Pensacola RV Park, Gunter Hill COE.....catching up again

OK, it's been a while since I last posted but I have a good reason. We've been having too much fun lately. Is that possible? Not really. Anyway, we left Buccaneer SP in MS and headed to Pensacola, FL. We had planned on spending our time in FL at Blackwater River SP but it was spring break in FL for the public schools so we were not able to get reservations at ANY SP in the FL panhandle. We settled for the next best thing...any RV park about 20 minutes inland from the beaches. We got in at Pensacola RV Park near the Pensacola NAS and Museum. Upon arrival the staff told us that while we were there the Blue Angels would be practicing and we should go so we made a mental note of it.

The sites are typical RV park spacing but not too bad. We had a nice pull through and a nice gentleman showed us to our site and lined us up.

We found a Wal mart and got some groceries after we got set up. After we got back we made some plans for our stay in FL Originally we were only going to stay at the SP for 4 days but since we couldn't get in to a SP and we were going to be near the beach, we opted to stay for a week. which then would shorten our stays as we travel north to IL.

The first day in Pensacola we got up and after breakfast, we headed to a Farmers Market in the old historic section of Pensacola. The market was more of a number of booths with mostly folks selling pictures, jewelry, carvings, baked goods, salsa and a few produce items. There were a few folks playing instruments too. Not exactly a Farmers Market but we had fun and we spent money.

Small section of the market

 

 

After we ran out of money we took a walk down the street to the Pensacola Bay and a Marina. 

Lots of boats

Glenda made a friend

Someone has some money

A boat for my brother

 

We headed back to the RV park and relaxed while making our plans for the next few days. Those plans mostly included going to the beach and our favorite area...The Gulf Island National Seashore between Navarre and Pensacola Beach.

 

We loaded up the bikes the next morning and headed out with all the other spring breakers.  We got to the beach and parking in a lot on Navarre Beach.

 

 

After the bike riding we got out our beach chairs and sat along the gulf shore and enjoyed the sound of the waves and soaked up some sun. We decided to have a late lunch and drove back to Navarre Beach where we had been before on our last trip there about 3 years prior with our 22foot Jayco TT. That's what got us started thinking about full time RV'ing. We had a great lunch of shrimp and seafood and headed back to the park. The next day was cloudy so we took our tax file to an H&R Block near by and filed our taxes. We actually for the first time in 40 years we got a good refund. Making less actually pays. OK, back to the fun. We continued to make trips to the beach and ride our bikes and sit in the sun the next few days while the weather was good.

 

On Wednesday, last week we got up early and drove to the Pensacola NAS to tour the museum and see the Blue Angels. This was along with around 10,000 others folks with the same idea. Glad we got there early. We toured the museum until it was time to follow the crowd to the runway area for the show.

 

We paid $3 each to get a chair in an area for good viewing since the crowd had already taken up all the free bleacher seating. We were actually in a good place to see all the action as the planes flew over. Very difficult to get good shots but I did get some video. Not sure I can post it here. Cell reception is slow here at Piney Grove COE in New Site, MS.

We had a final nice lunch the day before we left at Flounders Restaurant in Pensacola Beach. We shared a Shrimp Platter and some Key Lime pie.

Our view for lunch

Outdoor seating

Shrimp Platter for two

Key Lime Pie(triple layer)

 

 

After lunch on our last full day we headed to the beach one more time. We knew it would be quite a while before we see this again.

 

We had so much fun in FL and will try to get back this way on our trip south again in the fall. We definitely will be planning some time for part of a winter in the next couple of years. We really love the beaches, the sand and the sun.

We then left Pensacola and drove to Gunter Hill COE park near Prattville, AL. We had reserved a great lakefront site and were not disappointed. Unfortunately we could only be there 2 days since we stayed longer in Pensacola. There is lots of space to ride bikes and walk around the park. The Army Corp of Engineers always does a great job of putting a park together.

Our site at Gunter Hill COE

Paved roads and cement pads with great spacing

Incredible views

View from under the awning

Cement pad on site

Pull through

We thought this looked like a shark

We got another great tip from our RV friends Faye N Dave while at Gunter Hill. They told us we should try to make it to Uncle Mick's Cajun Restaurant in Prattville, AL. Now if they tell us about a good place to go to camp, eat, visit or anything else we try to do it. Well we were again NOT disappointed. Thank you Faye N Dave. The owner was vey friendly and appreciated our business. He was interested in our lifestyle and we had a good conversation while there. We took home a piece of Pecan Pie too. We really are looking forward to seeing our friends Faye N Dave at Bo Wood COE near Sullivan, IL.

 

 

I'm writing this the night before we leave for our next stop which will be in IL. It's been 6 months since we wee in the state of IL so this will be a nice homecoming. The next stop in IL is a surprise from our original plan. I told Glenda about the reservation I made at Fern Clyffe SP near Goreville, IL but it only has electric and no water hook up and even for 2 nights Glenda said "no" so we are winging it tomorrow. I wonder where we'll end up. I 'll let you know soon. See you in IL.

 

 

Life is Good