Category: Florida

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Florida State Parks WanderLog

The White Sand Beaches of the Emerald Coast

Travel Dates: Dec. 3-13, 2015

We visited the Emerald Coast on our way east to west 2 years ago (blog post about that here) at the beginning of our crazy journey. We drove through this area way too fast and swore we’d come back and stay longer.

This time we wanted to try a different state park so we stayed at Grayton Beach. The campground isn’t right on the water (slightly annoying) but the sites were fairly secluded and it was peaceful.

We had some great beach time, ate at the Airstream food trucks in Seaside and even managed a visit to Santa Claus in nearby Destin.

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We also met some friends at church who are thinking about buying TWO Airstreams (one to sit and live in on the property, one to travel in) so we had them over to get a glimpse of what our life is like.

A new cast iron pan, a bike ride on the nature trail and a beautiful sunset topped off our 6 day stay.

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After leaving Grayton Beach State Park, we drove only about another hour and half towards Panama City Beach. We had visited Saint Andrew’s Park two years ago, but the weather was cold enough we didn’t get to see a lot.

This time the weather was beautiful! We picked up some boogie boards at a surf shop and the kids spent an entire afternoon riding the waves.

Our last body boarding adventure was over a year and a half ago (in southern California), but the kids took right to it. Cara, only 3 last time, picked it right up. With a few minutes of instruction from Rachel, she was catching pretty good rides. The beach here is perfect for kids, with a fully sandy bottom and gentle slope. It was a joy to see them shriek with excitement each time they got a ride.

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We try to not swim at the beach EVERY day (gotta give those swimsuits a chance to dry out!) so  one afternoon we escaped out to the beach for a much needed break. We visited the old turpentine still, carved faces into the sand, and practiced our dune jumping. Rachel was suffering from a bad case of a bad mood, and it translated directly into school struggles. After our afternoon wander, she was doing much better. It always amazes us  how a little wandering improves all of our moods.
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We stayed longer than normal in the last few spots and it was kind of weird. Like we are actually getting caught up on life. A few more weeks of this and we might actually get ahead! We had one last wander down the beach on Sunday afternoon and found this Merry Christmas sandman. A perfect ending to our great stay along the Emerald Coast. 

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Next we head farther southeast into Florida. First stop Tampa, and then Christmas in the Florida Keys!

Categories
Florida Musings of Sam

Crossing Paths With Our Former Selves

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We woke up today in Site 65 in Saint Andrews State Park, just outside Panama City, Florida. Quite notably, this is the exact place we were two years ago, December 10th, 2013.

In 2013, we were headed west, ultimately to Southern California. We had just enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends in Tampa, and spent the next few months traveling West. Now, in 2015, we are heading east, making our way to the Florida Keys where we will spend Christmas.

Being here, on the same day, forces me to remember my former self, and recall our plans, emotions, goals, and fears. What were we thinking!?! How could we possibly travel full-time, exploring as we go? How can we live in such a small space? Will this really work? Will home-school work out? Can we really afford to do this?

Since then, our little family has enjoyed countless adventures, just a few of which I’ll highlight, in no particular order:

  • Baking freshly picked blackberry desserts on the North Coast of California.
  • Exploring the unknown Chiricahua National Monument in South-Eastern Arizona.
  • Spending days in beautiful view of the Grand Tetons.
  • Meeting countless friends around the country.
  • Backpacking in a Canadian National Park.
  • Riding Slickrock in Moab, UT.
  • Waking up to hot air balloons in Sedona, Arizona.
  • Exploring the USS Midway aircraft carrier.
  • Backpacking for Thanksgiving.
  • Visiting the McIlhenny Tabasco Sauce Factory in Louisiana.
  • Installing solar panels, upgrading the batteries, and adding an inverter.
  • Parallel parking the Airstream in Joshua Tree National Park, Jumbo Rocks Campground.
  • Mountain biking in Minnesota.
  • Enjoying sea-urchins in San Diego.
  • Seeking out local pizza all over the country.
  • Driving on the Bonneville Speedway on the Salt Flats in Utah.
  • Exploring numerous caves.
  • Shoe-skiing down glaciers.
  • Backpacking on the Apostle Islands
  • Exploring the Olympic Peninsula.
  • Selling our sticks-and-bricks house.
  • Canadian Poutine.
  • Crabbing on the Oregon Coast.
  • Helping Cara hike 4 10+ mile hikes before she turned 5.
  • Numerous desert Sunsets.
  • Swimming on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts.
  • Touring the Hoover Dam.
  • Driving into Mexico for a beach day.
  • Eating ice-cream at Mount Rushmore.
  • Demolishing the Pig Trough pie platter at Betty’s Pies in Minnesota. Twice.
  • Enjoying the city library on Mackinac Island.
  • Andrew’s first 25 mile bike ride, before he turned 8.
  • Seeing Spanish Moss for the first time.

Have faith, former selves. Your next two years will be amazing, challenging, rejuvenating, exhausting, wonderful, and frustrating. And ENTIRELY worth it.

Categories
Florida National Parks

Fort Pickens – Gulf Island National Seashore – Florida

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We love old forts. The history, the architecture, the sheer size, all of it makes for a fascinating visit. Fort Picken is located in the Gulf Island National Seashore – a barrier island along the panhandle of Florida. The seashore also stretches into parts of Mississippi, although somehow skips Alabama? Still not sure about that.

When We Visited: December 2013

Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3

Fort Pickens is the largest of 4 forts that once guarded the Pensacola Bay and the Navy Yard. It definitely seemed bigger than Fort McHenry, mostly because we could crawl through smaller places and explore more inside the walls of the fort. We started out by picking up our Jr. Ranger Books at the visitor center and then sat down on benches for the ranger tour. In the middle of the history of the fort, the ranger stops and points out this guy walking across the grounds:

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Armadillo! I was ridiculously excited. Sam had seen a few around camp, but I hadn’t had the privilege yet. These things are so awesome looking.

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Fort Pickens is built on a giant sandbar. Turns out, forts are rather heavy and they were worried about the whole thing sinking into oblivion. To help with the weight, under every arch, they also built a reverse arch to help distribute the weight from underneath the pillars. There were only a few excavated so we could see the result. Pretty impressive.

Fort Pickens Unit of Gulf Island National Seashore_008Fort Pickens played a critical role in the Civil War. The Fort was reinforced the day after Fort Sumter surrendered, preventing the Confederates from seizing control and using the nearby Navy Yard. At one point, the batteries on the fort even fired on nearby Forts Barrancas and McRee, the navy yard, and several independent batteries spread along the bay shore. Heavy damage caused the Confederates to withdraw.
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We also *finally* found our kids their Jr. Ranger Hats. We had promised them hats after their 5th Junior Ranger Badge, but that number came and went before we found a National Park Store that had them in stock. We finally came through on our promise. Total excitement ensued.

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Nothing makes history come alive like standing where it all happened. If you have not visited a historical site recently, consider this our friendly nudge to get out there!

Categories
Florida

The Florida Aquarium in Downtown Tampa

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The Florida Aquarium in Downtown Tampa wasn’t on my list to visit until my mother-in-law emailed and told us it was one of their favorites in the entire country. Then it went straight to the top of my list of things I wanted to do in the area. It didn’t disappoint.

When We Visited: December 2, 2013

Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3

Parking Costs: $6 for all day

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Knowing that aquariums are notoriously expensive, the night before I bought a seasons pass to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City Utah as they are both members of the Zoos and Aquariums reciprocal program. This allowed us to get in at 50% off instead of paying the full admission price. Even though I only had my emailed receipt as proof of purchase, the staff didn’t hesitate to extend the discount. I was grateful.

This aquarium also taught me an important lesson of traveling the country – never pay for anything extra. A few weeks previous at the Jacksonville Zoo, my kids BEGGED to pay the extra fee to pet the Manta Rays. Here in Tampa, petting the Manta Rays was included. See? Money saved.

Although not extensively large, the Florida Aquarium did have some good exhibits and trainer talks. We watched a keeper feed the playful sea otters, and another few talk about and show various other animals. We walked through and marveled at the large tanks full of jelly fish, and my kids were brave enough to “pet” the sea cucumber. They also have a HUGE shark tank with divers who talk to you through a speaker system while they are in the water. Tampa Aquarium Florida_003Tampa Aquarium Florida_004Tampa Aquarium Florida_006Tampa Aquarium Florida_008

They also have a large outdoor splash pad that I’m sure is extremely popular in the summer, but was very vacant on the 60 degree day we were there. My kids were so disappointed I hadn’t brought their swimming suits, but I let them run around as long as they didn’t get soaking wet.

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Definitely a good day and I would recommend visiting if you are in the area.

Categories
Florida

Off Season Beach Vacation in Florida Along the Emerald Coast

Beach Vacation in Florida Along the Emerald CoastWhen we started seeing signs for the “Emerald Coast” and I honestly had no idea what that meant. I hadn’t ever heard of the Emerald Coast before, but there were signs everywhere: “Emerald Coast Dentistry” and “Emerald Coast Coffee Shop”. When we pulled into our first campground along the West Coast or Panhandle of Florida I started to get an idea of what the fuss was about. It. Is. Gorgeous. Pristine white beaches, beautiful campgrounds, and the most relaxing time I’ve ever had. We spent about a week beach hopping along the coast and could have easily doubled or tripled our time. Here’s a quick rundown of towns, state parks and other places to go during your visit.

When we visited: November 2013

Ages of Children: 8, 6, 3

Off Season Beach Vacation on the Florida Emerald Coast

1. Panama City & St. Andrews Beach State Park. Located at the end of a small peninsula, St. Andrews Beach State Park is a slice of heaven. Having just come from 3 days on the beach at St. George Island, I wasn’t really in a beach kind of mood but I *wish* we had gone swimming. The beach is absolutely gorgeous! So gorgeous in fact, that Cara jumped in without her swimming suit and got soaking wet. Our campsite was directly across from the playground, and there were also hills the kids could scramble up to go exploring. Showers were a bit drafty, but we survived. We also visited the Science & Discovery Center of NW Florida (using the ASTC pass) which was about a 30 minute drive away. We ran into an elderly couple who was renting a beach house in the off season for about $900/month. Ridiculously cheap given the location.

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2. Destin & Henderson Beach State Park. I don’t know how they managed it, but this state park is across the street from Wal-Mart. Literally. At the same time, the park is secluded, quiet, and absolutely beautiful. The individual campsites are also very large, and the bathrooms, well, don’t get me started on how amazing the showers were. The beach is a short-ish walk along a boardwalk and my kids dubbed the sand “liquefaction grade” and quite enjoyed playing in it. We ended up here on a chilly few days, so they kids spent about 20 minutes in the water before declaring themselves done, but our walks along the beach were extremely peaceful. I would go back and stay for a month. Easy.

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3. Pensacola & Gulf Islands National Seashore. First off, the drive from Destin to Pensacola along 399 was the most gorgeous beach scenery I have seen yet. There are places you can stop and beach along the way, but it was cold and windy so we mostly just stopped for photos. The Gulf Islands National Seashore is actually quite large and has two districts: one in Florida and one in Mississippi. We stayed at the Fort Pickens campground on the Florida side. Sites were not secluded, but the campground was peaceful and the showers were decent. We explored trails down to the beaches (no actual swimming), visited the historic Fort Pickens, earned a Junior Ranger Badge, drove the 40 minutes over to the Naval Aviation Museum, and ate lunch at the most awesome outdoor food court I’ve ever seen.
IMG_3053Things to do in Pensacola FloridaHad we not been on a schedule to reach Houston for Christmas, we would’ve extended our stay at all of these campgrounds. We definitely have plans to return, maybe this time in slightly warmer weather.