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Sunday, February 8, 2015

We Continue to have Good Luck

Our next reservation was in Louisiana  but we had a four night gap between when we were leaving Manatee Springs and we could check in at Fontainebleau.  I had figured we would just wing it and find a place as we went, but we had a nice conversation with another RV couple while at the Springs, and they suggested we look into stopping at the Ft. Pickens campground in the Gulf Island National Seashore. I did and it looked like a great half way point, so I went online and got a reservation for the four nights we needed. 

The 337 mile drive is about as far as we want to go in one hop. We were on the road by 9:30 and arrived at 4:00. We gained an hour with the time zone change. We haven't had to buy much fuel for the Alfa this winter because we haven't driven very far. We were delighted to fill up for $2.49 per gallon. The Alfa is a diesel.



Craig and I have what we consider a very good system of shared driving responsibilities. We both drive the Alfa. If we have to go less than 100 miles, Craig usually drives all of it. For distances over that, we trade off so neither of us gets road tired. 

When it comes time to back the rig into a spot, we find it works best if I drive and Craig gives me directions on the walkie-talkie. Like most couples, we do what works best for us.

We have learned to look carefully for obstacles when the spot is tight. But sometimes things sneak up on us. This usually happens when the space seems wide open. 

After successfully backing into our spot at Ft. Pickens I looked around. 

EEK! I had almost hit a good size tree branch with the back corner of the Alfa. I definitely could not have seen it from the driver's seat, and Craig had not seen it because he was on the driver's side. 

Hopefully, writing about this "almost" impact will help us remember to watch all eight corners of the rig, and take a better look for potential dangers before backing in. Even when it feels like we have lots of room!

We were LUCKY once again!

After getting settled I noticed the sun was setting, and I went out to the road. I saw a boardwalk to the beach just across from the entrance of our loop. Sure enough, it was just a short walk through the dunes to the water.



Ahh! A beautiful sunset indeed! We are looking forward to some nice walks here in the next few days. Fingers crossed for nice weather.

And thanks again for the recommendation!

12 comments:

  1. Glad you made it safe and sound! Enjoy your stay

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  2. Fort Pickens is great! Enjoy your stay. I'll look forward to reading about it

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  3. So happy that you took our suggestion, enjoy!!! 😊

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  4. Whew - that branch was close! The worst for us is coming off the road after a long day - then there is surely something bad gonna happen - glad you were lucky.

    Boardwalk looks lovely! Better than the sideways blowing snow we are having here ;-)

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  5. Glad you missed the tree - that would have put a damper on your day for sure!! Beautiful sunset.

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  6. This was one of our favorite places! We loved it so much we want to workamp there someday :) The walk from the campground to the fort is wonderful, as is around the bay to the ocean.

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  7. Truly a close call with that tree & I so well understand how that happens.

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  8. close call with the tree..lucky! enjoy your stay at Fort Pickens! the sunset picture is lovely!

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  9. Love the sunset picture.
    arlonHboozer.com

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  10. The thing is, people who design and landscape RV parks, as well as most Rvers, think of trees as a plus. Only two classes of people disagree: those with satellite dishes on their roofs, and those who tend to hit trees. Merikay and I are in both classes.

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  11. I remember this spot well. I arrived in the dark in a blinding rainstorm when the road was flooded. It was pretty scary. When it cleared the next day, they had road graders removing the sand from the road.

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