So What Will We Do Today? HIDE

Nov 18/15 Severe Weather watch today.  Seriously.  The Weather channel is our Favorite channel !!!  Yesterday we saw this storm cell was forecasted to move into our area.  So we closed up our slides before nightfall.  Put away our outdoor stuff.  Ready to hunker down.

lone kite surfer

cloud coverage on the sun was striking against the kite surfer

Then we went to the beach.  Wind and Waves were rocking, red flag was up for Ripcurrent advisory.  There was a lone kite surfer just a boogeying !!! So cool.

we are right in the middle of this area

This morning we checked the TV and Internet.  Only a Tornado Watch.   Ok, good. Sat outside for morning coffee.

nice caption on the internet - look at the picture of the spout in the background

You could feel the air getting heavier, then the rumbling far away.   Fellow campers out in the streets gathering, looking at the sky.   No siren.   Checking the media, the cell has been upgraded to a Tornado Warning.  Must be closer.  Live feeds on the local news channels show a small tornado passing thru Destin.  That is about 10 miles from the campground.  It's not even raining here?

Lower level of our home- under the picnic table?

The weatherman suggests being prepared to take cover in the lowest level of your home........   Bill??? What is the lowest level of our rolling home.  Looking at our basement doesn't seem too promising.   What about under the picnic table? Nah. If the siren sounds we will take shelter in the nearest concrete block bath house.   Oh crap.  Now our cell phone is emitting a siren......  That is a first for us.    Another tornado alert East of us.   Ok, 8 miles away.   Again we are good.   What a day!  Gotta love Florida.
Tomorrow we are headed back south......  

The wheels are turning

Nov 11/2015 The forecast is staying warm and our two weeks are up in central Florida so we decided to head north.  Really????  Not all the way North, just to the Florida Panhandle, Santa Rosa Beach which is about 10 miles east of Destin.  It will be cooler there and the beaches are beautiful.  Why not, that's why we have wheels.  In our travels in the last four years;  time and again we have heard wonderful reviews about Top Sail Haill Preserve State Park & Gregory C Moore RV Resort.    It felt like we were missing something not to make a special trip to stay at this State Park.  It is a busy park so we made a reservation just to make sure after retracing backwards 370 miles we will have a site.  Not flying by the seat of our pants this time....

our site is plenty big for our trailer in front of the coach

The State purchased the RV park in 1998 and folded it into the acreage of the preserve.  The camp sites in our loop are very long, concrete, full 50 amp hookups and include television.   TV?  Yes, it was leftover from the private RV resort and we can see why, the Pines are so tall that you will not get any satellite reception...  Hey we are trying to follow the finale of The Voice!!!  ha, ha.  We tried our dish when we setup;  it just kept spinning around and around trying to find a signal.

paved pathway to the beach for bikes, walking and the tram

There are a number of nature trails, water ponds and one paved pathway to the beach.  There is even a shuttle to and from the beach.  The path winds through the protected dunes and pops you out at the water.  The white sand is virtually blinding it's so white.  And it squeaks when you walk barefoot,,,,, no kidding! 

the dunes just before you break onto the beach

The best part is that it seems to be all yours, it's not crowded at all.  In both directions you can walk for miles.  It appears that without a doubt the reviews were right, it is well worth the visit and deserved of its ranking in the top best state parks in America.

billy and rosey - found a bench to set the camera on for a timed shot

not another person in site

P.S. Don't forget the time zone change - fall back 1 hour crossing into central time from eastern time zone.

snow white sand