6/19-6/24 2024 Fort Pickens

 We moved to Fort Pickens which is part of the Gulf National Islands Seashore Parks. Its on the far west end of Santa Rosa island just south of Pensacola Fl. Its pretty narrow with the gulf on one side and the bay on the other.  We mainly just chilled for the time we were here. We did go to my favorite seafood market Joe Pattis. I bought grouper and flounder to cook in camp.  They turned out very good.  We only ate out once and it was just average. Inside the park we didn"t have any crowds. If you went back to Gulf Breeze it was very crowded with lots of traffic. 

as always very crowded. Overall we had a nice time.

6/16-6/19 Cedar Key

 Sunday morning we left about 8:00 headed for Cedar Key.  It was an easy drive with no problems. We got set up at the campground and it was hot. Not much breeze blowing. We went in to Cedar Key to just look around and see what has changed since our last visit.  On our way in I saw smoke in the cedar break.  The fire department truck met us going out to investigate. There was still some construction repair from the last hurricane to hit them. There were lots of people out and about. On our way back you could see there was in deed a small wildfire. Later we heard that it was started by lighting. Anyway they were able to contain it. That evening we went to a small place out of town to eat. Mostly locals and it was good. Monday we went and walked around town checking out the shops. That evening we ate at Steamers . Its on the water and was by far the best food we have had on our trip. Tuesday we went to Crystal River so Susan could go to a quilt shop which was highly rated.  Cooper and I just did a little sight seeing during this time. 

6/12-6/15 Fort Desoto

Fort Desoto is a really nice campground. There are a lot of sites and stays mostly full. It feels private as all the sites have trees/vegetation between them. Its all sand roads and sites.  We have enjoyed it here. Wednesday we drove around St. Petersburg and had lunch at Shrimpys. It was a nice little bar/grill. I had another grouper sandwich and Susan had shrimp .  We enjoyed that place. After that we went to Walmart and restocked up on groceries. This had been an unusual trip in that I haven"t cooked much. We have been eating out everyday. The seafood has been awesome so far.  Thursday we went and visited Joel/Teresa for awhile. They took us out to lunch at a place called Hooking A'int Easy. It was a small off the beaten path and so good.  Susan and I had our usual, grouper and shrimp. Another excellent meal. Friday I stayed in camp and did chores while Susan and Teresa shopped all day.  We broke our seafood fest that evening and I went and picked up some pizza. Saturday morning was very still and muggy. It was the first time the "no see um's" really were bad . The park was once again filled up .  We went and drove the beach road in St. Pete. Lots of people out and about.  We picked a place to eat called Crabby Bills. It was a nice place with great views of the gulf. It was the first time I was disappointed with the food on this trip. It was average at best and I wouldn't go back. We headed home and just chilled the rest of the evening. I did load my truck because we are headed out in the morning, time to move on.

Hooking Ain't Easy

Crabby Bills

Crabby Bills

Crabby Bills

Grouper sandwich at Shrimpys

Shrimpys

6/9-6/11 2024 Fort Desoto

Sunday morning we left about 8;30 am heading for Fort Desoto. We had an pretty easy drive for the first two hours. I had planned on driving back roads and come into Fort Desoto from the south so I would miss coming thru Tampa Bay.  One of the roads I planned to use was shut down due to fires so we had to change our route. The traffic thru Tampa was about 10 mph but we finally made it.   Fort Desoto Campground is a beautiful place. Our site is nice and long. The roads are narrow but mangable. After getting set up, Susans good friend Teresa came and picked us up and carried us back to her condo. She is about 3 miles from us on Tierra Verde.  Her and Joel have a beautiful place on the water. Teresa had cooked us a great supper and I pigged out.  When we got back home I went straight to bed as I was very tired. Monday morning we got up and chilled untill Teresa picked us up. She gave us a tour of St. Petersburg and then we had a late lunch. That evening I picked up our chairs and outside things as we had a little tropical moisture heading our way. We were right on the edge of getting a little rain or a lot of rain.  During the night we got some heavy rain but by morning it was just off and on drizzle and that continued thru out the day. We just got a couple of inches but starting about 10 miles south of us they were getting 8-10 inches,  During the morning I went to check out the old historic fort and museum in between the rains.  That evening we went back to Joel/Teresa's for supper and just visited. We had a really nice time.