Howdy Friends!
Happy October! It's almost Halloween. Hopefully you have your costumes all picked out! Ned and I are going as a couple of part-time, aging, fun loving RVers!
Our latest adventure started on October 16th as we left our homebase of Lakewood Colorado and set off on yet another long RV journey down to the lovely state of Florida. We were a few days late heading out because Ned’s trusty Ford F250 was in the shop again. This is about the 3rd time it goes into the shop in the last few months. We have spent in excess of five grand in repairs. Of course, as luck would have it, the problems started right after the truck reached 60K miles and the warranty expired. Yeah, I know what you are going to say...... NO, we did not purchase an extended warranty which in hind-site, would have been a really good thing to have! I am really starting to think that FORD is an acronym for “Fix or Repair Daily!”
On this trip, we headed down to Pensacola Florida for our daughter’s birthday. Since it is a long drive from Denver, we decided to make a few stops in between. We stopped in Wichita Kansas for the first night. A big shout out to Air Capital RV Park in Wichita! This RV park is right off of Interstate 135. It is so easy to get in and out of and its neat and clean. Most of their sites are pull through and exceptionally long with good spacing. There is a great area for doggies too. There are several restaurants within walking distance. It was a nice break after a long day of traveling.
The next couple of days we stayed at the Sallisaw Ft. Smith West KOA just outside of Fort Smith Arkansas. This is a nice KOA that is well kept and surprisingly quiet for an RV park that is not too far from the interstate. There are plenty of amenities including a few short hiking trails that are great for kids and for doggies. The pool was closed for the season, but it really wasn’t warm enough for swimming anyway. While in this area, we drove over to Devils Den State park for a short hike with the doggies. This is a beautiful state park with lots of history. There is a lake, waterfall, pool, and several trails. The Fort Smith area has a lot of outdoor opportunities and we found it incredibly beautiful in the fall. We plan to return some day.
After Sallisaw, we headed down to Memphis Tennessee to check out Beale Street and get us some BBQ!! We stayed in West Memphis at the Tom Sawyer's RV Park on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River (in my head …check spelling….….”humpback, humpback – i – crooked letter, crooked letter, i…..etc.” This is a nice very spacious RV park. There are many areas for walking, riding bikes and plenty of grassy areas to walk your doggies. The river is beautiful and there are places to sit and admire the views. The sunsets were amazing.
The first evening, we headed down to Memphis, the midtown area for some Central BBQ. Our good friends Keith and Martin told us about several good BBQ places so it was hard to choose. But Central was definitely a good choice! This BBQ was sooooo good! I’m not a big BBQ fan but Ned is. With that said, I thought the BBQ at Central was some of the best I had ever eaten.
I thought I was going to have to wrestle Ned to the floor for the last pork rib.
We both had a beer with our dinner and when we were done, Ms. Grace (me) tried to slide out of the booth and I guess I was thinking I had more booth than I did because I landed on my butt, on the floor. Oddly everyone just looked away and no one offered to help me up, I think everyone thought I was drunk….. Needless to say, I was very embarrassed, and Ned could not stop laughing!
Anyhoo…..If you are in Memphis…. Check out Central BBQ. You won’t be disappointed! There is more than one location, and they have a great menu and suitable selection of beer. We thought the staff at Midtown was genuinely nice!
The next day we went over to the Bass Pro Pyramid (guess whose idea that was??.) It’s a Bass Pro store on steroids. Their entrance says "Welcome to Paradise" but I did not see any beautiful beaches or turquoise water and the staff looked at me oddly when I asked them to point me in the direction of the Tiki bar. Liars! This Bass Pro is a mega store; it has a hotel, and you can even take an elevator to the top of the pyramid to see views of the city. Ned wanted to go up there, but I said “ummm no”….. Geez, it was $8 dollars to go up and ok, I am a tight wad…. He only pouted for about ten minutes then he saw the hunting section of the store and he was over it.
After spending a few long hours in Bass Pro "paradise," we headed over to Beale Street in downtown Memphis. This street is famous for great music, great bars, etc., and is a must do for anyone who is visiting Memphis. However, I have to report that there is not much going on in the afternoon on a weekday! It’s a good time if you don’t like crowds and you just want to eat some soul food/BBQ and maybe do a little souvenir shopping or visit museums. There are several museums and historical sites in the area. We ate again…….. believe it or not (LOL) at the Blues City Cafe. I had the fried catfish and Ned had fried shrimp. They serve decent size portions and we had enough to take home for another meal. The food was really good, and the staff was very friendly.
From Memphis we headed on down to the Santa Rosa RV Resort in Navarre Beach near Pensacola. I have to say that I road probably most of the way with a bee in my hair. I found this out about five hours into the ride and screamed like a girl when I touched it and it fell out on the floor. But I digress…….The Santa Rosa RV Park is a gem. It is smaller park but very neat and well kept and sits on the bay side of Navarre Beach. It has great amenities and clever landscaping. The spaces are close together but with the way the designed the landscaping, it feels private. There is a small beach and fenced park for doggies to play. Oh and hey, we will talk about all the sand in the RV later..... :( The pool area is large, has splendid views of the bay and there is a nice but small beach area for the humans too. From the dock and pier, you can get amazing views of sunrises (or so I have heard 😊) and sunsets.
When we first arrived, we hooked everything up like normal and because it is hot, humid Florida, were sweating our butts off. Ned suggested we put the AC on in the RV. I reluctantly agreed and after several attempts to turn it on, I gave up and went to find him so he could troubleshoot the problem. I am sure he thought it was the operator but after he tried several times, he decided it must be broken. We had not used for several months. Much to my surprise, he actually got out the reference manual for instruction (crowd gasps)! While he was researching, I decided to plug in a small portable fan to help keep it cool while Mr. Fix-it researched the problem. I plugged in the fan, but nothing happened…. Hmmmm…. AC no work, fan no work …..ding ding ding (light bulb goes off) ….. Ned realized he forgot to turn on the electricity at the pole 😊 So, a little lesson here…..check the “routine, simple things” before you start freaking out and thinking that you have a bigger problem!!
Our daughter and her family were just across the bay from the RV resort, so it was a quick drive to spend time with them. The beaches in Navarre are stunning. The waves were fun, and the boys had a blast boogie boarding. On one of the days, we took a trip out into the bay with Coastal Life Charters. Our captain was Mike and he did a fantastic job on showing us around the bay. We had several up-close encounters with dolphins. We fished in the bay, and everyone caught fish, at least one red snapper. He took us to a secluded beach and we looked for hermit crabs. Our grandson Zane had a wonderful time, and everyone agreed it was an enjoyable day on the water. We highly recommend Coastal Life Charters. Ask for Captain Mike, he is awesome!
While in Pensacola we did a nice hike on one of the Florida hiking trails. We hiked the trail called “Hwy 87 to Dean campsite.” Not sure who Dean is but we never really found his campsite. We did make it about 2.5 miles and then decided to turn back so it was a little over 5 miles roundtrip. We wore our doggos out and they slept most of the afternoon! Aside from beautiful beaches in the Florida panhandle, there are numerous hiking trails and many state parks. Most parks have great trails for hiking or off-road biking, etc. The flora and fauna are so beautiful and unique to the area. We had heard that black bears are prevalent in the area. We were hoping to see one…I am not sure why, I don’t want to see one in Colorado, but fortunately it never happened….. oh well, hopefully next time (not)😊
Now its off to Crystal River Florida where we hope to kayak with the Manatees. Hopefully, we are not too early in the season and we can get in some Manatee time and post some great pics! We are staying at the Crystal Isles RV Resort. This RV park was rated as one of the best resorts in the Crystal River area. Oh and here is a pic of Louie..... He is super excited about our next destination! I'd show you one of Lola but she is off chasing squirrels!
So, stay tuned friends and don't you worry.….. more fascinating stories are forthcoming, I promise 😊.
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