Lake effect snow was forecasted for Syracuse, and to avoid that, we planned to delay our departure by a day. Saturday morning though brought a bright sunny day, albeit a tad frosty at -13C, so we decided to hitch up and head out. Watertown was our destination, a small head start, as it seemed silly to waste such a nice day. The drive was great, but there were certainly signs that they had gotten a bunch of snow the day before.
The drive down I81 was perfect...at least until Chattanooga. We knew from the forecast and the NWS radar that we were in for some nasty weather, and late that evening a devastating tornado ripped through Nashville.
Very sombre news to wake up to. The weather system moving east was massive, and the colourful radar image meant lots of rain and winds were coming. Although the plan had us camping in Alabama, we decided on one more night in a motel, and made our way slowly to Troy.
We travelled through patches of rain, and then just as we pulled into Troy, the skies opened up and a deluge followed that lasted a few hours. It was one of those times we were glad not to be setting up and camping.
The next morning it had cleared somewhat, and we headed to Santa Rosa Beach, for our reservation at Topsail Hill SP. Topsail is a large park, which before taken over by the state, was a well outfitted RV resort. All the sites have full services, and utilize a staggered layout, which makes for some nice privacy. There is a large network of trails, and a beautiful stretch of endless beach a nice walk away, or even nicer tram ride away.
My brother Bill and his wife Ann have been enjoying the Florida weather, and were in a condo just a short drive down the 30A from us. After we set up we scooted over for a visit, then went to the Grayton Brew Pub for a bite to eat. Grayton is a local craft brewery that makes a nice range of easy drinking beers...well I certainly found them easy drinking!
Lots to see and do in this area, with plenty of beaches, shops and restaurants to explore. This part of the coast is also home to several military air bases, and if plane spotting is your thing, there is no shortage of activity in the skies.
The next day Bill & Ann took us on a little road trip along the 30A to the Navarre Beach Pier. This pier extends 1500 feet from shore, and is the largest pier on the Gulf. Lots of fishing activity and people just walking to the end. All that walking made us hungry and thirsty, and a fabulous Andouille & chicken gumbo, washed down with a tasty Grayton 30A, fixed us up straight away.
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| Waiting for handouts from the fisherman |
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| Serious reel loaded with some serious line |
The beach at the park was wonderful, with sand as soft as talcum powder.
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| More serious reels, and this was just one of many |
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| Beach scrub |
More beach walks, nice meals, and tons of laughs rounded out our time at Santa Rosa.
