research and plan.  The biggest challenge for us has been finding spots to park that are available, can accommodate our size rig, and are reasonably priced.  Again, as we gain more experience I think this will get better.  We have already gotten some tips from other RVers.

We are a little picky on where we want to stay and we have come to enjoy having some amenities available most of the time. This is part of figuring it all out and I know we will get better at it and perhaps become more flexible. There are also seasonal crowds in some areas of the country that impact availability of RV sites especially on short notice.  Regardless of the park (National, State, local, or private) you have to plan ahead in certain areas at certain times.  All have different policies for reservations and cancellations.  Some you can book up to a year in advance, others 6 months; and there are various fees for cancellations (mostly nominal if you cancel far enough in advance).

Living in the RV:  The RV has performed well both mechanically and functionally.  We feel very comfortable and at ease both on the road and when parked.  I've included a few pictures for those who haven't seen our home, so you can get a feel for the space we have.  We tried to incorporate some familiar personal items into our limited space, especially pictures and small items we were used to having in our home. (Reminder - you can click on the pictures to enlarge.)

From household chores (cooking and laundry), to sleeping, to entertainment (TV's, satellite, internet) we have no complaints.  I'll say again, having the regular oven and washer/dryer has been wonderful.


On the mechanical side, we will be adding a steering damper before we go to Florida in January and we have also looked into a rear stabilizing system.  Both of these items will help with driving and rear sway; making going down the road easier and more comfortable.

When the weather is cold, it is a little bit of a challenge to keep a constant temperature throughout the RV, but with the two heating options (electric and propane), we stay comfortable.  This is one of the reasons we decided not to drive to Michigan in December; not completely sure how we would do in very cold Michigan temperatures.

Tentative Plans:  After we spend most of December in Michigan; we will return to North Carolina in early January, and then head to the Florida panhandle area until early March.  Looking ahead to 2018, we have tentative plans to visit the northeast (Arcadia National Park in Maine) in the late spring and heading west again in the late summer/fall. (Glacier National Park in Montana is high on the list, hopefully 2018 or 2019).  We will have a trip or two with our Michigan granddaughters over the summer as well as spending time during the year in Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina with family.  Doesn't get much better than that!

I plan on doing some posts from Florida; thanks to everyone for your interest.

Thanksgiving, Family & BABY!

Meet Ellie Meredith Brown

Parents: Darren & Cheryl (Johnston) Brown











As many of you know by now, our granddaughter arrived November 9th.  We waited patiently as she came a couple of weeks later than expected, but definitely worth the wait!  Ellie Meredith is doing very well and we are enjoying a little more time here helping out and spending time with Ellie and her parents.











The rest of the family from Michigan and Maryland came to NC for Thanksgiving.  So great to have everyone together.  A time to give Thanks! 

Uncle Dan

Aunt Beth & Uncle Kevin

Megan, Anna & Ellie

Aunt Christie