Heading West

We left the Destin area and rolled only 50 miles to Gulf Islands National Seashore and the campground at Fort Pickens at the far western edge of a barrier island shared with Pensacola Beach. Incredible natural beauty; however, so cold and windy we could not venture far from the coach.

Now near Mobile, AL, today's sightseeing event was a visit to Bellingrath Gardens and Home, designed in the 1920's for Mobile's first CocaCola bottler.   bellingrath.org    Although the day was cold and gray one could imagine how glorious the grounds would be in Spring. There is a large greenhouse where I was able to get colorful pics.

     

Florida Gulf

We departed John Prince park on Tuesday.... a big thanks to George & Irene for being tour guides.

 After a overnight stop at Ocala we are now at Topsail State Park near Destin. Wow, this is the Mercedes of state parks....paved pads, 50 amp full hook-ups, lovely landscaping, even cable TV. We're told this used to be a luxuy RV resort; now a state park, the Crown Jewel of the Emerald Coast.  This area is famed for sparkling white sand and beautiful, clear green water.

This afternoon we biked 3.5 miles on Hwy 30A which goes into Santa Rosa Beach  The road has a wonderful bike/walk path; it was great to see the beach homes, sand, etc. We lunched on fresh seafood at the Smiling Fish, great choice, great food. Adjacent is The Artist's at Gulf Place a group of huts with original art.   artistsatgulfplace.com   A lovely afternoon!



South Florida Fun

Friday found the four of us dining at the City Diner in West Palm Beach...a very quaint place full of memorabilia from the 50's and the 60's. My favorite was Superman in the phone booth. (Photo by George)

After lunch we biked in the Northwood historic district famous for 1920's homes built in the Florida Boom era. Some were restored to former glory, some were not.

Saturday we drove to Ft. Lauderdale, we lunched waterside on the canal, viewing the sightseeing boats, yachts & the tourists. Thanks to Siri we found an ice cream shop a short hike away. We loved the public sculpture, I couldn't resist sitting in the red chair.

We attended a matinee performance of a comedy play at the Broward Center for Performing Arts....a lovely facility with gardens and terraces. A nice contrast to our days of biking.

JOHN PRINCE PARK

50 miles south we are now at John Prince county park in Lake Worth with George & Irene Harper. Our first event was planning our biking/sightseeing week in this area. The first morning we biked the seven-mile trail surrounding Lake Osborne in the park. Lovely day, lovely scenery. I can't resist sitting on rocks.

In the afternoon we visited Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. We started with a delicious lunch of Pan-Pacific cuisine at the Gardens Cafe.....then strolled the lovely gardens.  morikami.org

Port St. Lucie

Driving 250 miles we arrive at Outdoor Resorts Motor Coach Resort, at Port St. Lucie....an absolute primo place to stay. It's condo-type where RV owners buy a lot and then proceed to play "Can You Top This" by adding tiling, paving, outdoor kitchens, lush landscaping, luxury outdoor furniture, etc. The result is a wonderfully beautiful place to be.
The weather is sunny and mild; we've enjoyed one of the three pools and hot tubs. The wonderful paved roads are great for bike riding.     www.outdoor-resorts.com

Today we drove to the coast and viewed the waves on Hutchinson Island, a barrier island. The water was emerald green much like Sandestin.





Tomorrow we move south to John Prince Park in Lake Worth to meet George & Irene Harper for a week of bike-riding and sightseeing. George has an agenda for us!

Florida!

We are at Hanna park near Jacksonville, a real favorite of ours. Such a contrast...The campground is in a Florida jungle, the Atlantic Ocean just steps away. It's the off season so we have the place to ourselves.       hannapark@coj.net

  We enjoyed fresh grouper at Mayport Village,  along with a beautiful sunset. The restaurant is on the St. John River and we watched a huge cruise ship  pass by heading out to sea.

On the Road Again!

Here we go on another Grand Adventure!  First night out we are at our favorite free campground....Walmart in Savannah. Weather nicer already, we're in t-shirts with the windows open. We paid our camping fee by buying our groceries.