Remember our price guide: $ = $10 - $20 per night $$$ = $36 - $60 per night
$$ = $21 - $35 per night $$$$ = $61 or higher per night
Full hook-ups Pet friendly, but be careful – sand
burrs are everywhere and quickly stuck to Sophie’s feet Gravel pads, a few pull-through,
most are back-in Laundry
on-site Wi-fi and cable TV (extra
charge for cable TV) Extensive camp/food/beach
supply store on-site Walking distance
to public beach, across the street
Location, location,
location! This was the most expensive of
our stops and ironically our least favorite. The location was good since it was
just across a (busy) street from a public beach, close to restaurants and
tourist spots. However since it was
right on a major highway there was a lot of noise almost 24 hours a day and it
was very close quarters – other RVs (some of whom were full-time residents),
single- and double-wide mobile homes and tent campers all crowded into some of
the most expensive real estate in north Florida…the more, the ”money-ier”. Worst of all, to the chagrin of the third
party of our household, Sophie, the little white dog; there was no place to
walk without getting hundreds of sand burrs. L
If being close to the beach and the “action” is your thing, Campers’ Inn
might be alright for you, but we think that we would rather try a different location.
Our site at Campers' Inn, Panama City |
Even though it has full hook-ups, the park is still pretty much "no frills" |
The beach at Panama City |
Another view of the beach at Panama City |
We stopped for a "refreshment break" at Pineapple Willy's, a restaurant and bar right on the beach |
ä We ate dinner one evening at a restaurant
about 3 miles from the campground called Runaway
Bay. We chose a table outside
near the pool, with a great view of a marina in a small harbor off the
Gulf. The food was good, the view was
spectacular, and the price was reasonable.
The entertainment? One might
expect calypso or Jimmy Buffett-style island music. We’re not quite sure how to describe the
guitar player and his vocalist that evening, but all of their song choices were "sad" songs, definitely not in keeping with the ambiance of the restaurant.
If we're back in the Panama City area in the future, I think we would like to camp at St. Andrew's State Park, a former military installation located right on the Gulf |
Standing on a pier that marks the boundary of the state park. Looking in this direction, into the park, the beach is undeveloped, and not real crowded... |
....but turn around and look the other way, and all you see is commercial development and lots of people |
Water and
electric sites; dump station as you exit the campground Pet friendly Mostly gravel pads, about half
pull-through, half back-in Laundry
facilities on site
Note: A boardwalk leads directly from the
campground across the dunes to the beach…about a quarter-mile walk, but you
don’t have to leave the campground to go to the beach, and the beach is still
within the boundaries of the state park.
Check out time is 1:00 p.m. and since this is a popular spot you can’t count on getting into your spot much earlier. When you check in at the front gate, the Ranger will call the camp host to see if your site is ready. If not, he/she will direct you to a parking lot just inside the park that has RV parking places. We spent about an hour there waiting for our site, but you do have access to the beach while you wait.
We were in "loop A" where the sites were secluded by blooming magnolias and pines. We also happened to have had a handicapped space, where (as all of the handicapped spots are), the pad was concrete. A paved path and then a boardwalk led to the beautiful soft, white, sandy beaches which were sparsely populated.
This was our favorite campground on the entire trip. Beautiful and serene, definitely a spot to return to!
Our camp site at Henderson Beach State Park |
Another view of the Henderson Beach State Park site |
Beautiful magnolia trees surrounded the site, adding fragrance as well as privacy |
The boardwalk over the sand dunes, leading to the beach |
The beach was just 1/4 mile from our camp site, with a walkway all the way |
The beach at Henderson Beach State Park was almost deserted when we were there in May |
Gulf Shores, Alabama Bay Breeze RV Park (commercial, small & family-owned) $$$
Full hook-ups Gravel pads, all back-in Only 25 sites in the entire park Wi-fi (spotty) but no cable TV
Notes: Cash only - no credit cards. Prices vary slightly depending on proximity
to the water.This mid-century RV park does not offer the amenities of many larger parks, but what it lacks in “glitz” it makes up in a friendly atmosphere. The owner personally comes out and assists everyone to get into their spot, walking beside your drivers’ window and directing you (exceedingly well, I might add) to back into your site. He then assists in leveling your rig, even providing 2”X10” boards from storage bins located between the sites. The park is located on Mobile Bay rather than on the more crowded Gulf side of the peninsula. It has the feel of a 1950s-era lakeside resort, with a small sand swimming beach and a long wooden fishing pier. We found it charming, and the sunsets, looking west toward the mouth of Mobile Bay, were spectacular. As the ball of fire dipped into the bay, I almost expected to see (and certainly hoped for) the green flash that accompanies sunset in Key West. Alas, it was not to be, but the sunset, nonetheless, was breathtaking.
Our camp site at Bay Breeze RV Park in Gulf Shores |
Adirondack chairs on the shore, looking past the fishing pier, out into Mobile Bay |
Standing on the fishing pier, looking back into the campground at Bay Breeze RV Park |
Mike and Sophie hanging out on the fishing pier.... |
...watching a pelican sitting on a piling as the sun sets |
Spectacular sunset over Mobile Bay, taken from Bay Breeze RV Park |
Streetlamps in the town of Fairhope, Alabama were all decked out in preparation for Memorial Day |
ä Also mentioned were Lucy B. Goode’s Costal Café,
owned by Jimmy Buffett’s sister, Lucy.
We walked through the complex but did not eat there. Sand volleyball courts, a huge T-shirt shop,
and the feel of a Jimmy Buffet pre-concert tailgate party, but we can’t comment
on the food or the service.
ä And finally, in Foley, we ate at Lambert’s
Café. The third of the family-owned “Home
of Throwed Rolls” restaurants (the original is in Sikeston, MO and the second
is in Ozark, MO) dishes up large portions of good home-style food, but the real
attraction is the “pass-arounds” (fried okra, mac ‘n cheese, and other dishes
brought to your table by servers walking around the dining room) and, of
course, the “throwed rolls” tossed across the room by a server with a rolling
cart loaded with dozens of piping-hot-right-out-of-the-oven rolls.
Mike has now eaten in all three of the restaurants; Yvonne only the
original and the Foley location. If you’ve
been to one, they are all the same, but still fun, nonetheless.
Waveland, Mississippi Buccaneer State Park $$
Full hook-ups Pet friendly Asphalt
pads, all back-in Laundry and
extensive food/supplies store on-site
Pool located within the campground, with a fee charged for use Large water park owned by the State Park
System is located adjacent to the park entrance and accessible from inside the
park; a daily fee is charged
Note: It is about a 5 minute drive from the campground to the beach
Note: It is about a 5 minute drive from the campground to the beach
In August
2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, devastating the entire Gulf Coast. Every structure in Buccaneer State Park was
either destroyed or damaged to the point that it had to be razed. It has taken more than eight years to completely
rebuild the park, but the State of Mississippi has done a magnificent job in
restoring it. All of the buildings are
concrete with brick or stone facades, and, of course, everything is brand-new –
so new, in fact, that when we visited over Memorial Day weekend in May 2014,
the pool and the store and laundry facility located next to the pool had just
opened several days earlier.
Buccaneer State Park...grilling brats on Memorial Day |
The park was full, but you didn't feel terribly crowded. Our neighbor was 60 or 70 feet away |
Sophie loves to travel with us, and is pretty good about staying in the trailer while we are out sightseeing, but we hear plenty from her when we return |
The beach across from Buccaneer State Park, Waveland, MS, early in the morning on Memorial Day |
We were boaters for more than 25 years, and still love boats, marinas and the water. This marina was located in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi |
Did I mention that we love boats? This marina was in Gulfport. Towns all along the Gulf Coast have rebuilt (or are still in the process of rebuilding) their city marinas |
Full hook-ups Pet friendly, with a fenced-in off-leash
area Concrete pads, all pull-thru Laundry on-site Pool Wi-fi and cable tv If you need RV parts or service (or want
to “trade up”) there is a very large RV dealer located just across the street
from this park
We were just
making a stopover for one night, but this would be a good location for visiting
the region. Memphis, Tennessee is only a
short drive…in fact, Graceland is just 8.7 miles away. Elvis is waiting for you!
EZ DAZE in Southhaven offers quick access to Memphis and is a beautiful park |
Full hookups Pet friendly Asphalt pads, mostly back-in, with a few
pull-thru If you have a National Park
Service Golden Age Pass (62+), camping rates are 50% off.
The St.
Francis River feeds the 8,400 acre Lake Wappapello, which features great fishing
and good recreational boating. Like most
Corps lakes, there is almost no commercial business right on the waterfront,
and the few marinas on the lake are owned by the Corps and operated by private
concessionaires. Consequently, you don’t
find many large boats on these lakes; primarily bass boats and a few jet skis.
Corps of
Engineers (COE) campgrounds are among our favorite places to stay, and Lake
Wappapello has four of them: Redmond
Creek Recreation Area, Greenville Recreation Area, Eagles Point Recreation
Area, and Peoples Creek Recreation Area.
We were in Redmond Creek West;
there is also a Redmond Creek East. We
drove through both, and preferred the West campground, where the sites were far
more spacious. Although we hadn’t
planned to spend more than one night, we ended up staying longer to explore the
lake area (the Visitor’s Center at the Dam is worth a stop) and clean and put
the RV back in order while we had electric and water before returning home and
putting the trailer back in storage.
ä We ate dinner at one of the few restaurants
near the campground, expecting to get the usual “fried catfish, breaded pork
tenderloin” fare that seem to be the staples of lake-area dining. Crab & Company was rather new,
nicely-decorated, with a surprisingly extensive menu. One of the entrees caught Mike’s eye, and
maybe he didn’t read the entire description or just didn’t believe it. The menu featured a two-pound pork steak
(actually, a smoked pork shoulder) that was as delicious as it was large. He ate his fill, and we brought the rest
home; it made sandwiches for three more meals.
When the waitress brought the food to the table, Mike asked her “do you
really think I can eat all that?” to which she responded “if you do, you’ll be
the first that I’ve ever seen do it.”
Our site in Redmond Creek West at Lake Wappapello |
The visitors center had a display of handmade quilts...no "machine quilting" here |
Contemplating a two-pound "pork steak" |
In case you can't appreciate how big a two-pound steak really is, here's a close-up. You might expect a piece of meat this size to be tough, but it was delicious! |
So, after 33
days on the road, covering 3,586 miles, we returned home. We hope you find our reviews helpful and
maybe even a little entertaining. As we type
this, we’re already planning our next trip, readying the RV to head out and
collect more Road Stories.