ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 It's a beautiful place... lots of wilderness...full TR in the coming days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 :pc: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 I may have been breaking a federal law here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Doesn't look illegal to me. You have my permission. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 That's inside Eglin AFB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Ohhh pretty!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 That's inside Eglin AFB. Well, then, nevermind. I'm calling the MP's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 OK. Time to get this little TR rolling. Last month we decided to take a short trip to Destin. My wife's sister lives in Crestview, and they had planned some sort of "buying party" selling bags or something. Plus we needed a few days to relax. I first tried for Topsail, but that is just about impossible on short notice. Henderson was booked too. Third choice was Rocky Bayou SP in Niceville. I had wanted to stay there for a while anyway, as the pics on the website looked nice. Also it was hard to argue with the $16 a night camping fee. I took 3 days of vacation, and we left Wednesday at 1pm after my wife got off of work. Our first stop south is usually at Jack's fast food in Jemison. I love Jack's, and they have a huge parking lot for trucks. Double Win! Here we are. After getting a snack we rolled straight through to Niceville with only one short pit stop at a rest area. We rolled into the CG about 7:30 and dropped the camper off. We were all starving. Google Now pointed us a Mexican joint called Pepito's about a mile from the CG. It was very good. A note about our site. There wasn't many big sites to choose from when I got reservations, and it was not the best one there. I barely got backed into it also. The site was plenty big, but the road was narrow with 2 ill placed poles which limited my cutting ability. But after 3 shots I got her backed in. Site 41 in the distance The next morning we were up early and off to Chikfila for breakfast. After that we hit Walmart for some supplies. After storing the supplies we headed to Henderson Beach SP. Our pass from Rocky Bayou allowed us free entry into Henderson. After a short drive and toll we were at Henderson. Now am I normally anti sand, but my kids and wife are very much pro sand. So I decided to suck it up and enjoy it. 2 critical factors for my enjoyment are shade and a cooler. Thankfully we had both. I brought the 10' x 10' EZ Up, 4 chairs, porta crib, and cooler. Amazingly, we managed to get it all to the beach in one trip. Here's Bode enjoying the set up. The girls spent equal amounts of time in the water and in the shade playing in the sand I even managed to get in the water a few times and swim with the kids and throw them into the waves. We spent a little over 4 hours there. That has to be a record for me. I am usually done in about 30 minutes. The kids were spent at the end of the day. We ended the day with a good dinner at a locals only type of seafood place in Niceville. I didn't take any pics but it was right on the water and very scenic. The grouper was good too. Here's a link if anyone is in the area. http://bluewaterbaymarina.com/schooners/ That's all for Thursday Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Wow, your kids are getting big. Shade is definitely a plus at the beach. Being anti sand like you, I'd need shade, a comfy chair and something cold to drink. And a one hour limit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alexwyattmommy 181 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Nice that there is room for the shade. Try that at a Jersey beach and see what happens. LOL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Moving on to Friday. We cooked up some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. You can't go wrong with cinnamon rolls. After breakfast I took the girls on a hike on the Sand Pine trail. Here is the bridge leading to the trail. This bridge used to be a dam. Some pics along the way This little stream was flowing really well. I guess their restoration project is a success. An old lake viewing area The hiking trail was pretty good. They had 12 posts marking various plants and features. Along with a pamphlet this made it pretty educational. The kids collected leaves to go along with it. After hiking the wife and kids headed out to go to her sister's house. Since I was going to be alone all afternoon and evening I could have just laid around, but I just could not do it. I decided to rent a kayak. $15 for 2 hours didn't seem too bad. I had looked at an area on google maps where a creek flowed into the bayou. It looked like a good place to go explore. Headed out. My destination is the treeline at the far left of this pic. I stuck real close to the shoreline heading out. I was hoping to see some wildlife of some sort. I did see some fish in the shallows and 2 nice osprey. I made it to the mouth of the creek in just under 40 minutes. I paddled into the creek and was surprised to find it flowing quite fast. I had to paddle pretty hard to maintain a decent speed. It was really pretty along the creek. It had a nice white sand bottom and lots of vegetation growing around. As I went upstream my gps told me that I had entered the boundary of Eglin AFB. There were not any signs posted along the creek so I kept going. A little over an hour into the rental I decided to turn around and head back. Some thunder rumbling reinforced my decision. On the way back I decided to cut straight across the open water of the bayou. The wind picked up while I was out there which kept pushing me off course. It made for a little harder going than earlier. I decided to put my head down and really paddle hard to see how fast that I could cross. I made it back in a little over 20 minutes. After resting up for a bit I decided to eat some supper than went for a mountain bike ride at dusk. I jumped a small doe out on the trail, but she was gone before I could get a pic. After hiking, paddling, and riding I was spent. I took a shower and waited on the family to get back. I slept good that night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Wow, your kids are getting big. Shade is definitely a plus at the beach. Being anti sand like you, I'd need shade, a comfy chair and something cold to drink. And a one hour limit. Yep, they just keep growing. Its weird. I like your beach style, for sure. I actually had a good time, believe it or not. Nice that there is room for the shade. Try that at a Jersey beach and see what happens. LOL You lost me at Jersey. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Shame on you for no cinnamon rolls pictures!! Our CFA is debuting some new ones tomorrow, they look good.Baby powder is your BFF for sand. It's amazing for sand removal from your body. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Shame on you for no cinnamon rolls pictures!! Our CFA is debuting some new ones tomorrow, they look good.Baby powder is your BFF for sand. It's amazing for sand removal from your body. I ate them before any photo could be taken. I will have to remember the baby powder. I actually showered off and changed clothes before we left. The state park has some nice facilities. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 I have been wanting to do this trip but stay at topsail. I grew up going to the beach so I don't mind sand. It's another reason every truck or jeep I have owned has been a 4x4. In month or so we are going to go camping at our local beach. But it is not even close to how pretty Destin is. But we can drive on our beach. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 The kayaking looks great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 I'm in! That's a lot of physical activity for July in FL. I want more campground pics! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 I have been wanting to do this trip but stay at topsail. I grew up going to the beach so I don't mind sand. It's another reason every truck or jeep I have owned has been a 4x4. In month or so we are going to go camping at our local beach. But it is not even close to how pretty Destin is. But we can drive on our beach. Driving on the beach would be bad in the panhandle. There would be idiots stuck everywhere. The kayaking looks great. 'Twas. Here is a link to where I was.https://maps.google.com/maps?q=30.506926,-86.411998&num=1&t=h&z=16 I'm in! That's a lot of physical activity for July in FL. I want more campground pics! I have a lot of pics of the CG coming up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Oh there are plenty of idiots stuck on our beach to. When I was a teenager pulling them out paid my way to the beach. But I would never take money from a family. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 I'm in. Page one, too. Let me see if I have this right: back in the '50's some geniuses dammed a rare type of stream so they could create a lake that they called Puddin' Head Lake? Only in Florida. Glad to hear that the Florida Star anises are coming back. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I'm in. Page one, too. Let me see if I have this right: back in the '50's some geniuses dammed a rare type of stream so they could create a lake that they called Puddin' Head Lake? Only in Florida. Glad to hear that the Florida Star anises are coming back. TCD Yeah, that name is quite lame. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Campground pics Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Thanks to those few who responded. I've noticed for a while that TR's seemed to be a bit clique-ish around here. Some TR's get 3 pages worth of responses before the second update and some just fall of their face. I think that I'm done with TR's....just going to read them from now on. end rant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alexwyattmommy 181 Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I don't know if they are cliquish or that it is easier to joke about Disney related things. It is usually a hijacking that makes the extra posts. Thank you for taking the time to post a TR. I'm too lazy to upload my photos to a host site and I have a fear of someone seeing some unflattering photo of myself. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ok Grumpy AKA Cindy~~ 9 Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 It's been many years since I've been to Rocky bayou. FL. really have some nice state parks. I've been reading your TR and have enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing. We actual stayed at the Maxwell Gunter park right down the road from there. Oh ya it's fun when you do something you don't really like and enjoy it. Like going to the Beach. Your lucky you had descent weather. Please don't stop doing your TR. they give us ideas and we see places we might not ever get to. Thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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