February 15-28 Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida

This Bastrop State Park has lots of hiking and Biking Trails. While the Hardy’s were home caring for their 23 dogs, Greg and I went on a hike to an overlook which had a CCC shelter on top.

When the Hardy’s returned we had some dinner than headed out for a bike ride to yet another overlook to enjoy the sunset. The bike ride down the mountain was FREEZING COLD. so when we got back to the campground we warmed up in Christine and Scott’s camper and had the last of the Mardi Gras King Cake. Christine was the lucky winner and her piece of cake had the baby in it.

Today we head out to explore more of what Texas has to offer. This was such a great State Park.

Scott stopped by in the morning before we headed out. He brought our favorite dog Elvis for a visit. Elvis is such a great dog. the last time we saw Elvis was probably 13 years ago so he is an old man now but still such a great dog.

Before we left the State Park we went to look at the cabins that the CCC built here. They built 12 cabins. Just amazing what this group of kids accomplished.

We finally headed out and we’re undecided about whether to head north to Dallas or South to SanAntonio. We checked the weather again and off we went to San Antonio.

We found a great spot to park on the bridge overlooking the River Walk and off we went to explore.

Had a great day exploring the area. The weather was perfect. And the food was great!

Next morning we woke up and headed even further south as a cold front is moving in again. I don’t remember all these cold fronts last year but I know for sure I do not like them. Two days of cold weather heading our way so we headed to another Texas State Park called Lake Corpus Christi. We got a spot right on the lake. It’s a beautiful spot but it’s super windy and cold so we are trapped in the van for most of the day. We managed to bundle up and get out for a two mile walk then settled in for the night, had some soup and watched another episode of The Crown. Woke up to more wind and more cold. Happy to have this van to keep us warm. I’m looking out there at the tent campers and don’t miss those days at all.

Next day was pretty cold too but we managed to do a hike over to the CCC castle pavilion which was pretty cool. and ended the night with a beautiful sunset.

Headed the next day to the nearest movie theater and saw the Titanic in 3D. That’s a very long movie, but enjoyed the 3D especially when the ship was going down. We are currently at the Cracker Barrel in Corpus Christi and are hoping for a nice beach day tomorrow. Supposed to warm up to 75°.

Over here in Corpus Christi Texas, you can go to the supermarket or gas station and purchase a 12 dollar beach pass. This pass is for the entire year and gets you right on the beach. There are no parking lots here like on Long Island. Here, everyone just drives their car right onto the beach regardless of if you have 4 wheel drive or not. The sand is so compacted down, it’s like driving on a regular road. The place was pretty crowded because it was a beautiful day but once it got dark, mostly everybody left. A few stayed and had campfires and then left. There were maybe 4 of us that stayed overnight. You are allowed to stay 3 nights in a row on the beach but then you have to move. We only stayed the one night and stayed all of the next day because it was almost 80° which is perfect beach weather.

After a full day of sun, we headed towards Houston to visit our friend Lisa and enjoy some air conditioning and hot showers.

We stayed a couple of nights, Lisa had to work so we pretty much lounged around her hotel room while she was working. So grateful for friends like Lisa. We were able to take showers and did laundry. We got to go out to eat with her after work and enjoyed each others company.

After Lisa’s we were planning to head down to the Gulf and stay at Bolivar Peninsula which we have stayed at before. It’s right on the beach and it’s one of our favorite spots in Texas. Unfortunately the weather was kicking up 44 mph gusts of wind down there so we avoided it all together and headed back to the casinos in Louisiana. We stayed at the L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. It was Ash Wednesday so we splurged on a nice Seafood dinner at the casino.

We both won and we both lost. There’s a nice boardwalk behind the casino overlooking some River. I did a 3 mile walk in the morning before the heat hit. It always feels good to get some activity in especially after a few days of long drives. From there we headed another 2 and a half drive to a State Park in Louisiana called Tickfaw. Had to drive through an residential area to get to it. Such a weird spot for a State Park. It’s totally off the beaten path and extremely quiet compared to the Texas State Parks which are usually close to major roads. This park is extremely peaceful but does have issues with flooding. I guess the flooding had been pretty bad here that a lot of the campsites have decks build next to where you park which is really cute.

We pulled the bikes out of the van and went on a ride. Every single trail in the park was closed because of the damage from a hurricane Ida. So many trees down. We still enjoyed a nice bike ride on the road. They have a fun water sprinkler park here. Must be a popular spot in the summer. They also have a really nice nature center that we walked through.

We have been receiving emails from Island View Casino in Gulfport Mississippi ever since we gambled there. These emails are very enticing. The latest one we couldn’t resist. It was for three free nights at the hotel tower plus a hundred dollars free slot gambling money for each of us. Plus 20 dollars free each at the diner, plus free beignets for both of us plus free icecream and fudge for both of us plus free cofffee and cookie for both of us. How do you pass that up? We didn’t and we stopped there since we were passing through that way anyway. We only took the room for one night but we could have had it for the whole weekend. We also wanted to go back to that amazing 13 dollar buffet. This casino has it all!!

I gambled all night with the Casinos hundred bucks and also the next day and still walked away with an extra thirty dollars in my pocket!! Quite a successful trip.

From there we headed to the Bass Pro Shops for a pleasant stay in their lot and then continued on to Flora Bama.

We have been to the Flor-Bama before and it was definitely exciting for us to go back cause when we were there last it was the pandemic so it wasn’t really in full swing. This time it was and it was awesome. We started out with some Oysters and then went upstairs to the main Stage to watch the band. Then we sat on the beach for awhile and then headed across the street where Flora-Bama has a restaurant. We had some more Oysters over there and then some lunch. We spent the entire day and it was awesome!

We traveled from there to The Historic downtown of a Pensacola. Got there right when the sun was setting and found a nice spot on the street to spend the night. We parked and walked all over the town. So many restaurants but we settled on the airstream food truck area for some keylime pie in a cup. They had some kind of comic con this weekend so everything was Star Wars themed which was fun.

Next morning we drove over to Pensacola beach. We really love the Gulf Coast Beaches. The sand is as white as sugar. So pretty. We took a walk on the beach and did some lobby hopping at the Holiday Inn Express. It’s a beautiful place right in the beach. It’s fun to hang out at these places and mingle with the people that actually spent the night.

Across the street from the beach is the Boardwalk, we went over and browsed around the beach shops and then had some lunch at Flounders. The food was great, the service was a little Hokey but we still enjoyed it. This place is huge and right on the bay side, on the beach overlooking the water. Another great place in Pensacola. Pensacola is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to visit in Florida.

Also here in Pensacola is the Gulf Islands National Seashore. We got super lucky and got a spot at the campground there. Once we arrived, we realized why we were lucky to get a spot. It’s because the spots are super small and only made for regular cars or camper vans. So we are lucky to have fit into the spot and also lucky to be surrounded by other VanDwellers!!

We took the bikes out and went for a ride to the Fort Pickens Area which was built in the 1860’s to protect the coast and the harbor.

Today we are heading to Henderson State Park in Destin. I checked 6 or 7 state parks this morning to see if we could get a reservation and ALL OF THEM WERE BOOKED. Like I have mentioned in the past, it’s virtually impossible to get a spot in a state park in Florida. I was just about to throw in the towel and just stay at a loves truck stop tonight and I checked Henderson and they had 1 spot available. Someone must have cancelled. Last time we were there, there was the Red Tide and we couldn’t go by the water without our eyes tearing and choking uncontrollably. So this time will be a much better experience, I’m sure.

That’s about it for the month of February. Below is the calendar of all our expenses for camping and gas. We are looking forward to the month of March!!! Our birthday Month!! We have big plans for our birthday this year which we will tell you all about in the next blog. So stay tuned.